BYD Sealion 7 review

The name of the BYD Sealion 7 we're reviewing here might seem a bit odd, but then it’s no weirder than an SUV called a Puma, a sports car called a Cayman. Lots of cars are named after animals, so why should pinnipeds be left out?

Likewise, the number 7 in the Sealion's name doesn’t really mean anything at the moment, but then it didn’t when Audi launched its first SUV, the Q7, 20-odd years ago. It just suggests smaller Sealions will arrive further down the line.

Enough about the name – what exactly is the Sealion 7? Well, it’s an electric SUV and is probably best thought of as a taller, slightly longer take on the BYD Seal. That means the Sealion 7 is a direct rival to Britain’s best-selling electric car – the Tesla Model Y – but also the lower-riding and slightly smaller Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

So is the BYD Sealion 7 good enough to take on the best electric SUVs and win? Read on to find out how we rate it in all the important areas...

BYD describes the Sealion 7 as a performance SUV and there’s no doubt it’s pretty rapid in a straight line. Even the entry-level Comfort mode, which has a single 308bhp electric motor driving its rear wheels, can officially sprint from 0-62mph in a respectable 6.7 seconds. 

The Design and Excellence models have a second motor driving their front wheels, giving them four-wheel drive and a total of 523bhp. They can rocket to 62mph from a standstill in just 4.5 seconds – something BYD is so proud of that it’s written that time on the back of the car.

While it’s certainly fast in a straight line, the Sealion 7 doesn’t live up to the performance SUV billing on windier roads. There’s more body lean than in a Kia EV6 or Tesla Model Y, and the steering fails to weight up consistently when you’re turning into corners – even when you select Sport mode. In short, it's not much fun to drive.

However, we’d argue that most electric SUV buyers are more concerned about a comfortable ride and, on the whole, they’ll get that from the Sealion 7. It’s far more agreeable along a poorly surfaced road than a Model Y, with its relatively soft suspension taking the sting out of larger imperfections in urban environments.

At faster speeds, including on the motorway, you sometimes notice yourself being jostled around in your seat as a series of ripples or other minor imperfections unsettle the Sealion 7. It’s rarely extreme enough to annoy you, but the EV6 and the pricier Audi Q6 e-tron are more composed on the motorway.

Talking of motorway manners, the Sealion 7 is remarkably hushed at a 70mph cruise, with little road or wind noise disturbing the peace. The standard double-glazed side windows no doubt help here, keeping unwanted noise from getting inside.

In fact, it’s a pity you can’t cruise for longer periods: the Sealion 7 doesn’t have a particularly amazing range. The entry-level Comfort can officially do 300 miles on a charge, dropping to 283 miles for the heavier four-wheel drive Design.

Both those versions have the same 82.5kWh (usable capacity) battery, whereas the range-topping Excellence gets a 91.3kWh battery and an official range of 311 miles. That’s not bad, but the cheapest Tesla Model Y can officially do 373 miles on a charge.

"The Sealion’s brakes aren’t perfect but I found them less grabby than in a lot of electric cars." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

Sitting in the BYD Sealion 7's driving seat, you feel higher up than in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6, and the driving position is more natural than in a Tesla Model Y. The Model Y's seat is mounted on a plinth to lift you further from the road, whereas in the Sealion the whole car just feels bigger and taller.

Electric adjustment for the driver’s seat (including lumbar support) is standard on all versions, and while we’d ideally like a bit more side support from the seat to hold you in place when going around corners, it’s comfortable in other respects.

In fact, the only slightly odd thing about the driving position is that the steering wheel sprouts from fairly low down on the dashboard, meaning it’s angled more towards your face than your chest. That does at least give you a clear, unobstructed view of the digital driver's display.

All versions of the Sealion 7 have a 15.6in infotainment touchscreen which is bright, quick to respond to presses, and can rotate from landscape to portrait at the touch of a button (or icon). The operating system isn’t quite as user-friendly as a Model Y’s, but it’s still fairly intuitive. You get Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, along with a punchy 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Sealion 7 is the quality of its interior. It doesn’t just feel solidly screwed together, it’s also finished with some upmarket materials, especially in the range-topping Excellence.

Lots of ambient interior lighting and a light pattern on the face of the dashboard help make the Sealion 7's interior feel more special inside than a Kia EV6 or Tesla Model Y. The Genesis GV60 is even classier inside.

"I found the 360-degree camera that comes on all versions of the BYD Sealion 7 very handy, and it makes up for the poor rear visibility." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

The BYD Sealion 7 is a big car – it’s slightly longer than an Audi Q6 e-tron or a Tesla Model Y – – so it’s no great surprise that there’s plenty of space inside.

In the front, even really tall occupants are well catered for. The seats slide back a long way and there’s no shortage of head room. There are also no fewer than 20 storage cubbyholes dotted around the Sealion 7’s interior, including a deep one under the central armrest and a large tray under the centre console that runs between the driver and front passenger.

It’s in the back where the Sealion 7’s length really pays dividends because it means there’s absolutely loads of knee room. Head room is less generous (blame the coupé-esque roofline) but there’s still just about enough for a six-footer, and the rear seats themselves are more comfortable and supportive than those in a Tesla Model Y.

You can recline the angle of the backrest for a more upright (or laid back) seating position, but you can’t slide the seats back and forth like you can in some electric SUVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Mind you, the Sealion 7 has a bigger boot than an Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6. There’s 520 litres of storage space below the parcel shelf, including a huge well under the main boot floor – a useful spot to stow the charging cables. All versions have a height-adjustable boot floor, but the difference between the highest and lowest settings is only about 4cm.

There's also 58 litres of storage in the front boot under the bonnet. That's enough space to fit in a carry-on suitcase.

"I had to reach forward a long way to fold down the rear seatbacks from the boot. It’s a pity you don't get levers near the back of the boot to make the process easier." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

Official UK prices for the BYD Sealion 7 hadn’t been announced at the time of writing, but we have it on good authority that the entry-level Comfort version will start at around £45,500. That means it will be slightly cheaper than the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y and massively undercut the similar-sized Audi Q6 e-tron.

Expect to pay a premium of around £5,000 for the more powerful Design model, and another couple of thousand pounds for the top-spec Excellence (which has the longest range).

So the pricing is competitive, and all versions come with loads of standard equipment, including heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and vehicle to load (V2L), which allows you to turn your Sealion 7 into a portable battery and run appliances off it.

The range-topping Excellence adds real Nappa leather seats (instead of faux leather), and a head-up display, which projects important information – such as your speed – on to the windscreen directly in front of the driver.

There’s plenty of safety kit, too. All versions have traffic-sign recognition, forward and rear-collision warning, front and rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning and blind-spot detection. We can’t tell you how well the Sealion 7 is likely to protect you in a crash because Euro NCAP has yet to publish its test report.

BYD is one several Chinese car brands to have launched cars in the UK recently, and reliability data is limited at the moment, so we can't tell you how dependable its cars will be. You do get a six-year warranty on most components, though, with eight years on the battery and motor.

When it comes to charging, the range-topping Sealion 7 Excellence has a maximum charging rate of 230kW. In ideal conditions with a fast enough charger, a 10-80% top-up can take as little as 24 minutes – less time that you’d be waiting for a Tesla Model Y to charge.

The Comfort and Design versions can accept 150kW of power, so a 10-80% charge of their smaller batteries takes at least 32 minutes.

"I think it’s a pity cheaper versions of the BYD Sealion 7 can’t charge all that quickly. All versions of the Model Y can accept the same ultra-faster charging rate." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here