A journey to the west, with DENZAs and pandas
Bountiful new energy of BYD DENZA explores beautiful old scenery in western Sichuan via China’s heavenly 5,476km highway that traverses realms and experiences.
This epic road trip with BYD and DENZA through the spectacular landscapes of western Sichuan, despite its driving distances and climate challenges (for the tropicalised Singaporeans), was a piece of Chengdu cake.
The Chinese automaker deployed a variety of new-energy vehicles to tackle not only the tough Sichuan terrain, but also the less-tough city slickers in the group from Singapore.
The urbanites in question are not natural off-roaders. Their rural driving experience is limited to Malaysia driveaway holidays and Lim Chu Kang excursions. Their “hills” are malls, their “slippery slopes” are carpark ramps, and their “jungle” is concrete.
Cementing the unnatural relationship between urban dwellers and rural adventures are suburban SUVs - gentle battle tanks that prioritise space, comfort and practicality.
Venturing from the depth of gorges to the breadth of highlands in fearless DENZAs.
Some models, however, are really ready for actual peacetime battles and a potential apocalypse.
British Defenders, for instance, and also DENZA “attackers” in the form of B5 and B8, better known as Fangchengbao “Formula Leopards” in the China domestic market.
These are turbocharged plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with true all-terrain capability and equally true all-towkay luxury. 
BYD's best plug-in hybrids performed very well as Sichuan landscape navigators.
The 1.5-litre DENZA B5 has been available in Singapore since March 2026, while the bigger and even more luxurious 2-litre B8 is not confirmed for Singapore (at time of publishing), with the car’s almost Class 4 kerb weight believed to be a heavy roadblock.
Travelling in the B5s and B8s across awesome western Sichuan was dramatically different from doing it across the little red dot of Singapore.
Red and great was this suspension bridge above Dadu River.
The mountainous skyscrapers of Qingcheng, Gongga and Yala Snow were designed and built by China’s Mother Nature. The prime plots of land between Hailuoguo and Tagong have been priceless and forever freehold since time memorial.
The varied weather was wilder and way more wonderful in conditions and temperatures than tropical Singapore. At the higher altitudes of three to four kilometres where the air is thin and oxygen is lacking, the views were breathtaking in more ways than one.
Best of all, no haze here, ever.
A little hazy, though, was my motoring memory of the Singapore-spec DENZA B5.
Chinese beasts of burden, but only one combined sports and utility.
Luckily, I remembered its size (large and chunky), ruggedness (unstoppable) and amenities (plenty). The performance from its turbo 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid powertrain was somewhere between vigorous and ridiculous.
The B5’s vigour felt a little less ridiculous on the great expanse of Tagong Grassland and at the heaven-bound elevation of mountain passes.
But both B5 and B8 had the ability to make the drive/ride no harder than a stroll in Jurong’s Chinese Garden, complete with Anta walking shoes.
The B8 was even better than the B5 at making the scenic Sichuan exploration a walk in the park, assisted by extra-grippy 4x4 hiking shoes. The rubber footwear was a good size at 276/60 R20 and its model name promised the earth - “MD Off Road Extreme all-terrain T/X”.
Maximising the unleaded energy drink in the tank, the B8 performed convincingly as a vehicular Great Wall of China - impressive, impregnable and, of course, Chinese.
Just as important was how the B8 performed as a great cruiser of China.
Giant pandas are smaller and much slower than DENZAs, but hugely cute.
The ride comfort on over 270 kilometres of well-paved expressway from Six Senses Qingcheng Mountain Hotel to Tianquan Service Area and then Moxi Ancient Town leaned more towards soft-roader (occasionally shaky onboard) than tall limo. But the climate control, audio system and seat cushions were limo-worthy.
The limo-worthiness went up a notch when I hopped from the B8 five-seater into the B8 seven-seater, the more upscale compatriot.
The pair of captain’s chairs were even more relaxing than the leather-bound bench seat in the other variant, thanks to individual armrests, an inbuilt multi-mode massage function, and supportive headrests with soft (retrofit) pillows.
Even more shag than the most tired road-trippers from Singapore.
If only they were bamboo charcoal cushions, which would have been perfect for our Panda Valley pitstop, where I learnt more about the cuddly creatures than ever before.
There are about 50 white pandas and 20 red pandas living/lazing in the place. Bamboo shoots are their cai png (90 percent of diet), but they also eat carrots and apples. A baby panda weighs barely 100 grams, while a full-grown giant panda weighs up to 120 kilos.
Appropriately enough, our route-G318 journey to the west of Sichuan in a capable and comfortable DENZA convoy ended with a few cute pandas in our baggage home - plushies and memories, all made in China.
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