Here’s a BYD Song L EV, a new fully-electric liftback SUV. I met the new Chinese EV on a hot summer day in Beijing near Tiananmen Square. ‘EV’ is part of the model name. The Song L EV has a maximum of 417 hp and a maximum range of 662 kilometers.
Design
The design of the Song L is interesting; a mix between a sedan and an SUV with a liftback tailgate. It looks quite sporty with short overhangs, a low roof, big aero wheels, and a spoiler above the rear window. The car in the photos is painted in Star Twilight Gray with a Beach White interior.
Interior
The interior is typical BYD. Confusingly, BYD currently has two interior design directions on its new cars: one without any buttons with the shifter on the steering wheel column, and one with a lot of buttons and the shifter at the center tunnel. I can’t find any logic behind it.
In any way, the Song L EV obviously has a button-rich interior, which looks rather old-school for a brand-new car. It has a large 15.6-inch screen and a 10.25-inch driver’s display.
Lots of space in the rear thanks to the long wheelbase. The BYD Song L EV size is 4840/1950/1560, 2930. The trunk has a 410/1053-liter capacity, and the frunk adds another 48 liters.
Specifications of the BYD Song L EV
The rear looks spectacular with a wildly shaped spoiler above the window, large faux air vents, and a diffuser-style bumper.
BYD offers four power trains for the Song L EV:
- RWD. 204 hp/310 Nm. 199 km/h. 0-100 in 8.5s. Battery: 71.8 for 550 km of range.
- RWD. 313 hp/360 Nm. 201 km/h. 0-100 in 6.9s. Battery: 71.8 kWh, also 550 km of range.
- RWD. 313 hp/360 Nm. 201 km/h. 0-100 in 6.9s. Bigger battery: 87.04 kWh for 662 km of range.
- AWD. 517 hp/670 Nm. 201 km/h. 0-100 in 4.3s. It uses the same 87.04 battery, but here it has a max range of 602 km.
BYD develops the motors and the Blade LFP batteries in-house. The car in the photos is the RWD base model.
Pricing of the BYD Song L EV
The BYD Song L costs between 179.800 and 229.800 yuan ($25K – $32K), and that’s a relatively wide price spread for a Chinese car. The Song L competes with other sporty Chinese EVs like the Hyptec HT, the Smart #3, and the Xpeng G6.
In the center of the grille is the Song (宋) logo. So far, the BYD Song L EV hasn’t been a great success, with sales of about 1200 units per month. Perhaps BYD sells just too many cars with similar specs and prices. Right now, BYD offers 33 different models in China, and at least six are in the same price segment as the Song L EV.