[Aditya]

BYD Seal Review

BYD Seal Pros

• Good build quality coupled with very appealing styling
• Punchy motor offers fast performance. RWD variant's 0-100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds is enjoyable; AWD variant's performance is ballistic (0-100 in 3.8 seconds)
• Good high-speed stability coupled with sorted handling
• Spacious and well-built cabin with comfortable seats
• Useable 400-litre boot, along with a 50-litre frunk (in the front)
• Inherent EV advantages such as a green image, zero tailpipe emissions, low running costs (charge at home) & top-notch NVH
• We find the BYD Seal to be well-priced for what it offers
• Selectable regenerative braking and drive modes allow you to extract maximum performance or efficiency, as needed
• Sufficient driving range (approx 500 km) for urban commuting as well as the usual road-tripping with family
• 6-year/150,000 km warranty on the car, 8-year battery & motor warranty, 6-year roadside assistance
• Features such as the vehicle-to-load function, soundproof glass, rotating 15.6-inch touchscreen, climate control with heat pump, panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, electrically adjustable A/C vents, NFC key card, etc.
• 5-star NCAP rating, top-notch safety kit & level 2 ADAS to keep you safe

BYD Seal Cons

• 145 mm ground clearance requires you to drive with care over large speed breakers & broken roads
• Firm low speed ride. Liveable, but not plush in the city. You feel bad roads
• Low slung body makes ingress & egress a challenge for the not-so-flexible and elderly
• No option of a lighter-coloured interior theme (cabin is full-black)
• Rear seat offers poor under-thigh support
• Most functions and settings are controlled through the touchscreen, which makes them difficult to access on the move
• Vertical movement over road joints can get annoying
• Missing features such as connected car tech, a spare wheel (in India!!!), wireless Apple CarPlay, etc.
• Poor rearward visibility due to the acutely-angled rear windscreen and large rear headrests
• BYD's currently small dealership & service network. Even major cities like Mumbai & Delhi have just 1 dealer

This review has been jointly compiled with Ajmat. Thanks to him for the expert observations!

Introduction

Chinese electric carmaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) showcased the Seal sedan at the 2023 Auto Expo. The company launched the car in India more than a year later in March 2024. It is the company's third offering in the country after the E6 MPV and Atto 3.

The Seal comes in three variants - Dynamic (rear-wheel drive), Premium (rear-wheel drive) and Performance (all-wheel drive) with the option of two BYD Blade battery packs - 61.44 kWh and 82.56 kWh. The former is available in the Dynamic variant, while the latter is available in the Premium and Performance variants. The Dynamic variant puts out 201 BHP & 310 Nm, while the Premium variant develops 308 BHP & 360 Nm. The Performance variant makes a whopping 523 BHP & 670 Nm and has a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 3.8 seconds!

BYD Seal Price & Brochure

The BYD Seal has been priced at Rs. 41,00,000, Rs. 45,50,000 and Rs. 53,00,000 (ex-showroom) for the Dynamic, Premium and Performance variants, respectively. For what the car offers, we find the pricing very competitive.

Download the BYD Seal brochure here - BYD Seal Brochure.pdf.

Running Costs

The Dynamic variant has a claimed range of up to 510 km, while the Premium and Performance variants come with a claimed range of 650 km and 580 km, respectively. We were not able to perform a real-world range test in the short time that we had with the car. We will update this section as and when we manage to run the car long enough to come to a conclusion about the real-world running costs.

[Aditya]

Exterior

Design & Styling

The Seal is built on an EV-specific platform (e-platform 3.0). Based on BYD's "Ocean Aesthetics" design concept, it has fastback styling with a low-slung body and looks sleek and aerodynamic. It measures 4,800 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, and 1,460 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,920 mm.

Notable features on the outside include Double-U LED headlights, LED DRLs, glistening "Ripple" lamps, connected LED tail lamps, flush door handles, 19-inch alloy wheels and waterdrop-shaped ORVMs. The Seal is available in four colours - Arctic Blue, Aurora White, Atlantis Gray and Cosmos Black (our test car).

Build Quality, Fit & Finish

The Seal is imported into India as a CBU. Overall, the build quality of the car feels impressive. There is not much flex in the body panels and the doors are very solid and shut with a near-German clunk. However, they do not have the smooth thud of say, a Mercedes.

The panel gaps are tight and consistent across the car. The paint quality is good too.

Wheels & Tyres

The Premium and Performance variants of the BYD Seal get 19-inch alloy wheels shod with 235/45 section tyres. Our test car had Continental EcoContact 6 tyres. For the Premium variant that we drove, the tyres provided excellent grip in the corners.

The recommended tyre pressure is 42 PSI all around, which is on the higher side.

Ground Clearance

The Seal has an unladen ground clearance of 145 mm. This means speed breakers have to be tackled with care. Taller ones require to be crawled over. Going off the road is not recommended in the Seal. We did take the car on some really poor roads with many dips and bumps. Driven slowly (just letting the torque push it through), it did not scrape its belly or get stuck anywhere.

Standard & Extended Warranty

The Seal comes with an 8-year or 1,60,000 km warranty (whichever comes first) for the traction battery, an 8-year or 1,50,000 km warranty for the motor and motor controller and a 6-year or 1,50,000 km warranty for the vehicle itself.

The DC-DC assembly, high voltage electric control assembly and OBC (On-Board Charger) have a 6-year / 1,50,000 km warranty. You also get 6 years of roadside assistance and complimentary inspection service. There are plenty more details regarding the standard warranty. Make sure you go through them if you buy the car – Booking Scheme and Warranty.pdf

Details about an extended warranty haven’t been disclosed yet.

Safety

The BYD Seal is loaded with safety features like 9 airbags, a 360-degree camera, TPMS, traction control system, ABS + EBD, electronic stability program, hill decent control, hill-hold assist, electronic parking brake with auto hold, adaptive cruise control and ISOFIX child seat anchors for 3 seats, high beam assist and level 2 ADAS features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention, rear cross-traffic brake and more. Additionally, the Performance variant gets BYD's Intelligence Torque Adaption Control (iTAC) system which adjusts the torque of the front and rear axles dynamically according to road conditions.

The Seal has received 5-star ratings in Euro NCAP and ANCAP crash tests.

[Aditya]

Interior

Cabin Design & Quality

BYD has used the Ocean Aesthetics concept in the interior of the Seal as well. It gets an all-black (Thaumas Black) interior with gunmetal, chrome and glossy black inserts. Soft touch materials including leather and suedette have been used at places on the dashboard and door pads. The upper part of the dashboard is beautifully finished and more plush than the Kia EV6. The quality of the plastics used is better than the Koreans, and the fit & finish are excellent. The lower portions of the dashboard and doors have a lot of hard plastic though. There is a lot of plastic on the centre console as well, which looks cheap compared to the top of the dashboard. Overall, the cabin quality is very good and most owners will be impressed.

Space & Comfort

Getting in and out of the Seal is not so easy. It’s a low-slung sedan, so you need to bend and sit down in the seat. Once inside, there’s a good amount of space. The front passengers don’t sit too close thanks to a wide centre console. However, this tall and wide centre console does make you feel hemmed in. The all-black interior doesn’t feel as airy as a lighter-coloured one, but the car comes with a large, fixed panoramic sunroof, which helps matters.

Front seats are draped in genuine diamond quilted leather upholstery (imitation leather for the Dynamic variant) with contrast white piping and stitching. The driver seat is 8-way electrically adjustable while the passenger seat is 6-way adjustable. The cushioning is on point, but the seats are a little too flat for our liking. We also found the under-thigh support to be lacking.

Driving Position & Ergonomics

Frontal visibility is excellent. Both front seats are electrically adjustable, and as mentioned earlier, the driver seat gets lumbar adjustment and a memory function. While the steering gets tilt & telescopic adjustment, the reach adjustment is limited. The steering wheel has a three-spoke design and is wrapped in leather. It’s nice to hold and has thumb contours as well. The hornpad will be a stretch for those with small hands. Overall, the cabin is well laid out, and all the controls are ergonomically placed.

Cabin Storage

There is a good amount of storage space for the front passengers. The door pockets can accommodate a 1-litre bottle and other small items. The glove box has a soft lining and is large enough to hold the owner’s manual and other items. A smaller storage compartment with a soft lining has been provided to the right of the steering wheel, under the A/C vent. You also get a reasonably big storage box under the central armrest, two cupholders (including an adjustable one) and two wireless charging pads. A fairly large storage space with Type-A and Type-C USB charging ports, a Micro SD card slot and a 12V power outlet have been provided below the gear console.

Rear passengers get door pockets that can hold a 1-litre bottle and small articles each. The seatbacks of the front seats have a large pocket each and two smaller ones to hold smartphones. Type-A & Type-C USB charging ports and 2 bag hooks have been provided below the rear A/C vents and on the B-pillars, respectively. The rear centre armrest houses two cupholders.

Air-Conditioning

The Seal comes with a dual-zone climate control system. We drove the car in and around Gurgaon in the April heat season. The A/C did an excellent job of cooling the cabin. There’s not much of a drop in the performance of the air conditioning while driving in Eco mode. The car also comes with a built-in CN95 and PM2.5 air filter, which, in today’s day and age, is a necessity in metro cities.

Features

Unique & Noteworthy Features

At the price point at which the Seal is being sold, you would expect it to be loaded with features, and it doesn’t disappoint. There are a few unique features, like the Vehicle-to-Load mobile power supply function, which transforms the car into a power bank. You will need an adapter that can be purchased as an add-on. Another unique feature that is more focused on the convenience side is that you can change the orientation of the massive 15.6-inch touchscreen from landscape to portrait and vice-versa at the press of a button! Super cool. You also have a portable card key that you can tap on the driver-side ORVM to unlock the car. Additionally, there’s dynamic ambient lighting.

Apart from these features, the Seal is equipped with a silver-plated panoramic sunroof, soundproof double-glazed glass (windshield and front doors) ventilated and heated front seats, electrically adjustable A/C vents, head-up display, electric tailgate, automatic headlamps with high beam assist, rain-sensing wipers, wireless charger, smartphone connectivity with wireless Android Auto and ISOFIX child seat anchor on the front passenger seat (apart from the rear seats).

You do miss out on some features like wireless Apple CarPlay, connected car technology, and a spare wheel.

Audio System & Sound Quality

The Seal comes with a 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment head-unit that has a 1080P high-resolution display. There’s no lag, and jumping through different options and screens is pretty seamless. The interface is very user-friendly, and finding the right function is easy. It comes with a voice assistant (English), Bluetooth connectivity as well as wireless Android Auto. Apple CarPlay can be accessed using a USB cable. The system is paired with a 12-speaker DYNAUDIO sound system.

Coming to the sound quality, we found the system to be very bass-oriented. The mid to high range was average. We did not get much time to play with the settings though.

Rear Passengers

Rear Seat Comfort & Space

Due to the coupe-like roofline, getting in and out of the rear seats is not easy. One needs to bend down. You get 3 adjustable headrests and 3-point seatbelts for all 3 passengers. However, the hard backrest in the middle (due to the centre armrest) and rear A/C vents mean that an adult third passenger in the middle won’t be very comfortable. A child will be able to bear it though.

There’s a good amount of knee room and adequate headroom for rear passengers. The backrest is placed at a comfortable angle, and the cushioning is spot-on. However, like in most EVs the floor is high. Add low placed seat to the mix and it results in a knees-up seating position. Many will complain about a lack of under-thigh support. Rear passengers get a centre armrest with two cupholders, seatback pockets, smartphone pockets, bag hooks, A/C vents and Type-A and Type-C USB charging ports.

Boot Space

The Seal has a boot space of 400 litres with the rear seats up. The 60:40 split rear seats can be folded down to increase cargo space. Additionally, the frunk can hold 50 litres of luggage.

[Aditya]

Driving the BYD Seal Premium

Powering the BYD Seal Premium is a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor that puts out 308 BHP and 360 Nm torque:


The Seal is built on BYD's e-Platform 3.0 which is EV-specific and is not based on an IC engine platform like most EVs available in India. Hence, the design of the batteries and powertrain has been done keeping the EV-specific requirements in mind. This platform comes with cell-to-body technology which integrates the battery and the vehicle body floor together making the battery's sandwich structure evolve into a sandwich structure for the complete vehicle. The battery pack is sealed as part of the body using an integrated sealing plate design, which BYD claims, increases the rigidity of the floor by 13 times. BYD claims that the Blade battery has passed the nail penetration test and an extreme strength test that saw a 46-tonne truck driving over it. The Blade battery has a claimed driving mileage of more than 5,00,000 km.

We got to drive the Premium variant of the Seal which comes with an 82.56 kWh battery, rear-wheel drive and an electric motor that develops 308 BHP and 360 Nm. With your foot on the brake pedal, hit the Start/Stop button to bring the electric motor to life. Shift to ‘D’ mode, take your foot off the brake pedal and the car gets off the line in the smoothest way possible. There is faint music that is played on the outside of the car while driving around at low speeds. It’s to let the pedestrians know that there’s a car coming. Build some speed and the music stops.

If you primarily drive around in the city, you will appreciate the Seal’s smoothness. The power delivery till part throttle is linear and predictable. No jerks from gearshifts and no engine sound means it is an extremely refined experience. Floor the A pedal and you will be greeted with instant acceleration. Performance is brisk with power available right from the get-go. BYD claims a 0-100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds, which is believable. You’ll definitely be ahead of most of the IC engine cars when the signal turns green. If you enjoy instant acceleration and are experiencing an electric car for the first time, this car might just make you a convert. If you’ve driven some of the other EVs, you will notice that the acceleration is very similar to others in this range.

Out on the highways, the Seal is just as good as in the city. Getting up to triple-digit speeds and maintaining them is effortless. Want to make a quick overtake, no worries there. Just bury the accelerator pedal and you will zoom past the car ahead with ease. You'll hit silly speeds effortlessly and not even realize it due to the lack of drama (engine noise, etc.). However, if you drive hard, the range will drop faster. This is also why you will see EVs that are driving longer distances sticking to the middle lane and cruising at 80-100 km/h (which is the best cruising speed for the current lots of EVs).

There are 3 driving modes to choose from and unlike some other cars, these aren't gimmicky. They're mapped specifically for different driving styles and also change the steering weight.

• Normal Mode: This is the default mode to drive in and works well in the city as well as on the highway. It is a good balance of power and economy. The steering is light in this driving mode.

• Eco Mode: When you want to extract maximum range, this is the mode to engage. The throttle response is dumbed down which results in a smoother drive. However, you never feel that the car is lacking power. There’s still enough power on tap to keep up with the traffic and make those quick overtakes. We found this mode to be the best for driving in the city. The difference in steering weight from normal mode is very little. It almost makes the Normal mode redundant.

• Sport Mode: The throttle response is sharpened, but power is still delivered linearly. It doesn't feel jerky for day-to-day city driving like some other EVs. Push hard and it provides tremendous acceleration but it is not as brutal as the Mercedes AMG EQS 53 or the Volvo C40 Recharge for that matter. One thing to note is that driving in Sport mode eats up battery faster. So it's best to use this mode on the highways when you want to have some fun while driving. The steering is firmed up in this mode. The brakes feel a little sharper too.

Insulation sheet under the bonnet:

Regenerative Braking

BYD has kept it simple with regenerative braking. There are only 2 levels – Standard and High. The Standard level is barely noticeable and if you have the car in this mode, you might end up using the brakes a lot. The High level very much resembles engine braking in IC engine cars. It’s not very intrusive and you won’t be getting a head nod every time you lift off the accelerator. It’s great for driving around in the city as well as on the highways. People wishing to do hypermiling with the Seal will wish for stronger regeneration from the motor.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

As is the case with EVs, the Seal is also super quiet. There’s no engine or gearbox to make any noise, so the overall driving experience is silent. The windshield and front windows feature soundproof double-glazed glass making the car cabin extremely quiet.

At highway speeds, the wind noise is well controlled and the tyre noise is par for the course. The motor spins silently at high speeds and the whine is very well controlled.

Range

The BYD Seal Premium has a claimed range of 650 km as per NEDC (New European Driving Cycle). Given the rising demand for EVs, there are plenty of charging stations popping up everywhere, which ought to take care of range anxiety as well. There are many apps and websites like pulseenergy.io, plugshare.com, etc. that list out all the charging stations near you. At the end of the day though, remember the golden rule = EVs are best charged where they are parked (either at your office or home).

Charging

When you buy a BYD Seal, you get a 7 kW home charger. The charging time with AC Charging port – Type 2 (7 kW) from 0% to 100% is 12-16 hours. The charging time with a DC charging port - CCS 2 (110 kW/150 kW) from 0% to 80% is 45 minutes. BYD claims that 15 minutes of charging a 150 kW charger adds up to 200 km of driving range. You also get a 3kW portable charger that can be plugged into any 15 Amp socket (the larger 3-pin sockets used for ACs and fridges), but that would take a very long time to charge from 0-100%. If you ever run out of battery, you can always contact BYD’s roadside assistance. You get 6 years of roadside assistance with the Seal.

Suspension

Ride Comfort

The Seal gets a double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link suspension at the rear. The car rides on 19-inch wheels shod with 235/45 section tyres. Low-speed ride is firm and most cracks and bumps on the road are felt. While the ride is not uncomfortable, it is far from plush. What's nice is that the suspension works silently. Big potholes do register themselves inside and you will have to be careful while tackling them. The recommended tyre pressure is a rather high 42 psi and at this pressure, you do feel a lot of the road. Dropping the pressure while driving in the city might make the ride more comfortable.

Handling & Dynamics

In a straight line, the Seal feels stable. It doesn’t feel nervous and maintains its composure at high speeds. Going over some undulations or expansion joints will result in a fair bit of vertical movement though.

Coming to handling, the turn-in is good but not very eager - very Mercedes-like. The car has a 50:50 weight distribution (over front & rear axles). Body roll is controlled and the car feels fluid and composed on winding roads although not very tactile compared to say, a BMW.

Steering

The electric power steering is a nice unit and easy to operate as well. It is very light at city speeds which makes it very user-friendly. The steering weighs up fairly well on the highways. It is accurate, but relays little feedback.

Braking

The Seal Premium has ventilated and drilled discs at the front and ventilated discs at the rear. All in all, the car has good stopping power and emergency braking situations are handled well too. On the other hand, the brake pedal lacks feel and takes some time to get used to.

[Aditya]

BYD Seal Exterior Images

Front end bears some resemblance to the Porsche Taycan. While largely good-looking, some might find the detailing fussy:


Rear features an LED light bar connecting the tail-lamps and a bumper with an aggressive diffuser. While badges display the make and model of the car, there are no indicators of the variant anywhere on the body:


Low-slung body with fastback styling gives the Seal a sporty appearance. Strong character lines are masked by the black colour:


The Seal measures 4,800 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width and 1,460 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,920 mm and a ground clearance of 145 mm. It has a turning radius of 5.7 m:


Looks nice from any angle. Drag coefficient = 0.219:


Double-U floating LED headlamps come with high beam assist. Plain Jane LED DRLs are located below. They double up as turn-indicators:


Bumper gets a slim air dam finished in glossy black. The front camera is located in the centre. "Ripple" lamps on the sides are based on the ripple of an ocean wave:


Fully protected and absolutely flat undercarriage. With just 145 mm ground clearance this is necessary:


Sensor box sits on the windshield behind the IRVM:


Bonnet is raised on the sides and features a prominent centre dome:


Wiper spindles and washers are concealed under the bonnet:


Glossy black insert with "BYD DESIGN" lettering on the front panels:


Waterdrop-shaped ORVMs with integrated LED turn-indicators:


The car can be locked/unlocked by touching an NFC card at the top of the ORVM:


Camera for the 360-degree camera system and puddle lamp is mounted on the underside:


Flush-fitting door handles pop out when the car is unlocked:


Coupe-like roofline looks swell. The glass area lets sufficient light into the cabin:


Quarter glass has a very small transparent area and glossy black inserts:


Glossy black running board has interesting detailing towards the rear:


19-inch precision blade alloy wheels shod with 235/45 Continental EcoContact 6 tyres. Ventilated and drilled disc brakes at the front:


Ventilated disc brakes at the rear:


Wheel wells get full cladding whether it is at the front...


...or rear:


Comes with AC and DC charging options. The Seal also gets a Vehicle To Load function allowing it to be used as a portable power supply for electrical devices with a total output of up to 3,000W:


Large silver-plated panoramic sunroof cannot be opened:


Water drop dot matrix tail lamps are eye-catching. They feature sequential turn indicators:


Rear bumper houses 4 parking sensors. Only one reversing lamp has been provided:


Button to open the boot and the rear camera are located in the middle:


Full underbody protection at the rear as well:

[Aditya]

BYD Seal Interior Images

Interior is well put together. Suedette has been used in various places. Overall quality is good:


Chunky leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel with three spokes is wrapped in leather and gets white stitching. It gets piano black inserts and tilt and telescopic adjustment:


Press the bottom right button on the left spoke to change the orientation of the touchscreen from landscape to portrait and vice versa. The button above it is to operate the 360-degree camera system. Other buttons on the left spoke are for the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist. Controls for the multimedia and MID are placed on the right spoke:


Head-up display is clear but one needs to adjust the projection according to his/her height:


10.25-inch digital instrument cluster provides all the necessary information. You get an instantaneous kW usage reading on the left, a speedometer on the right and the range in the middle. Other basic information like trip, odo, drive modes, compass and outside temperature are displayed as well:


Through the MID, you can change the display style, set the speed alert warning, adjust the fan speed and temperature of the climate control system and more:


Using the buttons on the steering wheel, you can scroll through information and various options like TPMS, vehicle status, battery status, acceleration timer and more:


Wiper controls are on the left and the light controls are on the right stalk. Stalks feel robust:


Button to switch between the odometer and trip meters is placed on the side of the right stalk. Long press it to reset the trip meters:


Small storage compartment on the RHS gets a soft lining:


Door pads get glossy black and suedette inserts and ambient lighting:


Door handles are finished in gunmetal and are placed next to the tweeters. Notice the contrast blue stitching on the leather on the top of the doorpad. The armrest is wrapped in leather. ORVM & window switch control panel is finished in glossy black. Note that all 4 windows get one-touch up & down function. Boot release is also housed on the doorpad:


Door sills get "BYD" branded scuff plates:


Low-slung design means ingress & egress are not easy for the elderly. Bolstered sports seats get genuine leather upholstery with ventilation, heating and memory functions:


Driver seat gets 8-way electric adjustment with additional 4-way lumbar adjustment. Passenger seat gets 6-way electric adjustment:


Seatbelts are adjustable for height:


Front passenger seat gets ISOFIX child seat anchors:


Pedals are well-spaced out. The wide dead pedal has a comfortable angle. The bonnet release lever is placed on the right and you have to pull on it twice to unlock the bonnet:


ORVMs are wide enough to give a good view of happenings at the rear. They are electrically heated and come with blind-spot warnings:


IRVM is large enough to cover the rear windshield. It gets an auto-dimming function:


The angle of the rear windshield, large headrests and thick C-pillars restrict rearward visibility:


Centre fascia features a large tablet-like touchscreen head-unit with A/C vents on either side:


15.6-inch touchscreen can be rotated with a finger touch. It has a 1080P high-resolution display and a 5.9 mm bezel design which gives it an 83.1% screen-to-body ratio. These are the functions one can choose from:


You can set the theme to your preference:


Maintenance schedule can be fed in:


A host of other features can be adjusted through the touchscreen. These include chassis dynamics, lights, head-up display, air-conditioning, ORVMs, seats doors and windows and more:


Your driving data, energy consumption, control charging settings, etc. are displayed:


ADAS features can be set to your liking as well:


360-degree camera setup is pretty good and allows you to view the car from various angles. There are multiple options that you can explore to understand your surroundings better:


Touchscreen orientation can be changed to a portrait by touching a button on the steering (or on the screen itself). Touchscreen spins back to landscape mode while shutting down the car, but will return to the last used setting when it is restarted:


Dual wireless charging pads up to 15W:


Crystal gearshifter looks funky. Around the gear shifter are the start/stop button, electronic parking brake, hazard lights switch and controls for the auto hold, audio, climate control, blower, defogger and drive modes. There’s a snow mode button for better traction in snowy conditions:


Type-A and Type-C USB ports as well as a Micro SD card slot and 12V power outlet are located below:


Storage area below the gear console is large:


Two cupholders are located on the centre console. Driver's side unit is adjustable for height:


"NFC" marking on the centre armrest. If you enter the car using the NFC card and not the key, you need to start the car within 30 seconds:


Centre armrest has a deep storage bin underneath:


Chrome inserts on the passenger side of the dashboard. A/C vents are electrically adjustable:


Well-sized glovebox gets a soft lining:


Roof bezel features two individual map lights. It also holds the Bluetooth mic:


Both sun visors get vanity mirrors with flaps and illumination:


1.9 sq. m panoramic sunroof is enormous. BYD claims that it has less than 4.2% visible light transmittance and less than 16% solar transmittance. BYD also claims that it provides an ultraviolet insolation area of more than 99% :


Rear doorpads have a similar design to the front ones:


Aluminium scuff plates have been provided at the rear as well:


Legroom is sufficient even for taller passengers. The floor is flat:


Most people will feel the under-thigh support lacking. Headroom is adequate:


All three rear seat passengers get three-point seatbelts and headrests. ISOFIX child seat mounts are a part of the standard equipment:


Wide centre armrest houses two cupholders:


One large seatback pocket and two smartphone holders have been provided behind each of the front seats:


Foldable grab handles have been provided above each passenger door. White LED reading lamps are located above the rear doors:


Nifty bag hooks on both B-pillars:


Rear A/C vents do not get an air volume controller. There is a slot to store your smartphone:


Type-A and Type-C USB ports have been provided below:


Boot is fairly spacious with a luggage capacity of 400 litres:


Small compartment with a net is located on the LHS:


Cable to release the charging cable from the port hangs lose in the boot:


Woofer is placed on the RHS:


Hidden storage space underneath the boot floor can be used to keep the charging cable and puncture repair and tool kits that come with the car:


Rear seats are split in a 60:40 ratio. Backrests can be folded down using these chunky plastic levers:


With the rear seats folded down, you can get more luggage space. The boot floor is not flat though:


Powered boot lid gets height adjustment and pinch control:


Frunk capacity = 50 litres:


Disclaimer: BYD invited Team-BHP for the Seal test-drive. They covered all the travel expenses for this driving event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[cityslicker86]

Its amazing that BYD is able to offer so much and such quality in 45-53 lakhs package despite the car being a CBU! There are a few deal diluters if not breakers, from an Indian customer's P.O.V, such as rear seat headroom and under-thigh support, low ground clearance, firm ride and miniscule dealer network. But I believe that most customers would buy this as an additional car and not the only car in their garage.

I cant wait for Chinese firms to offer more competitive products. Hopefully they will push the Indian manufacturers to pull-up their socks and teach the Europeans a thing or two about pricing.

[PreludeSH]

Great review as always. The car looks well put to together. The ground clearance will be an issue for everyday use and driving to some outer areas of cities.

The rear seat depth looks good enough but the raised floor might be an issue which reduces thigh support for taller people.

I hope BYD can put together a SUV based on this design. Would look a la Cayenne with the very smooth flowing body.

[NomadSK]

Thanks for sharing the review.

I'm a fence sitter with regards to EV's. But this EV is a looker, seems Chinese clearly shows the pulse of Indian market. Range anxiety is almost over with the range they claim, ventilated discs front/rear are the demand for this kind of ballistic acceleration and with a drag coeff. of just 0.219, that's insane and among the best of the speedy cars.

Minus geopolitical concerns and pretty low GC of 145mm for Indian conditions, this car with 308 BHP and 360 Nm torque with a slight tap, would give serious run for money to Hyundai's Ioniq and Kia's EV6 and probably for some Germans too.

[vinya_jag]

Lovely black Seats. It feels so unreal to see a car launched with All black seats. Trying to remember when a car was launched in India with just Black seats. Full marks to BYD
Our car reviews over the years have bashed them so much that we don't get to see these kind of seats anymore.
I personally love black seats, specially the way it masks dirt. It is simply so hard to keep white/ beige leather seats clean, specially families those have pets.

[Pythonista]

Wow, BYD has gotten themselves a winner. Seriously impressed with the kit and performance. Lovely range, too.

The only miss I see is the lack of physical buttons and low GC. Will definitely give the Ioniq 5 a huge challenge

[Kevinrevvz]

They were able to obtain 500Km of real world range, cruising at around 100Kmph on the highway in the BYD Seal Premium. Quite impressive and I hope the AWD variant provides a competent real world range figure as well.

https://youtu.be/T3H0VkLF8jo?si=FcC1_4fu92UASKyw

[handsofsteel]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Lovely black Seats. It feels so unreal to see a car launched with All black seats. Trying to remember when a car was launched in India with just Black seats.
It is simply so hard to keep white/ beige leather seats clean, specially families those have pets.

I think there have been many. Offhand, I can think of
Maruti XL 6 has had an all black interior across all variants. (I picked one only for the all black interiors as I have a dog).
The Tata dark editions too. Of course they have variants with beige too.
The older Honda Jazz (launched in 2009), all variants, had all black seats.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Lovely black Seats. It feels so unreal to see a car launched with All black seats. Trying to remember when a car was launched in India with just Black seats. Full marks to BYD
Our car reviews over the years have bashed them so much that we don't get to see these kind of seats anymore.
I personally love black seats, specially the way it masks dirt. It is simply so hard to keep white/ beige leather seats clean, specially families those have pets.

You said which car? Nexon Fearless Plus LR comes in jet-black seats, black dashboard and even jet-black ceiling. Inside, you feel cocooned in a dark cockpit. That's the reason I chose this variant. I don't like beige, white, grey or any other colour, either. Beige/light colours make me feel like I am driving an MUV/limo and I am chauffeuring someone around. I am sure there are other cars, too, in 20 to 40 L range, with jet-black sporty interiors.