BYD Qin: looking into the future

THE FRONT has hints of Peugeot, Kia and Lexus.

Today is Inquirer Motoring’s final edition for 2015. As we close a chapter in our lives, we look into the future not only excitedly, but also with a sense of anxiety.

It’s much the same way with the future of motoring, particularly with the internal combustion engine.

Dwindling fossil fuel supplies (despite crude oil prices being on the low side), stricter environmental regulations, climate change—all these reasons conspire against the future of our beloved gasoline- and diesel-powered lumps.

Obviously the future of mobility is meant to be cleaner, more efficient, and ideally, coming from renewable energy. But that is perhaps a full generation away.

Right now, what we have is a stop-gap measure. But is the stop-gap measure any good?

That stop-gap measure is hybrid-powered vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs). Toyota is the world’s leading hybrid vehicle manufacturer, while Nissan has taken it to the next level, being the world’s largest manufacturer of EV, another stop-gap measure prior to vehicles utilizing fully renewable energy (like hydrogen, solar, or—possibly, I’d like to believe one day—the Mr. Fusion of “Back to The Future fame,” which will also solve our massive garbage and pollution problems).

On the premium segment side, BMW’s i3 and i8 EVs provide two distinct uses for electric propulsion: The i3 delivers the future of mobility on wheels, and the i8 provides sports car thrills with a clean conscience and no emissions whatsoever.

My issue with electric vehicles in general, though, is that they get their power from a traditional powerplant.

Many powerplants still use some form of fossil fuel (like natural gas) to produce power. Hence, the power that a typical EV uses isn’t from a purely clean source.

Acceptance, plus the full cost of EVs, is still far from being affordable to the common masses. I’d give it at least another 10 to 15 years.

Hence, hybrids are a more attainable and immediate source of help in relieving our dependence on fossil fuels and lessening greenhouse gas emissions.

Hybrids have also been embraced by the exotic/luxury/performance car segment: Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari. All of them use hybrid powertrains to boost their performance.

Unfortunately, these aren’t also attainable, let alone affordable for the average motorist.

But now, there is one that is: BYD’s amazing Qin (pronounced as “chin”).

The Qin is a conventional three-box, four-door C-segment sedan, comparable to a Honda Civic, Toyota Altis, Nissan Almera or Subaru Impreza.

It looks handsome, aggressive and very modern up front, while the sides looks a bit slab-sided, and the rear seemingly all but forgotten.

It’s a shame as I really found the front end of the car looking very non-Chinese, with hints of Peugeot, Kia and Lexus.

Inside, it’s very high-tech: The instrument panel is a large LCD screen that is configured depending on the driving mode (electric or hybrid, and sport or normal).

There are buttons for start/stop and electronic parking brake, which minimizes clutter and frees up interior space.

Under the hood is a 1.5-liter 16-valve twin-cam engine featuring direct-injection and turbocharging to deliver an impressive 152 horsepower and 240 Newton-meters of torque from 1,750 to 3,500 revolutions per minute.

For a turbocharged engine, even displacing 1.5 liters seem modest at best, but I suspect that’s because of the hybrid drive system.

The hybrid system’s enemy is heat, and getting the 1.5-liter engine to produce more power is easy but will also generate more heat, which is detrimental to the hybrid system’s longevity.

THE CHARGER connects to a 220-volt outlet.

The electric side delivers an additional 110 kilowatts of power or roughly another 148 HP and additional 250 Nm of torque. The combined output is good for 300 HP. Now, that is seriously fast! It drives the front wheels via a dual-clutch six-speed transmission.

In full EV mode   with a full charge of battery, it has a top-speed of 150 kilometers per hour and a range of 70 kilometer.

The best part? It’s a true plug-in hybrid, which comes with its own charger. Once you get home, plug the charger’s one end to the Qin’s trunk, with the other end onto any regular 220-volt outlet, and leave it overnight. It’ll be full the next day, perfect for another electric motoring experience.

Other plug-in hybrids require you to buy and install a specific wall-mounted outlet and charger combo. That means you can’t charge your hybrid vehicle outside of your own garage. A hassle indeed, not to mention expensive and inconvenient.

But not the Qin, thankfully.  I drive about 10 to 20 kilometers a day if I’m not visiting our projects outside  Metro Manila, and a  single charge will be more than enough to keep my daily motoring electrified, so to speak.

Unfortunately, this being Metro Manila, I never got to fully sample the full 300 HP. But I was convinced that the future of mass motoring is indeed electric.

I had the Qin for four days. And of those four days, three were in full electric mode. I made it a point to scoot around Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Ortigas, BGC and Makati in full electric mode.

It was super smooth, super refined and super quiet. And   crucially, when I wasn’t in the mood for any exciting driving maneuvers, it kept me focused on traveling as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

But when I would press on just a little bit, I felt the impressive chassis stiffness, and the well-controlled, well-damped suspension.

You also feel the added heft of the hybrid powertrain, particularly the batteries underneath the car, while the steering felt light and easy. Something pleasing for everyday rush-hour driving, though adventurous drivers will find it lacking in feel and feedback.

There are some drawbacks to being electric. The lack of sound means pedestrians and bicyclists often won’t realize your vehicle’s there.

I’ve had a few people jump right in front of me as I was passing through an intersection. Absent-minded pedestrians listening via earphones to their mobile media devices while jaywalking is a recipe for disaster, indeed.

It’s not just the combined hybrid powertrain that is impressive: The Qin sports a kit list that rivals a lot of luxury brands—full leather interior, electric-power steering, tilt/ slide moonroof, 17-inch alloy wheels with Michelin tires sized 205/50R17, multizone climate control system, an impressive multimedia system, 360-degree  car camera and monitor, front and rear parking sonars, LED daytime running lamps with xenon headlights, and  10   highly impressive airbags to keep you safe, plus ABS-EBD brakes and traction/stability control.

And since the Qin offers regenerative braking, the charging effect it does under braking helps improve overall performance and reduces fade while delivering a stopping power to rival the 300 HP of forward propulsion.

BYD’s Qin might not be the final solution for clean motoring using renewable energy. But the technology is readily available and relatively affordable, with the car itself being easily accessible. It’s very fuel-efficient obviously.

The needle on the fuel level literally moved one notch during the four days I had the Qin. You run the risk of getting the fuel stale if your driving pattern were similar to mine.

The Qin’s only problem, unfortunately, is its badge, and the stigma of being a China-made car.

But brand snobbery aside, as a stop-gap measure, BYD has gotten it spot-on versus the larger American, Japanese and European manufacturers.

The price, performance, accessibility and availability make it an important goalpost into the future for other manufacturers to achieve.

At P2.45 million, it’s still not cheap, but it is far more affordable than the European brands, and is comparable to a Prius or Prius C from Toyota, or Honda’s CR-Z in full auto-trim. But none of the Jap chaps have the plug-in option as the Qin.

Hopefully Congress passes the hybrid vehicles law soon, and with it, the promised incentives for hybrid or similar vehicles. This will make cars like the Qin even more affordable to the masses.