I love Chinese food. It is as diverse as the many regions that make up China and influenced by Chinese people coming from the different parts of the world. Among the most popular Chinese cuisine s and perhaps best known throughout the world are the Cantonese cuisine, Shandong, Jiangsu and Sichuan version.
One might ask why in the world is this piece talking about Chinese cuisine? Well because BYD’s Quin hybrid, which is pronounced as “Chin”, is similar to the gastronomic delights of China, a mix of everything good and, design wise, a fusion of a Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and some hints of Hyundai.
I have driven countless hybrids in the past and BYD’s Qin “performance” hybrid is China’s take on the future of mobility. The car is powered by a 151bhp, 1500cc turbo- fed engine which is combined with a 148bhp electric motor. When combined, these power sources provide the driver with 291 horses on tap, which means the car can hit 0-100 in 5.9 seconds. I tried it, and yes it does what it claims and the Qin effortlessly climbs the uphill roads of my place here in Antipolo. This writer admits to have been taken off-guard by the car’s performance considering where the car came from. Initially I was biased against anything mechanical made in China and the Qin changed my perspective.
Stamped as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the car can be recharged from a standard household power socket. On a full charge, it can cover a distance of up to 47 miles, which is twice the distance of its PHEV competitors, says BYD. Regenerative braking technology is used to further increase the electric range. During the Yuletide rush, the car was always on electric mode because of the crawling traffic. Qin was with me for half a month, but I barely gassed up as I did my driving chores on electric mode most of the time. There were instances when my speed had to go beyond 60 kph and the gasoline motor would kick in automatically. On turbo engine mode, the car is quick on its feet and can hold its own against any Japanese, American, European and Korean counterparts. Just don’t look at the badge and it does not feel “Chinese” at all. The downside of this car are the stiff seats, a rather tacky carbon finish trims on the dashboard and a jerk once the car shifts to gasoline mode. The braking system also needs some work, because the pedal feel is weak.
The Qin offers four driving modes ( V+ECO, EV+Sport, HEV+Eco and HEV+Sport) which can selected by the driver using a knob near the handbrake lever or by an interactive 12.1 inch TFT monitor on the center console. The driving modes varies in power output which helps conserve electricity at low speeds and delivering maximum performance for faster expressway driving.
Some might have their eyebrows raised if they see the P2.4 million price tag of the Qin PHEV. In general, this Chinese PHEV has raised the bar of cars made in the Mainland and is aggressively punching over its weight class. At present, BYD has disclosed that it has been developing other PHEV models and purely electric cars.
