The BYD Seal electric vehicle will start at $49,888 when it arrives in Australia in early December with orders open now.
That sees it beat the rival Tesla Model 3 by $12,012; the hot-selling electric sedan opens at $61,900 before on-roads.
Designed under BYD global design director Wolfgang Egger (formerly the Audi Group’s head designer), the Seal is said to use an ‘Ocean Aesthetic’ design language with the look and feel of a sports sedan, complete with sculptured curves that follow the momentum of waves.
The Seal is slippery, boasting one of the industry’s lowest drag coefficients: just 0.219 Cd.
Billed as a sports sedan, the Seal features double wishbone suspension up front and a multi-link set-up down back which works in concert with BYD’s chassis control system.
BYD’s in-house developed DiSus Intelligent Body Control System provides bespoke damper settings for each of the four drive modes to better control lateral and vertical movement, along with matching suspension compliance levels.
In order to minimise or eliminate loss of traction under heavy loads the Seal also employs the latest iTAC (Intelligence Torque Adaption Control) technology, as its own version of torque vectoring.
Pricing
- 2024 BYD Seal Standard Dynamic Range: $49,888
- 2024 BYD Seal Premium Extended Range: $58,798
- 2024 BYD Seal Performance AWD: $68,798
These prices exclude on road costs.
Drivetrains
The 2024 BYD Seal is offered with a choice of three drivetrains.
The Standard Dynamic Range features a single electric motor and rear-wheel drive, with 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque.
Its claimed 0-100km/h time is 7.5 seconds.
The Premium Extended Range also uses a single-motor rear-wheel drive configuration, with 230kW and 360Nm and a 0-100km/h time of 5.9 seconds.
The Performance AWD features a dual-motor all-wheel drive configuration with 390kW of power and a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.8 seconds.
Efficiency
Range varies for the BYD Seal based on the variant. WLTP combined cycle figures are as follows:
- Standard Dynamic Range: 460km
- Premium Extended Range: 570km
- Performance AWD: 520km
BYD uses its Blade batteries in the Seal: a 61.4kWh unit in the Standard Dynamic Range, and an 82.5kWh battery in the others.
It can be charged at up to 150kW using DC power.
Dimensions
The Seal stretches 4775mm long, 1875mm wide and 1460mm tall on a 2920mm wheelbase.
It boasts 402L of boot space plus 53L under the bonnet.
Servicing and Warranty
Warranty for the Seal is set at eight years while the battery is warranted for six years. Both are unlimited kilometres.
Safety
The BYD Seal has yet to be assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking (forward and reverse)
- Lane-keep assist
- Emergency lane-keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic assist
Standard Equipment
The Standard Dynamic Range comes standard with the following equipment:
- 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Digital instrument cluster
- 12-speaker 775W Dynaudio sound system
- Eight-way power driver’s seat
- Four-way power passenger seat
- Four-way power-adjustable steering wheel
- Panoramic glass roof
- Rear privacy glass
The Premium Extended Range adds:
- Heated and ventilated front seats
The Performance AWD adds:
- Four-way lumbar adjustment
Colours
The BYD Seal is available in the following exterior colours:
- Arctic Blue
- Atlantis Grey
- Polar White
- Cosmos Black
- Shark Grey
Interior colours are either Ocean Blue or Thaumas Black.
MORE: Everything BYD Seal
