Coffee. I don’t know whether it’s an age thing, but I’m struggling with coffee. I particularly struggle with coffee in any of those international coffee chains; it’s far too strong for me. Even a single shot. I always feel a tang of guilt whenever I go into one of them and ask for a cup of tea.

But I’m being encouraged to go for a coffee, and the encouragement comes from an unexpected source, which is becoming more prevalent.

Cars.

BYD makes you wake up and smell the coffee

I recently took delivery of the latest car from the Chinese manufacturer, Build Your Dreams, or BYD, which is becoming more commonplace as their name. It’s the Sealion 7, which joins the Seal, Surf and Dolphin in their stable of aquatic cars. Only the BYD Atto misses out on any watery link.

I digress, back to coffee. On my first outing in the Sealion, I’d only travelled for 3 or 4 miles before a symbol popped up on the driver’s screen in front of me. It was a coffee cup and the recommendation to take a break. This is happening more with new cars. Perhaps I have a permanent look of being shattered, and the car goes into a mild state of panic about the bloke piloting it.

There’s probably a way of turning off the warning, but I only had the car for a week and couldn’t be bothered to hunt through the various menus on the central touchscreen.

Exterior, powertrain & performance

The BYD Sealion 7 is a good-looking car. No surprises there because it’s designed by the chap who used to be head of design at Alfa Romeo. Its showroom appeal will be strong, and in case you’re wondering, it’s called 7 because it’s the 7th BYD to be available in Europe.

Let’s look at the basics. The BYD Sealion 7 is an all-electric SUV, although BYD markets the car as a performance SUV. It’s quick, even in entry-level Comfort form, which has a single 308bhp motor driving the rear wheels. Accelerating from 0-60mph takes a respectable 6.7 seconds.

There’s also a twin motor version with a second motor powering the front wheels, making the Sealion into all-wheel drive. Power for this model climbs steeply to 523bhp and comes in Design or Excellence trim. The 0-60mph sprint is dispensed with in 4.5 seconds and its straight line speed away from a standstill is hugely impressive and fuss-free. Your top speed is 133mph, and these are all pretty impressive figures for what, at the end of the day, is a heavy car at over 2.4 tonnes.

Driving experience

The ride is surprisingly soft, which makes for cushy motoring on urban roads, but it doesn’t encourage spirited driving on twisty roads as the car tends to roll around slightly. It all depends on your preferred style of driving — comfort or sporty. I suspect most folk will be happy with the compromise of a cosseting ride on pothole-ridden urban roads and sling-shot performance off the line. Motorway cruising is extremely relaxed, and at 70mph, there’s hardly any wind or road noise.

Town driving is a doddle thanks to the extremely light steering. You don’t get much feedback to let you know what the front wheels are doing, but twiddling the wheel through tight streets is simplicity itself.

Range & charging times

The all-important question for any electric car is how far it can travel on a full charge. The Sealion 7 is middling in this respect. The entry-level, single motor, Comfort model can officially manage 300 miles. The most I saw in decidedly chilly, wintry weather was 256 miles. The Design model, which uses the same battery but has all-wheel drive, shaves some mileage off the total to give an estimated 283 miles.

The best model, in terms of mileage, is the Excellence version because it gets a bigger battery and therefore can officially manage 312 miles. You’ll manage a 10-80 per cent charge in about 23 minutes on a rapid charger.

If you make full use of the available performance, as with a conventionally powered car, your available mileage will suffer. Pootle around town on a warm summer’s day, and you’ll achieve higher figures.

Interior

As I mentioned earlier, the Sealion 7 is a good-looking car with plenty of showroom appeal. Hop inside and, if you’ve enjoyed the exterior, you’ll love what you find. It’s all rather plush and roomy, very roomy. There’ll be no complaints from any 6-footers about a lack of knee room in the rear. And the 520 litres of boot space is also impressive.

You also get a seriously impressive list of standard kit. Every model gets sat nav, DAB radio, excellent sound system, LED headlights, panoramic roof with electric sunshade, powered tailgate, faux quilted leather upholstery, powered front seats which include heating and ventilation, heated rear seats, lumber control for the driver’s seat, dual zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, rear view camera, 10.25-inch driver display, 15.6-inch rotating centre touchscreen, and smartphone wireless charging. Not much else you need, really.

The only differences if you move up to the trim range are the provision of a head-up display, bigger alloys, real Nappa leather seats, and a choice of interior trim colours.

A quick word of praise for the seats. They look great, have plenty of support and are comfortable. Nice driving position too.

Prices & Concluding thoughts

Prices start at £47,000 (Dec ‘25) for the rear-wheel-drive Comfort model; £52,000 for the AWD Design version, and finally £59,000 for the AWD Excellence which has a larger battery.

To be honest, bearing in mind that there’s very little difference in the trim levels, I’d stick with the Comfort model. Okay, you miss out on the AWD capability, but with a 0-60mph time of 6.7 seconds, it’s quick enough for most drivers. And, in the realm of fully equipped electric cars, it represents good value.

It’s got a premium interior, loads of room, a stack of equipment as standard, looks good and drives nicely. It’s just a pity that the range wasn’t a bit longer. Overall, the BYD Sealion 7 is a really good car and worth a serious look if you’re in the market for a large electric SUV.

Right, I’m off for a cuppa tea.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: BYD

BYD Sealion 7 - This all-electric SUV makes a splash