BYD Frigate 07 -Hybrid PHEV

【Car Purchase Experience】
It wasn't a刚需 (urgent need); I originally planned to buy a car in 2023 and wasn't in a hurry. One afternoon in February, I casually visited a Shengshi dealership. I looked at the Song PLUS, and while waiting for a test drive, I noticed the Frigate. I took it for a quick test drive and was a bit tempted, and the price seemed acceptable. Compared to the Frigate, the Song PLUS's rear row is a bit cramped. In terms of driver's seat space, the Frigate is more comfortable.

【Driving Experience】
Usage scenarios: Occasional city driving, and returning to the village a few times during holidays.

1. Range and Fuel Consumption:
Location: Zhejiang. In normal mode with low battery, fuel consumption is 5.3L per 100km. In HEV强制保电 (forced battery preservation) mode, fuel consumption is 4.8–5.1L per 100km. This translates to approximately 0.37–0.43 yuan per kilometer. Pure electric mode costs about 0.2 yuan per kilometer (no parking space, charge at public charging stations in the community when available, commercial electricity is 1.4 yuan per kWh).

2. Driving Experience:
As a new driver, I prefer a steady driving style. Power is readily available; acceleration on elevated roads is very fast. The engine is barely noticeable. Only occasionally, when in HEV强制保电 (forced battery preservation) mode and stopping with the brake, can a slight fluctuation be felt, and when the car rolled back once while failing to park on an incline, the engine started with a loud noise while stationary. Most of the time, the engine is basically imperceptible (below 10km/h is simulated engine sound, which can be adjusted). The brakes have two options: sport and comfort. Comfort is softer, close to a fuel car; sport is slightly harder but not as hard as pure electric cars. Overall, it's very comfortable. The steering also has two modes: sport and comfort; comfort is more effortless. However, the Frigate 07's steering wheel itself is on the heavier side. As a female driver, I usually drive in comfort mode. If switching to sport mode on the highway, enabling lane keeping, and配合 (combining with) cruise control, it should be very enjoyable.

3. Chassis: It's much more comfortable on rough roads. There's no discomfort on patched roads. Very bad roads feel a bit摇晃 (shaky) but not bumpy. When picking up the car, the tire pressure was too high, causing some bouncing; make sure the 4S shop adjusts it to normal. Overall, it gives a stable and safe feeling. As a new driver, I can't compare it with other cars, but generally, this car can meet my needs.

4. Sound Insulation: Depends on road conditions and vehicle speed. At around 80km/h on poor road conditions, there will be some tire noise and a small amount of wind noise. On newly paved roads, tire noise is significantly reduced. Other noises besides tire noise are negligible. Sound insulation on ordinary city roads is good.

5. Intelligence: The customized Gaode navigation version is usable, with early advance reminders and fast路况 (road condition) updates; basically satisfied. The 360-degree automatic parking, because the 215,800 yuan version has fewer cameras, has some blind spots at the four corners. But it will automatically brake when reversing close to an obstacle, which is suitable for new drivers. However, it's recommended not to rely entirely on 360 and automatic braking.

6. Others: Parking is a bit difficult.
7. The chassis is relatively high, and the battery pack is positioned high. The lowest point of the chassis should be the wiring harness guard at the front of the car.

【Least Satisfied】
1. No physical buttons for memory seats. Currently, I'm the only one driving, so it's okay, but if two people were to switch driving, I wouldn't know how to adjust it.
2. The cup holders are a bit useless; they can only hold keys.
3. There's actually no storage space under the left side of the steering wheel! Huh? I don't understand.
4. The interior rearview mirror is normal during the day but too dark at night; only the headlights of the car behind can be seen at night.
I have no issues adapting to other aspects like the instrument panel, door handles, and the BYD logo on the front. The door handle design is quite interesting; it directly reduces the danger of opening the door without looking at the rearview mirror. The BYD logo on the front of the car isn't as prominent in real life as in photos; it's less noticeable. The instrument panel is sufficient. If it had a head-up display, I might not use the instrument panel much. However, I experience 3D vertigo and get dizzy looking at static objects, so HUD isn't suitable for me, hence I chose the 215,800 yuan version.

【Most Satisfied】
1. The biggest surprise: Although the car is large, steering and U-turning are very灵活 (flexible)!!! Once, a large vehicle turned left without signaling and didn't yield to oncoming traffic; the flexible steering and a kick of throttle allowed me to dodge it directly.
2. Space! Space! Still space. For my height of 170cm, it's just right. The rear row allows crossing legs, and the trunk is very large; we can easily fit four 24–26-inch suitcases.
3. The 苍烟灰 (pale smoke gray) paint is very耐脏 (dirt-resistant), suitable for someone like me who's lazy.

【Riding Experience】
Mostly driven by myself since picking it up, but colleagues and friends who have ridden in it all say it's comfortable. The front passenger can stretch their legs straight. Hope to train my husband to drive soon so I can sit in the front passenger seat and enjoy.

【Summary】
Many people compare this car with the Tang, but I personally think it's not appropriate; the two models have completely different styles. I directly compared it with the Song PLUS, considering whether I was willing to spend an extra forty to fifty thousand yuan for better sound insulation, chassis, and space. My answer is yes, to give my family and myself a more comfortable experience. Overall, I think it's a qualified and comfortable family car.

Personal positioning of this car: family car, really just a family car.

When buying the car, I valued space and riding comfort. During the test drive, the whole family of five sat in it and still felt spacious, so I placed an order. I also looked at ZRV, Haoying, Tang and Song PLUS before. I drove a Fit for 6 years previously. The main reason for choosing the Frigate was space and comfort; the 7-seat version of Tang was really useless. In addition, the linear and smooth acceleration of electric start is something that fuel cars can't match. I originally planned to compare several Haval models, but it was hard to find one that the whole family was satisfied with, so I didn't bother (partly because I was lazy, and also had the awareness to be the family driver).

First, let's talk about the more satisfactory aspects, mainly because I'm afraid that the complaints below will be too harsh, and everyone will think I'm crazy for buying it with so many flaws. Before buying the car, I also compared on Dongchedi, and the configuration and performance can't be much higher at this price. The evaluation is still that word: balanced.
1. Fuel consumption is satisfactory. Recently, I've been running HEV mileage, basically driving in the urban area of Shenyang. With forced battery preservation, ECO mode uses less than 7L per 100km, Normal and Sport less than 8L. With intelligent battery preservation, it doesn't matter what percentage you set; the engine basically won't intervene frequently until it's below 25%, so the battery can't be preserved, and fuel is basically not consumed. On the highway with air conditioning, the displayed fuel consumption is about 6-8L. The May Day traffic was too heavy, the speed was unstable, and I set the dynamic mileage which I feel is inaccurate. I'll do an actual test when I have the chance. But for such a big car, the fuel consumption isn't surprising, but meets expectations.
2. Sound insulation is satisfactory. I've seen some say the engine, tire noise, and wind noise are loud, but I don't feel it's that obvious. Whether in the city or on the highway, you won't notice it if you don't pay attention.
3. The sound system is satisfactory (even though mine isn't Dynaudio). This thing is still largely related to music quality, and my ears aren't professional. I like playing with the sound field position control the most. When my son wants to listen to songs, I set it to play in the back; otherwise, I'd be annoyed to death.
4. Riding space is satisfactory. I'm 182cm tall (a man's执着 about height precision), and the driver's seat space is more than enough. Moreover, the steering wheel is adjustable forwards and backwards; although the adjustment range isn't large, it's enough to solve my short arm span problem. Otherwise, if my arms are comfortable, my knees would hit; if my legs are comfortable, my upper body would have to sit straight.
5. Visibility is satisfactory, mainly because the A-pillar doesn't block the view. This may vary from person to person, but I think the position and angle are just right, which has cured my A-pillar blind spot anxiety.
6. "Hello Xiaodi" responds well, basically meeting daily operations. At the same time, the center console retains some physical function buttons, so there's no need to search around on the PAD or wake up via voice.
7. I don't really understand the chassis texture, but there's no nodding phenomenon, no obvious body roll, and it's stable on the highway.
8. Acceleration is quite satisfactory; there's no abnormal feeling even at 170km/h. The ECO, Normal, and Sport modes mainly differ in the sensitivity after stepping on the pedal and the speed of output increase. I haven't noticed any weakness at any speed stage.

Regarding the drawbacks, I noticed some when choosing the car, but after weighing, I still thought the overall cost-effectiveness within the budget was high and balanced. I endured them then (the awareness of being a driver). After driving for a month, there are some drawbacks I want to share with people who value driving experience:
1. The biggest drawback: the center console design! I feel this design was completely decided by a few leaders slapping their foreheads. This contradictory feeling of wanting both this and that pervades the entire center console area. Anyway, it's not designed for the driver. The driver is also a person; please consider the driver's usage scenarios~ Since the gear lever is kept in the middle, I also think retaining more function buttons is good. But is that thing behind a cup holder? If my aesthetics are low, maybe it's a storage space for tissues and small items, just made into the shape of a cup holder. That cup holder, placed in that position, holding a water bottle, coffee, etc., makes the center console area, especially the gear lever, extremely awkward and obstructive. Moreover, it's small and shallow, and the rubber protrusions on the inner wall are probably glued on; I dare not put hot drinks for fear of damaging them. What scenario was the large and deep storage space behind considered for? Holding an umbrella? Putting a plastic bag as a trash can for the back row? The space under the center console is quite large; it's okay to put a small bag or box. But to take things, you have to move your legs aside, lean forward, and reach down blindly at an angle. And why can't the light there be controlled separately?! At night, when there's no one in the passenger seat, it really reflects! The rearview mirror is already hard to see because of the tinted film, and the reflection takes a few seconds to get used to (don't tell me there's a 360-degree camera; it's not just for reversing. That light's switch is connected to the low beam, so it stays on when driving at night. Old drivers have the habit of looking at the mirror).
2. When making small turns, sharp turns, U-turns, etc., you can't step on the gas hard. There have been multiple instances where the steering wheel doesn't return to center, and even the phenomenon of the steering wheel fighting back. I didn't discuss it clearly with after-sales service; currently, it's推测 to be tire slip, but I haven't had someone verify it. The steering wheel is really heavy; it's recommended to adjust the steering wheel in time when making sharp turns or fast cornering.
3. The steering wheel is too heavy, and there's no road feedback. I don't know why. I plan to find after-sales service to check the steering wheel return issue together when I have time.
4. Car machine issues. Although it's a newly launched car and may be upgraded in the future, after checking other BYD owners' circles, I really feel like saying, "You should be more careful." Why is there no Baidu Maps car version? I can't even find the Frigate 07 in Baidu Maps vehicle certification~~ How embarrassing. The 5G data is also insufficient; can we consider integrating mobile phone screen sharing or something?
5. For intelligent driving, maybe my expectations were high, but currently, I feel like removing the cruise control and lane-keeping buttons. The acceleration and braking drag of the cruise control is too torturous. I haven't used lane centering; on the highway, I only trust myself (there are my wife and children in the car), and it's not useful at low speeds. I hope I never have to use the automatic emergency braking function, and I think the driver is responsible for safety, so this function is redundant for me.
6. I've been driving for a month now, but I can still smell a slight glue odor, coming from the door side...

【Driving Experience】
The driving experience is quite good overall!
When the car is stationary, slight movements inside (like leg shaking) can make the car feel wobbly, but when driving, whether on curves or bumpy roads, it feels very comfortable. All the unwanted vibrations are filtered out, and the necessary feedback is still perceptible.

【Fuel Consumption】 and 【Range】
I spent 2 days getting the license plate, driving a total of 53 kilometers. The temperature was between -3 to 11 degrees Celsius, and it was all urban roads. I charged once from 20% to 99%, which took 1 hour and 22 minutes. The off-peak electricity rate was 1.131 yuan per kWh, costing 20 yuan.
Normally, a full charge should allow it to run about 80 kilometers. This time, it only ran 53 kilometers because I spent too much time waiting in line for the license plate; over the two days, I left it on standby for almost ten hours, watching movies, listening to music, etc.
Last night, I charged for the second time, from 20% to 100%, which took 1 hour and 33 minutes to fully charge, using 17.04 kWh of electricity and costing 13.43 yuan.

【Space Performance】
The interior space is very, very, very, really large. You can stretch your legs in the back seat.

【Maintenance Cost】
Regarding maintenance costs, I think they might be high after 3 or 5 years. There are too many electronic products in the car, and all electronic products have a lifespan. Will it be like consumer electronics? Time will tell.

【Highlight Features】
Front-row acoustic glass, rear privacy glass, lane keeping, full-speed adaptive cruise control, driver fatigue detection, automatic windshield wipers, fully automatic headlights, interior ambient lights, interior touch-sensitive reading lights, etc., are all available.
It’s worth mentioning that the vanity mirrors on the sun visors for both the driver and front passenger have a cover. When the cover is opened, a small light above the mirror automatically turns on, and when the cover is closed, the light automatically turns off. It’s quite user-friendly.
In addition, the sound system is really good.

【Most Dissatisfying】
The most dissatisfying aspects are the driver's instrument panel and the front-end appearance.