When I drove the BYD Shark 6 DMO, I was not on some fancy test track or high-speed circuit. I was at S&R. The kind of trip where you promise to “just buy one thing,” and end up with 12 new pillows and a lifetime supply of kitchen rolls.

But here’s where the Shark started showing its fangs. Despite the mountain of bulky pillows, the truck barely noticed. The bed swallowed everything easily and the air purification system made sure we didn’t suffocate under the smell of freshly unboxed memory foam. 

A day earlier, I took it for something more fun, a light-traffic road trip from Manila to Pampanga with my friends. We had a good time, cruising at 100 km/h, barely noticing it. The pickup stayed planted and quiet. The BYD Shark glided; it felt like I was driving an SUV that happened to have muscles.

We stopped, of course, at the original Aling Lucing near the riles because no trip to Pampanga is complete without sisig. One that could raise your cholesterol and your happiness at the same time. 

It is not an ordinary pickup. The BYD Shark 6 DMO runs on a plug-in hybrid system that pairs a 1.5-liter turbo gas engine with electric motors and BYD’s signature Blade Battery. 

It’s powerful (over 400 hp combined), fast (0–100 km/h in about 5.7 seconds), and really quiet.  It’s a full-sized pickup (5,457 mm long, 1,971 mm wide, 1,925 mm tall, 3,260 mm wheelbase, ~230 mm ground clearance).

And when you switch to electric mode, it can go up to 100 kilometers without burning a drop of gas. But I always keep it on HEV mode, just because it gives me the best of both worlds.

Quiet and efficient in city drives, yet ready to pull hard when I need to overtake that one driver on turtle pace because he was busy texting or scrolling reels on his phone. 

On the highway, the transition between electric and gas is so seamless. In some hybrids, you can feel an extremely tiny jolt when it shifts from electric to engine.

The center console near the gear selector looks like something out of a plane cabin, rows of proper switches and a digital dashboard like it’s about to take off. It even has that Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature, so you can power your gadgets (or maybe your karaoke machine) during camping trips because Pinoys don’t camp without music.

The rear seats have real legroom, not “knee-touching-the-front” kind of legroom, but proper space where you can nap comfortably. The air-conditioning works like a mini-climate spa, and the air purifier helps keep that “fresh from sisigan” air out of your lungs.

At over five meters long, the Shark is undeniably big. And in a tight parking space, patience is a virtue. You’ll need to take it slow and let the 360-degree cameras and sensors guide you. But that’s part of the learning curve. 

The steering is light; it doesn’t make you feel like you’re wrestling with a truck. Once you get used to the size, it drives with surprising ease, especially if you’re used to compact SUVs.

BYD calls it the Shark, and it fits. It’s big, quiet, graceful and unexpectedly smart. It’s the kind of pickup that can devour a highway one day and bring home new pillows the next.

In a sea of traditional diesel trucks that roar, the Shark glides by in silence. Power does not always have to be loud.

Yesterday, I took a trip to Cavite to visit my parents’ resting place. The road was calm and for a while, the Shark’s quiet hum felt like a companion that understood the mood. It was respectful and almost comforting, like it knew when to keep still.

As I parked and looked at it, I thought this might just be the first pickup that carried everything I needed. Pillows, family, friends, memories, and peace.

That was my story on the road with the BYD Shark 6 DMO.

I still have the Shark for another day. I don’t know if I’ll end up in Tagaytay, Baguio, Batangas, or the nearest car wash pretending I’m on a road trip again. Either way, I’m excited because this pickup makes every trip feel like an adventure and every stop feels like a story worth telling.