[Maky]

Originally Posted by GTO

I have driven EVs from almost all the brands. NOTHING touches a Tesla EV drivetrain in terms of throttle response, sheer pull & fun-to-drive nature.

How does a Tesla perform when it comes to all other factors? such as cabin quality, structural build otherwise, fit and finish compared to the EVs you have driven from most brands?
Is it really poor as I have seen mentioned in youtube videos I've been recommended or are they exaggerating?

Thanks.

[Kevinrevvz]

BYD Seal Prices Dropped Yet Again in China

As a part of an ongoing price war in the extremely crowded and competitive Chinese EV market, BYD has cut the prices of the Seal for the second consecutive time by 10,000-30,000 Yuan. BYD still remains as one of the vey few profitable NEV brands alongside Tesla.



Turns out that BYD was already invoicing their Indian Seals at these updated prices.

Indian Cost Breakdown:

BYD Seal Performance AWD

Chinese Price: 249,800 Yuan : $34,647
₹28,88,000

Post Duty Price: $58,900
(70% Import Duty: $24,253)
₹49,09,138

Post GST Price: $61,845
(5% GST: $2945)
₹51,54,595

Additional expenses: +₹1,45,405

Ex.Showroom Price: ₹53,00,000

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by GTO

I have driven EVs from almost all the brands. NOTHING touches a Tesla EV drivetrain in terms of throttle response, sheer pull & fun-to-drive nature.

Maybe the Ioniq 5 N will change your mind?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/hyundai/ioniq-5-n

https://youtu.be/jF-WBxqziNs?feature=shared

[volkman10]

BYD Seal is the 2nd runner up to the 2024 World Car of the Year!

[chohan]

I test drove BYD seal (Performance AWD)

Comparison with Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Areas where BYD Seal scores over Hyundai ionic 5

1. The driver cockpit cocoons you in a typical sedan-like fashion. For a sedan lover like me, it’s instantly appealing. While I wouldn’t say the interior elements are plusher than the Ioniq 5, the overall dark interiors with alcantara touches on the dash create a cozy vibe.

2. The heads up display boasts impressive quality and has a nice projection

3. While driving, the rear of the car isn’t as bouncy as the Ionic 5, perhaps it is a sedan trait. I haven’t driven the car at highway speeds but it should easily have better high speed dynamics owing to its shape and body style.

Areas where ionic 5 scores over BYD seal.

1. Sense of space.: Besides the real difference in legroom, headroom and shoulder room, the overall sense of space is akin to the difference between a deluxe room and a suite. Although I personally prefer dark interiors, the feeling of spaciousness with the light interior in the Ioniq 5 has been a revelation.

2. Rear seat comfort. We all know that rear seat tuning is an engineering challenge for electric cars because of the battery pack sitting underneath. While both the cars have similar or lack of under thigh support, the Ionic 5 solves some part of that problem with the recline option on the rear seats. Reclining the seats is one way to attain that missing under thigh support.

3. Ride at city speeds. While I took a small test drive at city speeds. I felt the ride in BYD Seal has some firmness and road noise crept in more than the Ioniq 5. Hyundai on the other hand has a plusher ride while still having that underlying firmness of an electric car. However those massive 20 inch wheels take away some part of the plushness but still the ride quality i would prefer at city speeds.

4. Practicality. I have been a proponent of saloon body style since I owned my first car. From Linea T-jet to Skoda Octavia to BMW 3 series, it’s been all sedan for me but after clocking 15 thousand kilometres in Ioniq 5 over the past year, I can say that it’s difficult to beat the practicality of an SUV body style. The enhanced ground clearance and rear hatch let me do stuff I had never done in a Sedan.

5. The GAME CHANGER. One area where Ionic 5 knocks BYD Seal out of the park is the regenerative breaking. After driving most of the EV’s in this segment, I can confidently say that Hyundai/Kia group have the best regen system in the industry. From my short interaction with the BYD seal and explanation from the dealership agent, I believe that BYD seal has only two levels of regeneration which have to be activated from the screen while Ioniq 5 has pedal shifters on the steering wheel. There are limited avenues in an EV that let the driver customise his driving experience and flexible regenerative breaking is one of them. The level of customisation in Ionic 5 is exhaustive. Hell, even auto regen setting has different levels from mild auto to strong auto. Then the pedals to change to level 1,2 and 3 on the fly and then holding the left pedal to invoke maximum regen for as long as you hold it( like brake pedal) .I still believe there has to be more to the regenerative braking system of the BYD seal other than two simple settings. If someone has detailed knowledge should clear the doubt.

Additional observations:

Throttle modulation is very similar to Ioniq 5’s. Both build speed gradually and lack outright punch.
It’s very hard to believe this car could do 0-100 in under four seconds. Initial response from throttle is slow.

Front doors are chunkier and have better thud in Ioniq 5.

The rear of BYD Seal doesn’t bounce on speed breakers as much as Ioniq 5.

Lack of heated rear seats is a bummer for north India. Folks have ridiculed Hyundai for providing heated rear seats in Ioniq 5 instead of ventilated seats but they miss the point. Heated seats is a way to reduce the usage of hot blower in winter. The difference is energy consumption is mind boggling. You could run heated seats all day with minimal impact on battery but the blower on other hand will suck battery like a maniac. I have used heated seats without feeling the need to use blower all winter. Thumbs up for this feature!

I will have another detailed test drive of BYD Seal as it’s hard to escape the sedan bug.

[Venkatesh]

BYD Cell to Body technology

BYD SEAL is the first model equipped with in-house upgraded e-Platform 3.0 with CTB (cell-to-body) technology. It seamlessly integrates Blade Battery into the car's body, forming a robust 'sandwich' structure. This unique structure ensures exceptional torsional rigidity, enabling a confident drive every time you hit the road.

Link

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

BYD Cell to Body technology

This "SANDWICH" structure will surely give rigidity and improve driving dynamics, I am wondering if the battery fails or goes kaput, how can the battery be replaced? and costs involved once battery is out of warranty?

A simple bolt-on battery is so much easier to repair / replace. Everything has its pros and cons.

[PreludeSH]

An integrated structure would separate the front and rear ends and put the battery structure in between ?
This is still a battery attached to the body underneath with good coupling to ensure rigidity.

Not sure if the top battery cover could be separated to get the entire unit out in case of repairs. The bottom cover does give access to the battery cells. However, the glue is the key thing whether you can remove that or not.

[Kevinrevvz]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

This "SANDWICH" structure will surely give rigidity and improve driving dynamics, I am wondering if the battery fails or goes kaput, how can the battery be replaced? and costs involved once battery is out of warranty?

A simple bolt-on battery is so much easier to repair / replace. Everything has its pros and cons.

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Not sure if the top battery cover could be separated to get the entire unit out in case of repairs. The bottom cover does give access to the battery cells. However, the glue is the key thing whether you can remove that or not.

Yes, the battery could be taken out and replaced in no time as demonstrated in this video.

https://youtu.be/n2J0BVxt-rg?si=tqUfZzKetlfocYC6

[volkman10]

BYD says:

The rapid charging capability of the BYD SEAL ensures you can get from 0-80%* charge in just 45 minutes, letting you spend more time driving and less time waiting.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

Yes, the battery could be taken out and replaced in no time as demonstrated in this video.

https://Youtu.be/n2J0BVxt-rg?si=tqUfZzKetlfocYC6

In the history of Car Crash testing, never has a 'already' banged up car, banged again.

Very unique way to test a car, esp a EV. Gives out a statement that not 1 but even 2 crashes cannot rupture the battery and cause a EV fire.

PS - I would have imagined a EV crash test to be conducted in a more ventilated area, like a open ground without a roof on top and a foam fire truck nearby.

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by volkman10

BYD says:



Attachment 2589379

Hi, I agree with this statement of BYD, however do we have such high capacity chargers easily available.

I am sure EV users can share their knowledge about kind of fast chargers easily available in their highway drive routes across India, what is the most common charging capacity available and how much time Seal will take to charge from say 20% to 80%.

[dheepak10]

Originally Posted by Maky

How does a Tesla perform when it comes to all other factors? such as cabin quality, structural build otherwise, fit and finish compared to the EVs you have driven from most brands?
Is it really poor as I have seen mentioned in Youtube videos I've been recommended or are they exaggerating?

Thanks.

I've driven the Ioniq 5 and 6 before I purchased a Tesla Model 3.

The fit, finish and cabin noise isolation on the Ioniq models are next level, compared to Tesla. Tesla is decent, not luxury class equivalent. The China made Tesla's have much better fit and finish than the American made ones. My Model 3 is China made and my friend's Model Y is US made and I could notice the consistency of panel gaps is better on mine.

That said, Tesla's design is very modular and it's easy to customise as per your preference.

Where no other EV can beat the Tesla is the efficiency - Teslas manage electricity so efficiently that their range with a 75kWh battery is almost same as competitors 90 and 100kWh battery.

Here's mine:

[Kevinrevvz]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

I recently drove the Seal Premium and BYD has done their throttle and powertrain tuning very differently to most other EV brands.

The problem is not in the throttle response, which is quite responsive in Sport mode but the power delivery is not instant like other EVs. Instead of delivering 100% of the power and torque the moment you put your foot down, it ramps up the power linearly like a turbocharged ICE car.

While in other EVs, you feel a strong jolt for a second or two which then subsides, the feeling of acceleration lasts longer on the Seal. The second you floor it, you feel the powertrain respond with the power building up linearly and you feel the torque push you back more and more as you accelerate similar to a BMW 530d.

BYD Seal Performance AWD Driving Impressions

Pictured here is the beautiful Shark Grey shade which is unfortunately not available to order in India. It’s a paid option abroad.



I recently got to drive the BYD Seal Performance AWD at PPS BYD, Bangalore and oh boy is it a completely different animal to the Premium RWD variant.



Let’s address the elephant in the room, the Performance! In Sport mode with iTAC turned on, there’s none of that linear ramp up or delay from the RWD here. The throttle is extremely sharp and the moment you put your foot down, it brutally takes off. It keeps you strongly pinned to your seat till about 100Kmph after which the initial storm subsides.

It feels very much like the 3.8S 0-100 car it’s supposed to be. It feels more brutal when accelerating from a standstill than a BMW M340i or an Audi RS5.

The car feels very well insulated even at triple digit speeds with pretty much zero powertrain, road or wind noise. Put your foot down from triple digit speeds and you notice the numbers rapidly climb up in the speedo but you don’t experience that sudden jolt of G Force you feel from lower speeds.



Dynamically, the car is very well sorted. It’s relatively stiffly sprung with frequency selective damping. It’s comfortable enough on bad roads for a sport sedan and the high speed stability is stellar. The steering is not too feedback rich but well weighted and very precise. It changes directions at high speeds with a lot of confidence and handles corners with no sweat like a true sport sedan that you forget the 2.2 ton kerb weight.

The 145mm ground clearance may be a cause of concern for some but it didn’t scrape its belly on any of the large speed breakers en route. The front splitter however is quite low and scrapes on steep ramps if not dealt with sideways. Wherever you can take a 3/5 Series, you can take this. With mixed driving, I experienced a real world range figure of around 450Km as opposed to 500-520Km on the RWD variant. I would say that sacrifice in range is completely worth it in exchange for the missile-like performance on offer.



I was initially quite underwhelmed with the Seal Premium but the Seal Performance has completely changed my mind about this car. It’s not only a great EV but also a fantastic driver’s car which can keep the most discerning of enthusiasts happy both in a straight line as well as in corners.

[Jangra]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

I recently got to drive the BYD Seal Performance AWD at PPS BYD, Bangalore and oh boy is it a completely different animal to the Premium RWD variant. .

I’ve heard Bangalore afternoons are hot and sunny these days. How was the roof without the blinds? I’ve tried in my Kodiaq driving with open blinds and it gets super sunny for the passengers in the afternoon to the point it cannot be tolerated.

Wonder what was BYD thinking offering exposed sunroof! This is the single downside that would prevent me from buying this beast