Same here in Auckland — best daily commuter car we've ever had in the family.

Put my refundable expression of interest down with our local Denza/BYD dealer in Melbourne last week. They hinted the entry-level coil model will land around $74k–$78k AUD before on-roads, while the DiSus-P flagship will push mid-$80k.

Driving a Dolphin Dynamic (44.9 kWh pack / 70kW motor) on the Sunshine Coast QLD. Because the Dynamic has the smaller motor and lighter 16-inch wheels, it's even more frugal around town — my cumulative average over 14,000 km is 11.8 kWh/100km! Easily gets 360–380 km around town between charges.

Since every second thread at the moment is asking "What tyre size fits the Shark 6 on stock suspension without scrubbing the front mudflaps?" and "Which canopies don't block the rear cargo camera?", I've compiled a verified fitment guide from our NSW & QLD owners meetups.

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1. All-Terrain Tyres on Stock 18x8" (+45 Offset) Wheels

• Stock Tyre Size: 265/65R18 (791mm / 31.1" overall diameter — highway terrain Continental)
• Best Upgrade (Zero Scrubbing, Legal in all AU States & NZ): 265/70R18 (816mm / 32.1" overall diameter, +25mm total diameter / +12.5mm ground clearance).
  • Tested & Verified: Falken Wildpeak AT3W (LT265/70R18), BFG KO3, and Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015.
  • Clearance: Clears the upper control arm (UCA) by 18mm and full-lock reverse clears the front guard liner by 9mm with zero heat-gun moulding needed.
  • Range / Economy Impact: Going to a Light Truck (LT) construction adds ~5.5kg per corner unsprung weight, which costs roughly 4–5 km of pure EV range and +0.6 L/100km on the highway. If you only do beach/gravel tracks, stick to the Passenger (P-metric) 265/70R18 (116T) which is 4kg lighter per tyre!

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2. Canopies & Electric Roller Shutters

• Ironman 4x4 & ARB Ascent Canopies: Both now have Shark 6-specific mounting brackets that bolt directly into the factory tub tie-down load points. Tip: Order the central-locking wiring loom adapter so the canopy locks with the BYD keyfob/NFC card.
• Alu-Cab Contour Canopy: Weighs only 62kg (aluminium), ideal if you're watching your payload limit (790kg max payload on the Shark 6).
• Tub V2L Power Access: None of the main canopies cover the three 240V (2.2kW) outlets on the right-hand side of the tub, so you can run your 12V/240V Engel or Dometic fridge straight from the tray without an auxiliary AGM battery!

Totally agree on doing the reduction gear oil change at 40,000 km! Some people try to skip it, but draining the initial break-in metallic sheen off the magnetic drain plug on the electric drive unit keeps the gearset whisper-quiet for the life of the car.

If your wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto starts stuttering or fails to auto-connect after updating your iPhone to iOS 18/19 or Android 15/16, do not factory-reset your car! Here is the 60-second fix that clears the cached Wi-Fi Direct credentials.

On-Road Impressions, Efficiency & Setup Details

Overall efficiency, cabin insulation, and LFP Blade Battery thermal stability have been rock-solid across both daily city commuting and 110 km/h highway runs.

If your BYD shows "No Network" / empty 4G signal bars on the top right of the DiLink screen and the BYD Mobile App stops updating your vehicle status (even after holding down the centre console volume roller for 10 seconds to reboot the screen), it means the T-Box (4G Telematics Cellular Modem) is hung on a stale mobile tower handshake.

Rebooting the screen only restarts the Android head unit — it does not cut 12V power to the T-Box modem! Here is the 2-minute fix without disconnecting the 12V battery:

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Method 1: Easiest Under-Bonnet 12V Negative Terminal Reset (10mm Spanner)

1. Pop the bonnet (pull the driver's footwell lever twice).
2. On Atto 3 / Dolphin / Sealion 6, loosen the 10mm nut on the Negative (-) 12V battery terminal, lift the cable off for 90 seconds, and reconnect.
3. This hard-resets the T-Box modem and re-registers the eSIM on Telstra/Optus (AU), EE/Vodafone (UK), or Spark (NZ) within 30 seconds!

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Method 2: Cabin Fuse Box T-Box Fuse Pull & Dashcam Hardwire Tap Guide

Located behind the removable panel below the steering column (right-hand side on RHD AU/UK/NZ cars):

• T-Box / Telematics Module Fuse: 7.5A or 10A Micro2 fuse (labelled T-BOX / ICALL on the back of the fuse cover lid). Pull for 60 seconds and re-insert.
• Best Switched ACC Fuse for Accessories: 15A Cigarette Lighter / Auxiliary Power fuse.
• Best Constant 12V (B+) Fuse: Spare 10A slot in column B (always use a Micro2 Add-A-Circuit fuse tap with the cable pointing towards the load side!).

Every week new BYD Sealion 6 (Australia/NZ) and BYD Seal U DM-i (UK/EU) owners post the same panic message:

"I drove my car down to 20% battery on the motorway, and suddenly the petrol engine started revving loudly at 4,000+ RPM even at 60 km/h! Is my gearbox slipping?"

Short answer: Your car isn't broken — it doesn't even have a multi-speed gearbox! Here is how BYD's DM-i (Dual Mode Intelligent) system actually works and the exact settings to keep it whisper-quiet on long trips.

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Why It Revs Loudly When Battery Drops Below 25%

Unlike a traditional car where engine RPM is locked to wheel speed, the Sealion 6 / Seal U DM-i operates primarily as a Series Hybrid below ~70 km/h (and under heavy load). The 1.5L engine spins a dedicated generator to feed electricity to the drive motor and Blade Battery.

• If you run the battery all the way down to 18%–25% SOC in EV Mode and then hit a steep hill or accelerate onto a 110 km/h motorway, the BMS enters Forced Charge Protection. It commands the engine to run at peak power RPM (~4,200 RPM) to rapidly rebuild a safety buffer in the battery.

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The 3-Step Fix for Silent Highway Cruising

1. Swipe down on the DiLink screen → Energy Management.
2. Change SOC Save Mode from Auto to Custom and slide the target to 50% (or 60% if hilly) before your battery drops below 50%.
3. Switch the centre console toggle from EV to HEV as soon as you enter the motorway (80–110 km/h).
4. Once you are within 35–40 km of home (or your destination charger), flick it back to EV Mode so you arrive home at ~15–20% SOC and fill up on cheap solar/night-rate electricity!

One of the biggest misconceptions from people coming over from NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) EVs is thinking "I should only ever charge my BYD between 20% and 80%".
Do NOT do that on a BYD LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) Blade Battery! Here is the engineering reason why, and the exact calibration procedure recommended for all BYD EVs and DM-i PHEVs.

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Why LFP Needs 100% Top-Balancing

An LFP cell has an extremely flat voltage curve between 15% and 95% SOC — sitting almost unchanged around 3.28V – 3.33V. Because of that flat curve, the Battery Management System (BMS) relies on coulomb counting (measuring amps in/out) to estimate your dashboard percentage.

• Over weeks of partial 30% → 70% top-ups, small coulomb-counting drift accumulates (up to 8–12% error!).
• It is only when the cells reach the steep upper "knee" of the LFP voltage curve at 3.60V – 3.65V per cell (99%–100% SOC) that the BMS can reset its 100% reference point and activate the passive bleed resistors to balance all cells evenly.

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The Official 2-Part LFP Calibration Procedure

1. Weekly Routine: Charge your BYD to 100% on AC at least once a week (and leave it plugged in for 30–45 minutes after hitting 100% until the wallbox reports 0.0 kW so cell balancing finishes).
2. Every 3 Months (Deep Calibration): Drive the car down to 7%–9% SOC, let it sit parked for 30 minutes so cell voltages settle, and then do a continuous 7kW / 11kW AC charge all the way to 100% until the charger automatically stops.