In Part 1 of our interview with 4X4-industry personality MadMatt 4WD, we explored the reasons why this rusted-on Toyota fan decided a BYD Shark 6 would be his very first brand new vehicle purchase.
If that wasn’t enough, he decided to put it through the ultimate challenge, an attempt to be the first to complete a desert crossing in the plug-in hybrid dual cab ute. Initial plans were stymied when the desert closed due to weather.
Thankfully that was only a short delay before the team were off to Mt Dare, the western entry point to the Simpson Desert. “The issues with rain necessitated entry from the west rather than Birdsville as we had originally planned,” Matt said.
The intended route along the French Line was a measure of self-preservation, given the fact it’s regarded as the most basic route across the 1100-odd sand dunes that make up the Simpson.
“We really didn’t know how the Shark was going to go out there, so we thought we’d err on the side of caution,” he said.
With plenty of standing water following the weather, “the team did have the contingency and permits to take the Madigan Line up through the Hay River track to the Plenty Highway, which would have been 800kms of desert”.
That was an anxiety-prompting proposition during planning, but with the benefit of hindsight, Matt and the team now know the alternate route would have been possible. For those wondering, yes, the BYD Shark 6 did complete the crossing successfully.
If there was a catch, it was that it required an unprecedented level of planning. This is despite an experienced crew that had completed multiple crossings of the Simpson Desert in the past.
“In one of my Toyota’s I’d just jump in, make sure the long-range tanks were topped up and maybe take a jerry [can] or two as contingency, but that simply wasn’t possible here,” explained Matt.
He went on to say that “this is where the shorter trip we took into regional NSW following the desert closure actually gave us some clues as to what would be required”.
“Range is critical on a trip like this and with a 60-litre main tank, we knew we were going to need to carry extra jerry cans to facilitate the trip.” This required careful consideration of the remaining modifications given the payload.
A winch was customised to fit in the factory front bull bar, which came with a rated recovery point. GME provided communications in the form of a UHF radio and aerial, while Maxxis Rubber on Mullins wheels manage contact with terra-firma.
Kings Springs gave slightly more clearance and sleeping quarters were handle by a Bushwakka rooftop tent on a HSP tub rack. Outside of these additions, a separate tray-mounted AGM battery was added to run the winch.
“One of the things that I most enjoyed about camping out of the Shark was that fact that we could power our campsite,” Matt said.
“There’s plenty of power on hand with three 240v outlets, so much so that I brought a heater and heated blankets – it gets pretty cold in the desert at night,” he explained.
“And if we were to accidently draw the main battery dry, which would be a tall order in any case, in the morning it’s just about hitting the starter button and letting the petrol engine charge the batteries up.”
Calculations around fuel requirements were guided by experience driving the Shark 6 on, and off road in the lead-up to the crossing. “We knew we were getting about 10-litres/100km on the road and 20-litres/100km on the freeway,” Matt said.
“In my Toyotas, I was used to running about 30-litres/100km across the desert so we used that as a benchmark.” The team commenced the crossing with 240-litres of fuel on board, including the 60-litre vehicle tank.
“Ultimately, we used 30-litres/100km undertaking the crossing.” For perspective, the camera car, a fully loaded 79 Series Toyota LandCruiser, burned through 27-litres/100km. Determining fuel usage and range wasn’t the only challenge though.
There was a breakdown not long into the trip. “We had a mechanical challenge with the rear brake callipers which proved to be quite concerning,” Matt added.
“Due to the design of the rear brake callipers and the brake lines, the corrugations saw the brake line banjo-bolt come loose and we lost brakes.” It was a harrowing moment that led to learnings around the challenges of getting a vehicle like this going again, trackside.
The Shark 6’s internal protection mechanisms limited speed after the mechanical fixes were completed too. “We don’t know exactly what happened, but we did bleed the brakes. We got a bit of air out of it, so we thought we were good,” he said.
“But the car literally limited itself to 60km/h afterwards.” Not the end of the world when crossing the desert, but there are circumstances where extra pace can be helpful, on some of the larger dunes. Then there was the drive home from Birdsville to think about too.
The system did sort itself out in the background, and in Matt’s opinion this is a testament to “the controls in place that seem to be there to ensure the Shark doesn’t leave you on the side of the road, it just works it out”.
While the rest of the trip was uneventful from a reliability perspective, it continued to presented challenges in driving style.
“The trip out west helped us get a gauge of capability, but the often soft and deep sand of the desert, along with the dunes, were another challenge again.” Despite this “I actually loved driving this off road because it’s just stimulating”.
When asked whether he thought buying a BYD Shark 6 to tour the country is a viable option, Matt’s response was clear. “There’s a lot to like about the Shark.” he said.
“It’s comfortable beyond anything I’d ever experienced and yes, it is competent enough to do some wheeling. But stopping every 300km to fuel up is an issue and inconvenience given that’s not how I like to travel.”
It’s an issue we expect the aftermarket to alleviate with long range tanks at some point. “The reality is what I’ve made this vehicle do is not what BYD would’ve designed it for, but we had a stack of fun learning about it along the way.”
You watch the 5-part series of Matt’s adventure with the BYD Shark 6 on his Youtube channel.
