Denza Bao 5 vs Land Rover Defender: China takes on the UK in battle of the posh off-roaders

Many Chinese cars sell in the UK by being cheaper than the established brands, but Denza is different. It’s aiming square at the luxury big-hitters, with price tags to match.

Take the Denza Bao 5 for example. It’s a big, posh off-roader which, at almost £70,000, costs around £5,000 more than a basic Land Rover Defender. It’s a bold strategy in a segment of the market where the badge on the bonnet matters, so does the Bao 5 do enough to justify the price tag?

Let’s compare them to find out.

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New Denza Bao 5 vs Land Rover Defender: prices

There’s more to this price difference than meets the eye. Let me explain.

The Denza Bao 5 starts from £69,500, and for that you get a boat load of standard equipment. It has heated and ventilated front seats which can massage you, heated rear seats, a posh sound system, adaptive cruise control and a massive central screen.

An extra £8,500 gets you the Ultimate version with adjustable suspension, a fridge, heated and ventilated rear seats and a digital rear-view mirror.

The Bao 5 is also only available with one engine – a plug-in hybrid which I’ll talk about more in a bit.

As for the Land Rover, it may start from just over £64,000, but that’s for the basic version with a mild hybrid diesel engine. Go for the PHEV version and it’ll top £71,000, and that’s before you’ve added the equipment to match the Denza.

By the time you’ve faffed around with the options, an equivalent Defender will cost you over £80,000, and even then it won’t match the Denza’s performance.

New Denza Bao 5 vs Land Rover Defender: engines and performance

The Denza Bao 5 has a 1.5-litre petrol engine. You know, like my Skoda Fabia does. That doesn’t sound very impressive for £70,000, but the engine isn’t alone.

There’s also an electric motor on each axle, and that engine just acts as a generator to charge the battery. In total, you have 544hp, and the Bao 5 will do 0-60mph in under 5.0 seconds. That’s almost as quick as a Volkswagen Golf R, in a car that weighs almost three tonnes.

The plug-in hybrid Defender has 300hp, and 0-60mph takes 7.4 seconds. If you want a Defender with similar performance to the Denza, you have to get the £150,000 Octa version.

We’ve only had a brief go in the Bao 5, but on first impressions it’s not quite as refined as the Defender on the road. It has an old-school ladder frame chassis, which should make it hugely capable off-road, but on the tarmac it doesn’t smooth out Britain’s potholed roads in quite the same way a Defender can.

New Denza Bao 5 vs Land Rover Defender: interior and practicality

When you’re spending this sort of money on a car, the interior matters. Good news for the Bao 5, it feels suitably posh inside. There are no squeaks or rattles, and all the leather feels really plush. It’s a lovely place to sit, and in some ways it feels nicer than the Defender.

The Land Rover has a more rugged vibe inside, with tough-looking exposed screw heads and solid beams across the dashboard. It feels solid and looks cool, but doesn’t have quite the same luxury vibe as the Bao 5.

However, for a car which is actually longer than a Defender 110, the Denza is only averagely roomy inside. Four adults will be fine, but three across the rear bench is a squeeze. The 475-litre boot is nothing to write home about either – it’s a whopping 300 litres down on the Defender.

Final verdict: does the Denza Bao 5 have what it takes?

We’ve only had a brief go in the Denza Bao 5, but on first impressions it’s an impressive thing. The price tag is easier to swallow when you realise what you get for the money, and the interior is undeniably lovely.

However, the unsettled suspension and mediocre interior space work against it. Plus, brand cachet really matters at this end of the market. Denza will have its work cut out tempting customers from Land Rover and Mercedes into a Bao 5.

It’s an impressive beast, but based on the evidence we have so far a Land Rover Defender is still the best bet.

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