Yesterday, BYD launched the Qin PLUS Honor Edition, starting at 79,800 yuan (11090$), with a direct discount of 20,000 yuan (2780$). Changan immediately followed suit, offering a 11,000 yuan (1530$) discount on its flagship model, the E-Pro A05, with a starting price of only 78,900 yuan (10970$). Now the two cars are only 900 yuan (130$) apart. Let’s analyze which one is more cost-effective to buy, and see whether the price reduction has increased the advantage of the Qin PLUS or narrowed the gap with the E-Pro. BYD takes the initiative.
In terms of brand and model, BYD has the upper hand. With the emergence of DM-i technology, BYD’s sales have surged. The most prominent representative model of DM-i is Qin PLUS, which has accumulated 1.34 million users in just over 3 years. Last year alone, 480,000 units were sold. “Nationality” is not comparable to ordinary models. The Qiyuan A05 was only launched at the end of October last year, which is not even half a year, let alone the fact that the Qiyuan brand is too new for many people. More time is needed to capture the minds of consumers. Appearance: Sensory and “durable”
Of course, many people who buy cars do not like to “clash” with others and do not want their cars to become commonplace. They prefer something fresh, which is where Qiyuan comes in. These two cars were born in 2021 and 2023, with only a 2-year difference, but their styles are very different.
BYD’s conventional, still retains the intake grille, conventional door handles, and so on. Without saying it is a plug-in hybrid, you might think it is a pure fuel vehicle. But the lines are smooth, round, and have a homey feel without being too old-fashioned, belonging to the “durable” type, and will not be outdated in a few more years.
The design of the Qiyuan A05 is quite avant-garde, and overall it is quite simple. The closed front face combined with the extremely thin and long headlights looks sharp and sporty. The hidden door handles, although common, are not often seen on a car in the 80,000 yuan (11120$) price range, which should appeal to younger buyers. Overall, the design of the Qiyuan is quite stylish and unique, appealing to those who want to stand out. Interior space: Modern intelligence vs practicality is the priority.
The interior and exterior of the Qiyuan A05 are of the same style, still different from others, simplifying physical buttons as much as possible, using screens and voice control whenever possible, making its interior simple and electric. The narrow-border rectangular full LCD instrument panel is 10.25 inches, while the vertical central control screen is 13.2 inches, both with a strong visual impact. At the same time, the steering wheel has a rare double-spoke flat shape, combined with a floating gear lever and two-tone interior, making the interior of the car refreshing and fashionable.
BYD is more traditional, with a typical family style and a small Han feeling. It is symmetrical on both sides, with some piano lacquer panels and dual-color effects, creating a practical feeling. The biggest highlight of the car interior is BYD’s rotating large screen, which can be used horizontally for navigation and vertically for watching videos. The screen covers a large number of commonly used apps, making it like a car-mounted iPad. The instrument panel size is 8.8 inches, which is a normal size after consumers’ strong feedback, eliminating any shortcomings.
The dimensions of the two cars are similar. The QY A05 has the advantage in length, width, and wheelbase, while the Qin PLUS is leading in height, which is good for cars with battery under the bottom, as the vertical space doesn’t need to be squeezed so much. However, there is really not much difference in overall seating space. It’s just worth noting that the lowest two versions of the QY A05 have fabric seats, while all versions of the Qin PLUS have leather seats. Power: Acceleration and endurance are better in the QY.
Both cars are equipped with plug-in hybrid systems, consisting of a 1.5L engine, a drive motor, and a single-speed gearbox. BYD calls it DM-i, while Qoros calls it Smart AI Electric Drive. Qoros A05 engine produces 81kW/143Nm, and the electric motor produces 158kW/330Nm; Qin PLUS engine produces 81kW/135Nm, and the electric motor produces 145kW/325Nm. The parallel-serial structure of these two sets has their own power logic, which cannot be simply added or subtracted. However, we can look at the 0-100km/h acceleration to see which one has better power. Qoros A05 is 6.8 seconds, while Qin PLUS is 7.3 seconds, with a difference of half a second. Qoros A05 has a more aggressive acceleration, but both cars are completely sufficient for household use.
In terms of battery, the ternary lithium battery pack of the Qiyuan A05 is larger, with 9.07 kWh, while the Qin PLUS has only 8.32 kWh, which is BYD’s own lithium iron phosphate blade battery, with a slightly lower energy density. Therefore, the pure electric range of the Qiyuan A05 in WLTC also has a slight advantage, but the overall difference is not really big. It can be said that Qiyuan directly targeted BYD as the benchmark when creating this car, with significant overlap in various dimensions. This is also the reason they have become competitors.
But as a latecomer, Qiyuan also has some newer technologies, such as the global debut of the 10-layer Hairpin flat wire oil-cooled electric motor technology, while the commonly used on the market is only 6 layers, including the competitive model Qin PLUS. Multi-layered copper flat wire can effectively improve the utilization of materials, achieve higher power and efficiency, and its power density reaches 7kW/kg, with the highest efficiency of 97.8%. This is one of the reasons why the power of the Qiyuan A05 motor is greater than that of the Qin PLUS motor mentioned above. Configuration: BYD still controls costs well For some people, the power feeling may not be very strong, after all, you can still drive a pure 1.5L naturally aspirated car to 120km/h, at most it just accelerates a little slower.
But the car’s interior configuration is easy to feel, I put a table, using the entry-level version as an example, the Qiyuan A05 is 900 yuan (130$) cheaper but lacks a lot of things. In summary
Actually, both cars are quite worth it. 8,000 yuan (1110$) to buy a 4.7-meter-long plug-in family car, basically all the necessary configurations are there. If you have no concept, think about the power, size, and configuration of the Fit, it also sells for 8,000 yuan (1110$). But in the comparison of the two choices, the Qin PLUS is still more cost-effective. Of course, the Qiyuan A05 is younger, more individual, and has a sense of fashion. If you like to try new things, you can also take a look.