Battery size: 82.5kWh
Max charge rate: 150kW
Range: 323 miles
Efficiency rating: A
Real world miles per kWh: 3.8.jpeg)
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So far, what impresses me most about the BYD Seal is the clever stuff. The fact it turns down the fans when you make a phone call so it’s not too noisy, that you can communicate with the voice assistant and she genuinely does understand when you say, “hey BYD, turn on my ventilated seats”, “hey BYD open my window”... It works EVERY TIME! The Head-up Display (which comes with the Excellence trim of our test car) is clear, simple and gives you every bit of info you need. There are even two wireless charging pads for your phone(s). Yup... TWO!
Honestly, it’s little things like that which satisfy me the most. They’ve thought about what you need, what’s going to be handy for you and your passenger, and they’ve added it.
Keyless entry? - got it
V2L? - got it
Panoramic roof? - you betcha
High beam assist? - yep
Memory seats with lumbar control for the driver? - got it
Heated and ventilated seats for driver and front passenger? - got it
That rotating central screen party trick thingy? - absolutely!
I’ll own up to this though, I have never rotated that screen. You’ll do it once to put it into portrait then you’ll say “oh that’s clever”, then you’ll put it back to landscape and you won’t touch it again. Why? Because Apple CarPlay and Android Auto only work in landscape and let’s be truthful here, it looks nicer.
The screen itself is huge. I got used to it a bit when I used to run a BYD Dolphin as a daily, but for some reason in the Seal I’m starting to notice how unnecessarily huge it is. It's 15.6-inches of touchscreen wonder, and they’ve clearly been inspire by Tesla - which isn't a bad thing - but in terms of what you have on the screen itself it's just radio, maps, CarPlay etc. In a Tesla the screen houses EVERYTHING, but in the Seal I have a screen behind the wheel for my driver info as well as a Head-up Display (HUD), so it makes the central screen feel like an elderly person’s mobile phone with extra large text and lots of empty space. A tad pointless, I reckon, but then I know that quite a lot of the guys at Electrifying think that's exactly what a touchscreen should be like as they reckon it makes it easier to use when you're driving. So I guess it's a matter of opinion.
What is pretty unarguable is that I prefer having the speed behind the wheel - like it is on the Seal, and like it isn't on a Tesla. So while we're drawing comparisons, that's definitely one point for BYD.
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