Test Drive BYD Seal: Strong Statement!

For those who were unable to attend the international driving presentation, BYD toured the country again with regional driving presentations: At the dealer demonstration, Dolphin and Seal were each made available for a day to let the press drive them. So, we start in the underground garage of Motorworld Munich amidst numerous Fisker Oceans, Microlinos (these startups have branches here), Ferraris, McLarens, and many more or less valuable classics.

The Seal does not let itself be outdone by any of them: its door closes solidly, already giving that premium feel upon entry that is characteristic of Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, or Volvo. And recently also Nio, and to some extent Tesla and Xpeng.

Inside, the Seal scores with fine diamond quilting and a refined ambiance

It distinguishes itself from the latter with visual opulence and a relatively intuitive and conservative control strategy, quilted upholstery, two-tone double stitching, plenty of leather (imitation) plus velour and high-quality speakers – all familiar from the first-mentioned brands, which enter the similar level only at a price of 70,000 euros plus. Our Seal 3.8S (with 390 kW and 670 Nm approximately equivalent to a charged 3.8-liter V6) costs 53,661 euros gross, the simpler rear-wheel-drive version with 230 kW and 360 Nm starts at 47,578 euros, making it quite a price hit! Especially since it only forgoes power and the head-up display!

Impressive: The low consumption

So we flow out of the underground garage and choose our shortened test route, and are immediately surprised. By extremely low consumption: in the city, it stays under 13 kWh/100 km – well, shortened, without much stop-and-go – overland it reports 15.9 kWh despite some fun sprints, and on the highway with speeds up to 192 km/h according to the speedometer, between 19 and 25 kWh/100 km. The consumption since kilometer zero, which is always displayed: 20.2 kWh/100 km – that would be a good 22 kWh/100 km gross. Assuming that the car is always driven in various ways by different people, the heating is allowed to be set to 23 degrees or the air conditioning to 18 degrees in the summer, that is indeed a very good value!

And light-years better than the somewhat larger and now three-year-old "Han," which would easily draw 25 kWh/100 km gross under the circumstances! The new platform, along with the in-house 8-in-1 manufactured engine and good aerodynamics, significantly help in saving energy. While a similarly potent Tesla Model 3 keeps up here, the other candidates do not.

Charging? Up to 150 kW, but only briefly!

They charge better: Our colleague Robin Engelhardt plugged in for a bit longer and found out: The Seal draws 152 kW briefly, surpassing the specified 150 kW charging power, but on average, it charges at only 83 kW – other cars do much better!

Since we're nitpicking: On the highway, the Seal loses its composure in terms of suspension: while it is very well-tuned in urban and overland settings – for instance, it competently absorbs small transverse seams as if they didn’t exist – and remains very firm and poised in sport mode, this ends at 150 km/h: then it becomes jittery, wind noise roars, and one voluntarily returns to cruising speed – which also helps consumption. The steering could provide a bit more feedback, but it's acceptable.

The sound? Up to 30 km/h, the Seal emits an eerie howl, above it sounds like something – the e-machines are somewhat more present than others. So, activate the Dynaudio premium sound system with 12 speakers, which offers very good sound but still has some room for improvement to become a "concert hall" – but what is offered will please most drivers.

Voice recognition? So-so

Less pleasing might be the mixed understanding of voice commands: while you can easily adjust the temperature or navigate to xxx, commands like "Play Bayern 3 on the radio" are less likely to work. You should consciously select the radio beforehand, and some functions are hidden deep in the menu on the rotatable screen. This includes seat heating or cooling (when air-conditioned) or the somewhat annoying driving assistants (in the ADAS menu), which you might want to turn off, such as the speed warning or lane-keeping assistant! The former beeps three times for every speed limit violation (the Seal can now read all speed limits, even on highway bridges, unlike the Atto 3), but does so after every new traffic sign and: it jerks the steering wheel rather sharply if you leave the lane. In this area, it still has room for improvement – but it offers one of the most logical and easily understandable menus of all Chinese market competitors!