2024 BYD Seal Review: Yes, Tesla Should Be Worried

BYD’s been around for years although it’s more known for its batteries than its cars. Still, the Chinese firm has been building cars since 2003, but it only started taking automobile manufacturing seriously when it slipped its eccentric Atto 3 into the electric SUV market in 2022.

As the marque’s lineup grew, funkier designs and oddball names appeared including the Dolphin, Sealion 7, Seal, and Seal U, the latter being the only hybrid option. The zany car that became my rolling office for two weeks was the Seal Excellence AWD, and as the ‘Excellence’ moniker suggests, this was the range-topping dual-motor guise. 

The Basics

I remember when the invite to drive the Seal around Loch Lomond first popped into my mailbox, and not so soon after I was hanging on for dear life as we battered around some of Scotland’s finest and wettest backroads. We didn’t have long with it at first, only an hour or so, but it left me pondering: could this be better than a Tesla Model 3?

Whenever I drive a Tesla, I get a bit bored. Boiled cabbage has greater appeal than the Model 3’s interior. The BYD on the other hand; it’s more intriguing inside and out and I can see why it would be an attractive alternative if you don’t mind telling your pals at the bar that you own a “Build Your Dreams.” Going by some of the responses I received at charging stations, owning a Polestar or Tesla is more socially acceptable. 

Climb inside, and you’ll find cross-stitched leather seats, a floating center console littered with only necessary switchgear, and BYD’s rotating screen—more on the latter later. Above all, there are wiper and indicator stalks, steering wheel adjustment, and physical mirror controls. In a Tesla, you’re left to dizzyingly fumble about in an array of menus just to slow the wipers or change the mirror positioning, something that’s downright dangerous. 

The Seal’s exterior is like one of those “The More I Watch, The Funnier It Gets” videos. It’s easy to miss the vents—that don’t actually vent—at the front and sides, the little BYD Design logo on the front quarter panels, and the BYD emblem on the pop-out door handles. These are small details, but they aid the Seal’s quirk massively. 

It’s a sleek-looking thing that’s covered in lines and abstract shapes. It grabbed the attention of budding EV owners, dog walkers, and everyone between during my time with it, and more so at night. Four daytime running strip lights sit below each headlight and the large rear LED lightbar looks like it’s been pilfered from a downed Martian ship.

Looking at the rear badge tells you how deep the owner’s wallet is and how quickly it’ll smash the 0-62 mph dash. But since there are only two trim levels, it’s easy to work out. If it only shows BYD Seal, this is the base Design model. The Excellence AWD shows 3.8S at the rear, and unless you’re piloting something that’ll crack 0-62 mph in under four seconds, I’d leave it alone at the traffic lights.

Driving the BYD Seal

Most of my time with the Seal was spent on Britain’s largest car park also known as the M6 motorway. While en route to Milton Keynes to drive the Audi RS2, I sat for three hours in stationary traffic because someone whomped their Kia Rio into the back of a Ford Ranger.

When I was moving, the Seal was a comfortable motorway cruiser although its overzealous adaptive cruise control bugged me. There I am; relaxed, listening to some jazz at a steady 70 mph while bathing in purple ambient lighting. A truck, which was eons away, changes into my lane and the Seal aggressively hits the brakes as though a pedestrian had strolled out in front. Even adjusting the radar length didn’t help this.

Sinking the “quiet” pedal conjures a smile, regardless of its silly safety systems or wet weather. Two electric motors feed 523 horsepower and 494 lb-ft of torque through all four wheels, while the base Design trim gets rear-wheel drive, 308 hp, and 264 lb-ft. 

Select the Seal’s “Sport” setting and the AWD hooks the tarmac beautifully and you are shoved down the road by what feels like the hand of a deity. In all honesty, it’s a bit overkill and you’ll get bored of showing your pals how fast it is soon enough as the charging bills begin to stack. Therefore, the rear-wheel drive would be the sensible option unless you enjoy living at charging stations.

Get on a sweeping backroad and the Seal is genuinely good fun, and its impressive balance even allows for some mild oversteer. The way it tucks into tight corners and powers out the other side is an absolute hoot. Enter a town, and all previously gathered optimism slowly drains as the Seal crashes through potholes and bounces over poor road repairs because of its firm suspension.

The Highs and Lows

Kicking off the small list of the Seal’s lows is its rotating screen. Sure, it’s cool and kids will go “Ohhhhhh” whenever you press the rotation button on the steering wheel. Just ensure you don’t have any sunglasses in the cubby below the screen: you’ll look a bit daft showing your pals how it rotates as it slowly crushes your Ray-Bans. It spent 99% of its time in the portrait position while I drove it as it was out of the way of any knees this way, and it gives you a better view of the road ahead when using the sat nav.

While there are physical buttons in the cabin, pressing these will load up a menu within the touchscreen and you’ll still need to faff around to find the setting you desire. Something as simple as changing the brake regen or the climate control settings requires you to negotiate further menus. 

Next is the Seal’s curb weight. The AWD model, although claimed by BYD to be 4,530 pounds, was weighed by Autocar at 4,664 pounds, making it 634 pounds heavier than a Model 3 Long Range AWD. It handles its mass well through the corners, but I feel this is another contributing factor to why I wasn’t getting anywhere near BYD’s claimed efficiency or range figures despite my feathery right foot. 

On the other hand, there’s lots going for the Seal. It’s nimble despite it being slightly larger than a Model 3, it’s a good motorway cruiser, and it comes packed with lots of standard equipment. Likewise, regardless of its sweeping roofline, there’s just enough headroom for passengers over six feet and they’ll have a lovely view of the sky through the Seal’s panoramic sunroof.

The 14.1-cubic-foot trunk filled up quickly with my suitcase and camera gear, but there’s also a handy 1.9-cubic-foot “frunk” for charging cables and some bread. The Seal’s trunk capacity falls short of its rivals with the Model 3 boasting 20 cubic feet and the BMW i4 with 16.6 cubic feet. Under the Seal’s front “floating” console is further storage for bananas, water, porridge cartons, and other long-distance travel essentials. 

BYD Seal Features, Options, and Competition

In the U.K., the 2024 BYD Seal costs £45,695 (~$58,000) for the entry-level RWD and £48,695 (~$62,000) for this AWD model. Seal buyers shouldn’t need to look at the scarce optional extras list as it gets a heat pump, 11-kW onboard charger, 19-inch alloys, keyless entry, leather electric memory seats, and a 360-degree camera as standard. It also gets heaps of safety equipment.

The Seal’s closest competitor, in terms of price, quality, and performance is probably the Model 3, although the Hyundai Ioniq 6, the dual-motor BMW i4, and the Polestar 2 aren’t far off. 

Range, Charging, and Efficiency

BYD claims the AWD variant Seal is good for 323 miles, a 31-mile deficit compared to the rear-wheel-drive car. I’ll admit that my range anxiety was rife at times. A 760-mile (mostly motorway) round trip from Scotland to the south of England lay ahead, and it was my first time driving an EV this far. Of course, planning your route is important with any EV but despite my efforts, my six-hour trip turned into a nearly nine-hour trip because of various knackered chargers, Britain’s road network, and the Seal’s 240-mile real-world range.

Yep, 240 miles. For the record, Scotland was 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was even warmer in England, meaning the battery wasn’t subject to freezing temperatures, nor was I making regular use of all its 523 ponies. At the end of the two weeks, it managed 2.9 miles per kWh (34.6 kWh/100 miles) or 97 mpge, an efficiency figure quite far off the quoted 3.9 miles per kWh. Still, this could also be because of all the stopping and starting on the dreaded M6 motorway. 

BYD claims the Seal’s maximum charging rate is 150 kW and when plugged into many 350-kW systems, I saw a maximum of 132 kW, which meant 20% to 80% took just under 50 minutes. 

Value and Verdict

It’s not like BYD has randomly emerged from Asia, built a car with no real competition in mind, given it a funky name, and then catapulted it into the ever-growing electric car market. Instead, it’s put brain power into the Seal’s design, tech, and comfort levels, meaning it does a fine job standing up against premium machinery. 

That said, it doesn’t quite have the brawn to shove Tesla’s Model 3 off its podium, but it is gradually clawing its way up, using the Polestar 2 as a step as it clambers its way to the top. If you want something different from the Model 3, the RWD Seal is the way to go. You’ll get more range than the AWD, the same design, features, and enough power for everyday use. 

And while the Model 3 is cheaper, goes further, offers just as much performance when equipped with dual motors, and is more refined, the Seal has a prettier interior, windshield wiper and indicator stalks, and is quite fun to drive on a curvy road—it’ll also turn a lot more heads. 

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