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Plugging in to a new market: BYD Seal U First Drive

SUV is new Chinese brand’s first plug-in hybrid on UK market.
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26 September 2024

BUSINESS MOTORING OVERALL SCORE

7.5/10

What is it?

In its first tumultuous 18 months on the UK market Chinese brand BYD has certainly made its mark, establishing a rapidly growing dealer network and launching three new electric vehicles, the most recent being the Seal super-saloon with a sub 4-second 0-62mph time.

So on such evidence, and the oft-repeated fact that BYD makes one in five of the world’s smartphone batteries, one might think that model number four, the slightly clumsily named Seal U DM-i, is simply the super saloon in an SUV body shell. In fact it’s a very different car, one of the most fundamental of those differences being that it has an engine.

The Seal U, as everyone is now calling it, is a plug-in hybrid and the first of what are likely to be several PHEVs from the brand, providing evidence, if any were needed, that even a manufacturer that has so far aggressively built a profile on its EVs sees that there is still plenty of viability in offering cars with engines. And the full-electric option remains as BYD sells the Seal U in this format in China.

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The Seal U is a D-segment SUV which goes on sale in two forms, dubbed Boost with a front-wheel drive powertrain of 218hp and Design, all-wheel drive and with 324hp. Both combine a 1.5-litre petrol engine engine with electric motors, one on the Boost and two on the Design.

BYD has made much of constructing every part of its vehicles in-house so being free of any potential supply-chain issues and this goes for the engines too. Home made, we are told they have been developed specifically for the hybrid drivetrain, with the main difference between them being the turbocharger fitted to the more powerful unit of the Design.

These are no typical PHEVs. The concept is to travel electrically whenever possible and the engine is only present to assist in generating energy for the battery, rather like a range-extender. The intelligent hybrid system works to prioritise electric power by having the ability to switch between three modes.

EV propels the car electrically – the Boost can travel 50 miles and the Design 43 on electric power alone. HEV activates the engine to replenish the battery when it falls below a set state of charge, while HEV Parallel employs both motor and engine to drive the wheels when the most power is needed, such as making a swift overtaking move. The Boost is adequately powerful with a 0-62mph time of just under nine seconds while the Design cuts this to under six seconds.

BYD also plains to release a mid-range model later – dubbed Comfort it will basically be the Boost with its ‘Blade’ battery upgraded to a 26.6 kWh unit compared to the 18.3 kWh of the currently available models. This will push the official all-electric range to 77 miles.

All versions include onboard chargers of 11kW but can also be used with DC fast chargers, which is more unusual for a plug-in hybrid. Using the standard 18kW DC option the battery can be replenished from 30 to 80% in 35 minutes.

Both outside and inside the car its relationship to the Seal saloon is obvious. The interior is dominated by the rotatable 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, while the driver gets their own 12.3-inch LCD instrument panel. There’s a voice assistant to enable hands-free adjustments and over-the-air updates are standard to keep the technology up to date.

Both models boast almost identical, and extensive, equipment levels, the only difference being that the Design has six driving modes thanks to its all-wheel drive, adding sand and mud to eco, normal, sport and snow. Electric seats, a panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging and a great deal more comes fitted whichever version is chosen.

This parity in equipment is particularly noteworthy in the safety specification, with a long list of ADAS driver assist features based around six radars and four cameras mounted on every car. Euro NCAP has tested the Seal U and like its saloon sister it gained a five-star rating with positive comments from the crash testers.

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What do we think of it?

Yes the Seal U is definitely an SUV but on first viewing its relationship to its saloon sister is quite obvious, the bonnet and front-end design in particular virtually replicating the saloon and the usual recipe of wheel arches muscled up with plastic surrounds employed to emphasise the SUV status.

The interior is more bespoke, however, with for example a wider centre console design incorporating a pair of cupholders, but both the huge rotating infotainment screen and the driver’s display are common to both cars.

There’s plenty of space, both for occupants and their luggage, with the boot expanding from 425 to 1440 litres with the rear seats folded. And it’s a well-built interior too – the plastics look of good quality and BYD makes much of its ‘vegan leather’ upholstery.

At the launch event Business Motoring was able to drive both Boost and Design variants of the Seal U. Now with hybrids one expects a certain amount of coarseness mostly caused by the continuously variable transmissions that are typical of such vehicles, plus the little roar when the car reaches a certain speed as the engine cuts in – not with this hybrid.

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The Seal U is incredibly refined, to the point where one cannot tell when it switches between modes or when the engine is doing any work. And this translates to an almost silent cabin – this is a comfortable car to travel in. This is a plug-in hybrid that feels almost all of the time that one is driving an EV.

It could do with some better road manners, however – the suspension is quite soft, and you don’t get a great deal of feedback from the rather light steering when cornering. The all-wheel-drive Design adds a bit more confidence, together with pretty swift acceleration, but more firmness in the ride would be welcome.

Overall, however, the Seal U ticks many boxes. Combining plentiful equipment, an impressive safety spec and plenty of space with possibly the best hybrid drivetrain this reviewer has experienced, and all at a keen price, makes this an important new contender in the D-SUV market.

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The BYD Seal U DM-i

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Andrew Charman

Andrew Charman has been a motoring journalist for more than 30 years, writing about vehicles, technology and the industry. He is a Guild of Motoring Writers committee member and has won several awards including for his business coverage.

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