A Chinese electric sports sedan should make things difficult for Tesla in particular. Let’s see if the BYD Seal holds up during a test in Germany.
That must be said: BYD shows courage. The news flew into Munich and was allowed to drive towards the Tegernsee via a nice mix of the autobahn and German country roads. Many manufacturers do not dare to drive on the autobahn, because that is where a car sometimes breaks down. The Tesla Model 3 Performance may reach top speed once, but then the drivetrain overheats (we already did a test against a Tacyan). By the way, BYD makes it easier for itself by setting the top speed limiter at a rather cowardly 180 km/h. At the same time, I realize that high top speeds are irrelevant in the real world.
The company BYD
With all the Chinese newcomers flooding Europe, it’s always good to take a closer look at the company behind it. BYD auto was founded in 2003 as the automotive branch of BYD, a multinational high-tech company. A tech company, for example, that makes about half of the iPads worldwide.
BYD is also doing well in the automotive field. In China they sold 1.55 million NEVs (New Energy Vehicles) in the first half of the year, making them the market leader. In case you’re wondering, NEVs are indeed fully electric cars (BEV), but also plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). BYD no longer builds cars with only a combustion engine.
BYD Seal and the ocean line
Just like the BYD Dophin, the BYD Seal is part of the BYD Ocean line. The Dolphin is an affordable, compact electric crossover, which looks rather lame in my opinion. BYD itself mentions the Ocean Aesthetics design concept, but I have some difficulty seeing a line between the dolphin and the seal.
Fortunately, the BYD Seal looks quite nice and has good aerodynamics. The cW value is 0.219 and that without the design being too “aerodynamic”. Since you also want to place the BYD Seal somewhere: the Seal is 4.8 meters long, 1.9m wide and 150cm high. That is very close to the values of the Model 3. Other competitors seem to us to be the BMW i4 and the Hyundai IONIQ6.
Thanks to the battery pack integrated in the floor, there is a flat floor in the interior. Space in the front and back is excellent. For the number fetishists among you: the luggage compartment is 402 liters and there is a frunk of 53 liters.
Quiet and comfortable
Most EVs are pretty quiet and the Seal doesn’t disappoint either. Even at autobahn speeds, the cabin remains calm. The chassis absorbs most bumps well, but occasionally the rear sags on larger transverse ridges. So everything is fine? Partly, because the installed sports seats are not uncomfortable. However, they have few adjustment options and their seats are far too short. The rest of the interior is neat, but BYD does not yet achieve the proverbial Audi quality.
The Seal is only quiet if you dim all driver assistance systems a bit. In the standard setting (which is unfortunately now semi-mandatory) most Europeans will be quite disturbed by the beeping and panicky steering interventions by the ADAS systems. I owe you the exact wording in BYD’s infotainment system, but you should turn off the following systems for a quiet drive. The traffic sign recognition and the active lane keeping feature. Both work only moderately, we already made a complete video about intelligent speed assist. The management summary: that doesn’t work well for any brand.
Lots of power for the BYD Seal
Initially, two versions of the BYD Seal will be available on the Dutch market, with another version with a smaller battery coming in the second half of 2024. The entry-level model is the RWD, which has one electric motor that delivers 313 hp to the rear wheels. According to BYD, the BYD Seal RWD sprints to 100 in 5.9 seconds, but I clocked it at 6.5 seconds. That is still more than enough and that is how it feels during the test of the BYD Seal RWD. For most buyers, this is more than enough power.
There is also a four-wheel drive AWD version, which sends 160 kW to the front and 230 kW to the rear wheels. Total system power is 530 hp and the BYD Seal AWD delivers a maximum of 700 Nm of torque. The badge on the back is the specified sprint time, the Seal AWD must sprint from 0-100 in 3.8s. Both versions have a limited top speed of 180 km/h. On a not-too-empty autobahn I achieved this effortlessly in the AWD, but that’s also to be expected with so much power.
Not super sporty
Given the looks and the rather generous power, you might suspect that the SEAL has a sporty disposition. It all sounds good on paper: a low center of gravity, high torsional stiffness, independent double wishbone suspension at the front and five-link rear suspension. The AWD also has adjustable adaptive damping.
The Seal doesn’t handle badly, certainly not, but it is more of a comfortable car than a very sporty one. I drove on various German country roads, with nice height differences, bends with different radii and every now and then a good bump.
During the test, the BYD Seal held up well under these conditions, but comfort predominates. Even in sports, the cushioning is not very firm. Especially with some height differences in the road, you notice that the Seal’s suspension sometimes has a bit of a floating moment. Good for comfort, but less good for control.
It is very strange that you still have to set the steering separately to the sport mode, even if you have already selected the sporty driving mode. The RWD releases 313 horses on the rear tires and the ESP can be (partially) turned off as long as you stay below 70-80 km/h. If you accelerate hard in a right-angle bend, most of the torque goes to the inside wheel. A safe solution, but it deprives the more experienced driver of the ability to steer with the accelerator pedal.
Battery, range and charging of the BYD SEAL
Both the Seal AWD and the RWD have the same battery pack: it is a cobalt-free Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that BYD calls the Blade Battery. The capacity is 82 kWh and the RWD has a range of 570 km, the WLTP range of the AWD version is 520 km.
The regular AC charger is a 3-phase one that can charge a maximum of 11 kW. Fortunately, BYD does not make the same mistake as with HAN and TANG to equip cars with a 1-phase charger.
In terms of fast charging, BYD does not change the course: DC charging takes place with a maximum of 150 kW: from 30-80% takes 26 minutes. That time is not completely pure, because during long journeys you will not start charging at 30% battery charge (and still 171 km of WLTP range!). It is not without reason that most other manufacturers communicate a charging time to the fast charger that is about 10-80% battery charge.
BYD is also generous with stuff. The AWD is directly linked to a higher equipment level. For example, the Seal AWD has a V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) function that can supply 3.0 kW to electrical appliances (or other vehicles).
All Seals have a heat pump system that operates over a wide temperature range (-30 to +60 degrees Celsius). Especially in winter, a heat pump ensures less reduction in range at low temperatures.
Rotating display as a gimmick
There is a 12.5-inch LCD display in front of the driver and there is also an optional heads-up display that projects information onto the windshield. To complete the party, the 15.6-inch touchscreen can be rotated. In portrait mode, the screen protrudes a bit too much above the dashboard for my taste, but it is nice that BYD offers the choice.
Because it is quite a large screen, BYD has built in a split-screen function. Unfortunately, this only works with two apps: navigation and Spotify. Coincidentally, these are the apps that I would often use in parallel, but a little more choice is desirable.
The navigation software does make some mistakes. It is no longer entirely up to date that suggestions for charging stops are not automatically included for longer journeys. The second disadvantage is that navigation instructions are not shown in either the driver’s display or the HUD. So stay away from the touchscreen if you have an exit soon…
Price and conclusion BYD Seal test
The BYD Seal’s top competitor is the Tesla Model 3 (from 43k), but the BMW i4 (from 58k) and Hyundai Ioniq6 (from 44.8k) also have the same recipe. The Seal RWD costs €47,990, the AWD is €50,990.
The Seal RWD offers more range and (slightly) more performance than the entry-level Model-3 and Ioniq6, but charges a lot slower and is also 5 grand more expensive. That is significant in this market. Although many media speculate (and the EU) about the cheap Chinese car that will destroy the market, this does not seem to be the case with the BYD Seal. It is not a bad car (nor is it a groundbreaking good one), but with this price we do not see this becoming a runner in terms of sales.
This article BYD Seal AWD and RWD – test and video first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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