Photography: Ravi Chandnani
Exclusively shot on the OPPO RENO 15 PRO
It was quite a surprise because the exclusive first-drive review of the Denza B5 taught me a lot about how the Chinese actually approach carmaking. At first, the Denza B5 PHEV looks intimidating, thanks to its gargantuan size, which is mainly composed of right angles. But it doesn’t look odd, quite the contrary! The imposing stance suggests it would be powered by a massive V8, or at least a V6 with twin turbochargers, but that is far from reality. As sitting under that huge bonnet is a 1.5-litre turbocharged, at least it has a turbocharger, four-cylinder motor. Sounds puny, right? But it produces 184PS and 260Nm, which sounds low for an SUV that weighs almost 3 tonnes. Then how does this behemoth move? Well, it’s 2026, and the answer is electric motors.
As I drove the Denza B5 in Colombo, I realised how far Chinese cars have come in terms of quality, fit and finish. Everything inside the cabin was super plush with a lot of attention to detail. Denza is a sub-brand of Chinese carmaker BYD, and that is where the powertrain comes from. The B5 uses the underpinnings of the BYD Shark 6, which is a ladder-frame pickup/SUV. It uses dual electric motors, one on each axle, to deliver a total of 400kW (544PS) and 760Nm, and it has 11 drive modes, enabling it to tackle any terrain. Unfortunately, I was limited to an urban environment and could only use the corresponding drive modes.
Despite its size, the B5 was absolutely light on its feet and felt more like a tallboy car to drive than a full-blown SUV. The steering was light as a feather, and the throttle response was quick. After all, it is a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, which gives it instant torque and fast acceleration. In fact, Denza claims that it can sprint from 0-100kmph in just 4.8 seconds, something you might not expect from a beast like this. The adaptive suspension setup on the B5 is fantastic, as it doesn’t let much road undulation into the cabin. It features independent suspension at both ends, which can also be adjusted. I tested out this feature as well and saw the ride height go from 220mm to a massive 310mm, which gives it the ability to tackle any terrain you might have in mind. Apart from the ride height, the B5 also comes with 11 drive modes, including the hardcore off-road, mud, snow and more.
I drove the B5 in and around Colombo, Sri Lanka, and I must confess that despite its size and weight, it can handle. I threw it around a few corners to check the body roll and was surprised to see the adaptive suspension keep it low. The driving dynamics of the Denza B5 were confidence-inspiring, allowing me to drive it more like a car than an SUV, which shows that Chinese engineering has come a long way, but India has yet to experience this PHEV. Another aspect that impressed me was the brakes. Now, since the B5 weighs just under 3 tonnes and delivers more than 500PS and 700Nm, Denza has equipped the B5 with large brake discs and six-piston Brembo calipers. The bite from these calipers was fantastic, but not like what you would find on a performance car. It was gentle and progressive, with a tonne of feedback, and when I modulated the pedal, it responded exactly the way I wanted it to, which was confidence-inspiring. In terms of safety, Denza says the roof is strong enough to withstand 12 tonnes of impact force without budging, which is reassuring. Overall, the Denza B5 might be a mighty beast with a 1.5-litre heart, but the electric powertrain is punchy enough to make it go anywhere at the tap of your right foot. We do hope that BYD India brings the Denza brand to India, as the B5 would become a crowd favourite in an instant.
Oppo Reno 15 Pro and the Denza B5
Oppo has been pushing the boundaries when it comes to smartphones, and their Reno series has been at the forefront of blending affordability, performance and top-tier specifications. We chose the Reno 15 Pro for this assignment because, during testing, we realised it has one of the best camera modules in its segment, and the picture quality is brilliant, to say the least. Hence, when we got the opportunity to drive the Denza B5 in Sri Lanka, we went prepared. The 200MP ultra-clear main camera does the heavy lifting, delivering eye-catching photos. You can clearly see that the Oppo Reno 15 Pro’s main camera has captured the details of the Denza B5 beautifully. It can capture sharp details with amazing clarity, which is on par with some smartphones from a segment above. In fact, it’s not just the main camera that impresses; the supporting 50MP ultra-wide module also captures good details with a wide field of view. The 50MP Telephoto lens also helps you capture distant objects with sharp detail. We also loved the 50MP ultra-wide selfie camera with a larger 100-degree field of view, which lets you freeze moments with more of your buddies or take more creative shots using the rule of thirds.
Once you are done capturing your favourite moments, as we did with the Denza B5, you can view all of it on the super hi-resolution 17.23 cm OLED screen, which is an FHD+ screen with 2772 × 1272 pixels resolution and has a refresh rate of 120Hz and over a billion colours, 1.07 to be precise. It is also HDR10+ certified, features splash touch, and has a 95.5 per cent screen-to-body ratio. Another aspect that makes the Oppo Reno 155 Pro a real pro is the hardware that powers this smartphone. It comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 8450 chipset, featuring 8 CPU cores and an ARM G720 MC7@1300MHz GPU, making it an ultimate performance machine. We were able to take pictures, record video, and even edit them on the phone itself, using both third-party apps and the native editing tools. The Oppo Reno 15 Pro performed flawlessly during heavy video and photo editing, with no lag or thermal throttling. We enjoyed shooting with the Oppo Reno 15 Pro, and we must confess that it makes for a perfect on-the-go shooting monster that can tackle any camera-related task with gusto. Good work, Oppo!
You can also read our review of the Oppo Reno 15 Pro here.
