BYD’s Seal has been one of the most highly anticipated EVs in the Australian market this year. Overnight, it was unveiled to the Australia public at the opening of BYD’s new Sydney Megastore, and I got to spend a bit of time inside the top-spec dual-motor variant of the new all-electric sedan that is bound to turn heads.
The BYD Seal will be the latest offering from the Chinese car maker that is challenging Tesla as the dominant player in the global EV market.
In Australia it has already introduced the Atto 3, which is the third best selling EV in the country, and is soon to roll out the BYD Dolphin, including one variant priced under $40,000.
The Seal goes to the opposite end of the market – a more direct challenge to Tesla and its Model 3 in price and in styling and performance, even though BYD’s agent in Australia, EV.Direct, insists that is not its intention.
The Seal has, nevertheless, attracted thousands of expressions of interest, and seeing the car in person is a completely different experience from the photos we have seen to date.
The Seal has one of the most unique front end of any EV on the market. From the front headlights to the daytime running lights (DRLs), all glow to give an aggressive look to this performance-orientated sedan.
Getting on the inside of the cars, the interior looked and felt very plush with soft-touch materials inside the cabin.
The driver seat offers good support and has a soft armrest further giving it a premium feel on the inside.
The steering wheel had a good feel and reminded me a bit of the Atto 3 in terms of the placement of buttons, but it did feel more sportier which is what is expected from a performance-focused sedan.
The key also shares design principles from the Atto 3 and has a distinctive look.
Given this is the top-spec variant that can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, it has sporty pedals that give it a less spongy feel on the track.
Speaking of the performance factor, the gear-shifter is quite cool with its minimalist design, but also its driver-centric placement in the centre console. With plenty of glossy sections, it might be a fingerprint magnet for some but that wouldn’t deter many given the premium look it provides.
Image: Riz Akhtar
The frunk was bigger than I expected given what’s on offer in the Atto 3. Access to the windscreen fluid top-ups will also be easier given the placement of the filling point.
Closing the front bonnet also made a sold thunk which reflected the overall solid feel that I observed on all doors as well.
The charge port is located on the right hand side with a CCS2 plug. This may make it slightly difficult to charge at some newly opened Tesla chargers but on most charging sites with longer cables it should be easy to reverse into the bay and charge.
Image: Riz Akhtar
Although this was the first time seeing the car in person, being able to get in and out and feeling what BYD is about to deliver to the market left a very positive impression.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.