BYD Seal long-term test
Can a brand that's relatively new to the UK show established names a thing or two in the highly competitive executive car class? We're finding out...
The car BYD Seal 390kW Excellence AWD Run by Steve Huntingford, editor
Why it's here To see if BYD's flagship electric car is a worthy alternative to the Tesla Model 3 and prestige German saloons
Needs to Combine comfort and refinement with cutting-edge tech and a good real-world range
Mileage 8814 List price £48,695 Target Price £45,936 Price as tested £49,571 Test range 280 miles Official range 323 miles
1 March 2025 – Worthy alternative?
After the 2025 What Car? Car of the Year Awards, several audience members told me they were surprised to see the Tesla Model 3 win Executive Car of the Year given the recent behaviour of a certain Elon Musk.
My response was that our job is simply to name the best cars; consumers can decide for themselves whether or not they like the companies who make them – or indeed their owners.
As much as I believe that, though, it does seem that in the case of Tesla, an increasing number of people are deciding they do not.
I’ve started to receive emails from Tesla owners in which they ask what they should replace their car with now that they no longer like owning a product that’s so strongly associated with Musk.
Plus, a handful of Model 3 drivers have actually come up to me at chargers asking what my BYD Seal is like; again, it’s turned out that they’re thinking of switching due to worries about their cars’ baggage – and they’re not talking about the luggage they have in the boot.
And my answer?
Well, as an all-round package the Model 3 is still the better car; it’s more practical, strikes a better balance between ride comfort and handling, offers superior real-world efficiency and gets cheaper (and more comprehensive) access to Tesla’s excellent Supercharger network.
However, if the BYD brand is more to your taste, the good news is that the Seal has a plush interior, masses of standard kit, a great warranty and decent driving manners.
In other news, despite having my car for six months now, I still sometimes forget which stalk to use when I want to indicate or turn on the wipers.
The reason is that they’re the opposite way round to what we’re accustomed to in the UK; the indicator stalk is to the right of the steering wheel and the wiper stalk to the left.
It probably doesn’t help that my job means I regularly swap into other cars that are in on test. But if you do see a BYD Seal suddenly trying to clear its windscreen on a sunny day while turning, please have patience.
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