REVIEW | BYD Sealion 7 - Not Quite There Yet

Is this just a box on wheels?

Thrill seeking, breakneck speed, swooping curves, and dashboards made of moon rock are, for some, the best thing ever. Without them, some people wouldn’t know what the point of cars and driving is. For the vast majority, however, all that stuff means naff all. In fact, it means less than naff all. They’re needless distractions from using a box on wheels to go and do…things. The BYD Sealion 7 wants to be regarded as the pinnacle, but in reality, it’ll find more favour with your average car buyer than anyone else. 

BYD offers something to suit everyone

BYD, in case you didn’t know, hails from China, and has been making affordable, decent EVs and hybrids for a fair ‘ol while. Its product offensive in Europe has been quite incredible to watch - big ones, small ones, SUV ones, saloon ones, EV ones, hybrid ones… there’s something to suit everyone.

The company places itself in the automotive and tech space, which means its cars tend to come with LOTS of toys - some of which are incredibly useful (like its safe-as-houses Blade Battery pack), some are decent takes on what everyone else does (ADAS), and some are plain odd (an infotainment screen that can be rotated from portrait to landscape and back because…reasons). As something of a showcase of its smart chops, it’s bringing out a supercar that can leap over potholes, drive itself around race tracks at night, and even do a dance, too. Who’ll want to use any of those features is beyond me, but as a way to swing its massive techno-shaft at the competition, it’s rather impressive. More so than a synchronised light show, at least. 

Soon to be seen in surburbia

The Sealion 7 is an SUV aimed at the Tesla Model Y and its ilk. Pretty to look at, big enough for most families, with batteries that promise respectable range, if you close your eyes you can see chunks of suburbia full of them, gleefully whirring children to swimming lessons, parents to work, or other normcore activities. What you can’t see it doing is being ragged to within an inch of its life while the occupants laugh like Zippy. 

In the AWD specs the Sealion 7 kicks out 530hp and 509lb ft, allowing it to crack 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds. While the headline may read ‘EV in quite quick shocker,’ BYD’s so proud of that fact that it’s put ‘4.5’ in little numerals on the back of the car. Its quickest Seal saloon has ‘3.8’ on its bum to show the same thing, too. It’s a tiny bit ‘pick me,’ and I’m not sure I dig it. 

BYD Sealion 7 Trims

There are two AWD trims - the mid-level ‘Design’ packs an 82.5kWh battery, and the top spec ‘Excellence’ gets a chunkier 91.3kWh pack. If two driven motors aren’t your jam, the RWD 82.5kWh ‘Comfort’ car is a little less frantic - producing 312hp and 280 lb-ft, it’ll manage 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds. All versions of the Sealion 7 top out at 133mph and prices range from £46,990 to £58,990 depending on how flush you’re feeling. RWD cars can go 300 miles on a charge, while the Design AWD will clip 283 miles, and the biggest battery Excellence will manage 312 miles between top ups (on the WLTP cycle at least). When it comes to charging, the smaller battery cars can take 150kW chargers, while the bigger brother can manage 230kW. 10-80% charge times take 32 and 24 minutes respectively. 

Interior

Inside the Sealion 7 is rather pleasant. There are slick materials, places to store your daily carries, a wireless charger with a built-in fan so your phone doesn’t overheat, and two large screens. One handles the instruments and is backed up by a handy HUD, while the other is the aforementioned rotating infotainment screen. The 15.6-inch tablet does pretty much everything you could ask of it, with shortcuts along the bottom to leap between functions. It’s quick enough, and smart enough, but it hides a feature that, if the rest of the automotive industry is worth its salt, will be stolen in moments no matter what screen you’re on, if you drag three fingers up and down the panel you’ll raise and lower the temperature, move them left to right and you’ll change the ferocity of the fans. It’s a small thing, but makes a heap of difference. 

There’s also a little camera nestled at the foot of the A-Pillar on the driver’s side of the car. It’s not a selfie camera, but an awareness monitor. If it thinks you’re not paying attention, the car will let you know and advise a break. Now, this is a good thing - driving tired is a silly thing to do - but BYD’s camera is very sensitive and can get a little het up if you spend too long looking at its massive touch screen, or over at your nearside mirror. It’s quite irritating. 

Rear seat passengers will be pleased with the amount of room afforded to them - a six footer can sit comfortably behind another - and they won’t need to worry about having bags under their feet as there’s a 520-litre boot to pop it all in. 

How is it to drive?

The Sealion 7, despite its potential for silliness, is…okay. The suspension is smooth when the road isn’t knackered, but the moment things get slightly rough you feel it through your back. It’s not severe, but you’ll know what’s going on underneath you. 

To switch your drive up there are four drive modes: Normal, Eco, Sport, and Snow. As you expect, they’ll play with the drivetrain and steering to make the car more or less responsive depending on what you want it to do. Eco makes things numb, Sport makes things frantic. It’ll go quickly enough in Eco, but Sport is unrelenting when you pin it. BYD’s pride at its punch isn’t unfounded. 

Finding twisty roads, the steering isn’t anything to write home about, nor is it anything to complain about either. It can be a touch wallowy in bends, but when you remember it’s a 2220kg+ SUV not riding on air, that kinda makes sense. The problem, really, is that when you get out of it you forget any detail about your experience. It’s not so dull you hate it, nor remotely exciting. It’s…beige.

Then you look at its economy - the mid-range Design AWD car I drove will officially do 2.9m/kWh, but with some mixed driving it managed 2.8. It was even a warm day, so it can’t blame chilly conditions for being a touch sub par. 

Concluding thoughts

It’s got power, and it looks rather nice, and BYD’s desire to be at the top end of the market with it is laudable, but in reality, it’s not there yet. The BYD Sealion 7 is just fine. One day someone will wake up having had warm fuzzy dreams about the day they pick up their first BYD. It won’t be tomorrow though.

words: Alex Goy
pictures: BYD