Denza B5 and B8 Get Suspension That Can Change Your Tyre For You

If you've ever had a flat tyre on a remote WA road — gravel shoulder, no shade, wedge-under-the-diff territory — you'll immediately understand why this suspension upgrade matters. Denza has revealed a significantly upgraded hydraulic suspension system for its B5 and B8 plug-in hybrid 4WDs, and the headline trick is one that outback travellers will appreciate straight away.

What DiSus-P Ultra Actually Does

The existing Denza B5 and B8 sold in Australia already come with a hydraulically-controlled adaptive damping system called DiSus-P, which handles height and ride comfort adjustment. The new system, called DiSus-P Ultra, takes things considerably further.

The upgrade swaps single-valve dampers for a dual-valve setup, stretches suspension travel from 140mm to 200mm, and adds three-stage stiffness adjustment (up from two). There's also a road preview function that reads the terrain ahead and prepares the suspension before the wheels hit an uneven surface — useful whether you're crawling through the Pilbara or navigating the potholes on Tonkin Highway after a wet winter.

The party trick, though, is independent wheel control. The system can raise a single wheel off the ground — no jack required — and hold it there for up to 24 hours while you swap a tyre. For anyone who's tried to use a scissor jack on soft red dirt, that's a genuinely practical feature.

Fangchengbao (BYD's Chinese brand name for these vehicles) also demonstrated a three-wheel driving mode at up to 15km/h, letting you crawl the vehicle to a safer location with a damaged wheel lifted clear. If you blow a tyre on a narrow section of the Northwest Coastal Highway, being able to move the car off the road before dealing with it is not a small thing.

The suspension can also run an escape function that individually adjusts each corner and redistributes vehicle weight to maximise traction when you're stuck — think soft sand near Lancelin or a boggy track in the South West.

Height adjustment ranges from 110mm above standard ride height down to 90mm below it, with a total lifting capacity of nine tonnes.

What's Changed Under the Bonnet Too

The suspension isn't the only upgrade revealed for the Chinese market. Both the B5 and B8 have received larger 46.7kWh plug-in hybrid batteries, up from 31.8kWh in the Australian B5 and 36.8kWh in the B8. The new batteries are also compatible with BYD's 1500kW Flash charging — a massive leap from the 100kW and 120kW DC charging rates available on the current Australian models.

Power figures have also shifted on paper. The B5's 1.5-litre engine and dual-motor setup moves from 400kW to 505kW, while the 2.0-litre B8 climbs from 425kW to 550kW. Both retain 760Nm of torque. Denza notes the B8's 0-100km/h time stays at 4.8 seconds despite the power increase, suggesting the change is partly in how outputs are calculated rather than a major mechanical overhaul.

When Does Australia Get It?

Honestly, not soon — and possibly not at all in this exact form. BYD Australia has told media it has no information about the updated model at this stage. The DiSus-P Ultra system and updated batteries will debut first in China, where the B5 and B8 are sold as the Bao 5 and Bao 8 under the Fangchengbao brand.

What WA buyers can take from this: the current Australian-spec Denza B5 and B8 already offer the existing DiSus-P suspension system, and these vehicles are genuinely capable off-road tourers with real-world credentials for long-distance WA travel. If the upgraded hardware eventually makes it here, it'll only strengthen that case. Keep an eye on how BYD Australia's update schedule plays out — given how quickly the brand has been expanding its local lineup, a mid-cycle update isn't out of the question.