Feature
BYD Sealion 5 long-term test
Our senior photographer needs an economical, practical car that's relaxing on long trips and shrugs off big, bulky loads. Is the Sealion 5 a capable performer? Let's find out
The car BYD Sealion 5 DM-i Design Run by John Bradshaw, chief photographer
Why it’s here To find out if this family SUV combines economy and convenience.
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Needs to Be economical and relaxing on long trips, and endlessly practical.
Mileage 4376 List price £32,995 Best Price £29,490 Price as tested £32,995 Official economy 134.5mpg Test economy 41.5mpg
24 August 2026 – Storage superstar
My BYD Sealion 5 has put holiday logistics in my mind. You see, when you make lots of budget flights, you become a dab hand at travelling light; anything more than a toothbrush and a few changes of underwear risks exceeding your luggage allowance. After the limitations imposed by my previous small SUV, then, upgrading to a family SUV means I can just throw everything in the boot without having to give packing a moment’s thought. Or at least, that's the theory.
Well, on paper, the Sealion 5 does have substantially more luggage room than the Alfa Romeo Junior I ran previously. Although that car’s boot isn’t at all bad by small SUV standards, it did give me more cause to consider my packing than – say – the Skoda Kodiaq I had not long ago. Mind you, that machine’s vast boot gave me not just a carry-on luggage allowance but also a suitcase in the hold. This meant, as What Car?’s chief photographer, I could carry not only the right tools for the job, but also anything else I thought might come in handy on a shoot.
John Bradshaw
Updated: 24 August 2026
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The Sealion 5’s boot falls somewhere in the middle. It’s decently long and broad; it’s quite high off the ground, because the plug-in hybrid battery is beneath the floor, but there’s no awkward lip at the opening, and folding the rear seats makes for a reasonable stand-in for a removals van. Indeed, it was just the job for helping my nephew move house recently.
The load cover could be better designed, though. Rather than being of the retractable, rollerblind style usually found in SUVs and estate cars, it’s a parcel shelf akin to what you get in a family car. Only the front half articulates to lift up when you open the tailgate, and that means everything packed close to the seatback is concealed somewhat, so I have to duck and stretch forward to access it. Were it hinged at the seatback, I’d be able to simply lean in.
Still, the fact that I can fit everything I regularly need into the boot itself means my gear doesn’t overflow onto the back seat. I can carry passengers, then, and even the gangliest folk I know are happy with the head room and leg room on offer. Compared with the Ryanair conditions they faced in my previous car, then, my guests will feel like they're travelling first class. Indeed, the Leapmotor B10 matches this focus on passenger space by utilising a completely flat floor to provide limo-like legroom in the rear.
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