BYD has a wider significance in the growing EV market than just another new OEM: it’s a brand that, four or five years ago, hardly any Brits, or Europeans, for that matter, had heard of. Now, it’s exploding onto the market with models ranging from the compact Dolphin, to the family-friendly Atto 3, to the premium feel of the Seal.
As EV interest has boomed, and more and more brands have made their way to the Western markets from China and beyond, BYD has cemented its name in this new automotive landscape. So much so that the brand sponsored the recent UEFA EUROs, which has catapulted BYD into the cultural mainstream across Europe
I test drove a BYD Seal Excellence for a week. I took this high-tech, high-comfort, performance-leaning model through its paces in day-to-day life.
What did I think after a week with the BYD Seal Excellence?
To kick things off, let’s get some figures out of the way. The Excellence model comes with ‘3.8s’ stamped on the back; referencing its impressive acceleration from 0-62mph. Its 82.5kWh battery offers an anxiety-busting 354 mile WLTP range. That blows plenty of petrol cars out of the water from a full tank.
The car’s award-winning design includes a panoramic sunroof, sporty seats, ample space for passengers and cargo, and an admittedly strange rotating touchscreen to control it all. Prices for the Excellence model begin at £48,640, putting it in the same price bracket as the Mercedes EQA.
Onto the important part. What was it like to drive?
For context, I live in suburban South London. It’s characterised by narrow streets, terraced houses, and parallel parking. Given its impressive range and performance, the Seal is suited to long journeys on open roads. Nonetheless, I found it performed admirably around blind corners and squeezing into tight spaces.
When I first sat in the driver’s seat and got involved in the 15.6-inch centre console, I’ll admit I joked about needing a co-pilot to work the controls. At first, the app-like settings and seemingly endless scrolling on the iPad-like panel was off-putting. However, after just half an hour or so, I found the console far more intuitive than I’d first realised.
I noticed I would click the 360-degree camera button on my steering wheel to check my trajectory through any tight spaces. The aforementioned parallel parking was easy with plenty of assists that felt akin to just glancing in your rearview mirror. I can understand how the large touchscreen and plethora of options will be off-putting to some. My advice is just to give it a go. As with my experience, it may be easier than you think.
In terms of driving, it was honestly a joy. Given the inner-city nature of a bulk of my driving, I was struck by the ease with which it navigated stop-start traffic. Of course, the electric quietness was an easy bonus, and heightened what was already an incredibly pleasant cabin to drive in. I found myself naturally turning off the automatic lane assist, as that technology is not really designed for squished, city driving. That being said, I spent an hour in heavy traffic during rush hour on a Thursday. For the first time, I found myself calm and composed at the end of the experience. That is not something to be sniffed at.
The car offers three driving modes. Normal, Eco, and Sport
While driving in the city, where I was largely confined to 20mph, I found Eco and Normal felt perfectly natural. The difference between them at low speeds was fairly minimal. Understandably enough, there was a slight lag and more sluggish take-off from the Eco mode. What more do you expect when it’s saving your batteries?
On longer rides, branching away from the city and onto motorways, dual carriageways, and country lanes, the Seal came alive. I was able to check out Sport mode during these longer, more open stretches. Wow. I took myself and two passengers, both flatmates and willing EV guinea pigs, for a day out of the city. When I put my foot down on the motorway, and gave just a hint of that 3.8s badge, the feeling was met with resounding gasps and broad-grinned enthusiasm. Make that three new converts to the BYD lifestyle.
While we’re here, my passengers gave glowing reviews of the Seal Excellence model. Both enjoyed the comfortable ride, and they repeatedly remarked on how instantly relaxed they found the interior. The high-tech air-con controls and personalisation options for the interior lights got plenty of attention.
In keeping with the theme of my experience, I realised I was completely naturally switching between driving modes. I’d slow down to 30mph to pass through a town or village, and I’d hardly have to think before flicking the Seal into Eco mode. It just felt right.
How about charging?
I charged the Seal twice during the week. It was handed to me with around 82%, and, given its impressive battery capacity, it barely needed to be charged once. I was more interested in the experience itself. So, I tried one of the many ubitricity lamppost chargers that I’m lucky enough to have adorning my street. It was a simple enough process of downloading the app, scanning the QR code, and, after a standard amount of account creation, I was charging.
Of course, if this car was mine for good, I would’ve set that account up once and used it regularly without thinking about it. As a part of that mammoth 40% of the UK without a driveway, my problem would’ve been ensuring I could park next to the right lampposts. Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with that issue during my week, but it’s an undeniable potential annoyance.
The second charge was my first bad public charging experience
I’d gone on another fun drive out of the city, and I asked the Seal to take me home via a fast-charger. It easily found plenty through its own inbuilt navigation. I chose a bp pulse fast-charger that would make an easy stop. When I got to the turning, I found the road between me and my charging station of choice, was closed.
Re-directing on the go proved simple enough. I found my way to a second rapid-charge point. I confidently hopped out of the Seal, noticing the decent street of cafes and shops I could kill half an hour in. The charge point was dead.
My third, and final, stop proved to be the final fast-charger between me and home. So, I ended up sat in the car park of a closed Waitrose, in the rain, for 45 minutes. When you zoom out, that’s not so bad. I sat in the fantastic comfort of the Seal and made a phone call which killed most of my charging time. However, it’s stories like this that make it apparent that charging can be more troublesome than just pulling up at a petrol forecourt.
Any gripes?
I hope how impressed I was with the BYD Seal Excellence has come across. Because I really was. But, it would be remiss of me not to mention a few minor annoyances.
The digital heads-up display was actually very handy overall. It showed my speed and used cameras to clock the speed limit based on signs as I drove. The issue was that occasionally you’d drive past a side road, with its own speed limit, and its own signs, and the Seal would change my speed limit to match.
One of the only times I found the rotating screen useful was when I realised that, when you’re navigating and you have the screen in landscape mode, with both hands on the wheel, my left hand perfectly covered up my distance and ETA in the corner of the screen.
Finally, the Seal is inspired by the ocean, which must be the basis for its strong shape and striking lines. However, to keep up this sleek silhouette, the door handles disappear into the car, only to electrically reappear when you unlock it. It’s a frivolously fun feature, but I thought to myself ‘how long before I unlock the car, and one of the door handles just doesn’t come out?’ Surely that’s an electrical fault that is bound to happen through bog-standard wear and tear?
My week with the BYD Seal Excellence was interesting, exciting, and most importantly, fun.
What struck me most about living with a high-end model, was how quickly you get used to the features they pack into it. My gripes are very minor, and my bad experience is more down to an infrastructure issue than anything else.
The Seal itself was a genuine pleasure to drive. It exemplified the perfect mixture of easy control, while still being incredibly dynamic to drive. That cross-section is where electric vehicles thrive. In 20mph residential London, or bombing down a motorway, I drove the Seal with a smile on my face.
