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For a 29-year-old company which began its business by producing batteries, BYD has come a long way indeed. Its dominance of the Chinese electric market might overshadow everything else, but even if one were to look at its products, they’d be shocked to see how well they are positioned. That, for a new carmaker, in a global car market filled with not just legacy brands but also burgeoning forces like Tesla, is a big compliment. In India, BYD began its car journey with the E6, which was soon followed by the Atto 3, both of which were commended as new products, but with the Seal, its third, BYD makes a bold step. Third time lucky?
The Seal garnered all the attention when it was launched earlier this year. That you could have sports-car-like performance at less than half the price and with zero tailpipe emissions, was one of its strongest points. Plus, it doesn’t follow the market-favourite SUV body style, which means it doesn’t have to try hard to stand out. It looks good on the outside and despite the apparent Teutonic inspiration, it’s far from a knock-off. To make its sporting intent clear, there’s a spoiler at the back, large 19-inch wheels which fill the wheel arches quite well and LED DRLs, which look undeniably cool. The swooping shape isn’t only for cool looks but also enables the car to be aerodynamic, resulting in an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.219.
A switch: Positioned as a compelling alternative in the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) landscape, the Seal boasts sports-car-like performance at an accessible price point, coupled with zero tailpipe emissions. | Photo Credit: Photos by Iguana Motion Pictures
Design and features
The Seal’s cabin is no less impressive, either, with a fair bit of visual drama and a good choice of materials. The 15.6-inch touchscreen display can switch between portrait and landscape modes. It’s not the most useful piece of tech to me, but if this sort of thing interests you, it’s nice to have, I guess. The only grouse here is that with only a few buttons, nearly all of the functions are controlled via the touchscreen. Like we’ve said time and again, this can be distracting on the move.
On the bright side, there are many useful features available too. For instance, the quilted memory seats at the front come with heating/ventilation and memory functions. A 12-speaker audio system is standard and so is Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity. There are multiple USB ports and two wireless chargers to ensure that your smartphone batteries are topped up always.
That’s not all. With 10 airbags and camera-based ADAS features, the BYD Seal is also equipped with safety tech to the brim. The 10.25-inch driver instrument panel works well, but like the larger screen, the UI here can be improved.
Among the three variants the Seal is offered in, we had the mid-spec Premium one. This, like the top-spec performance, comes with an 82.56 kWh battery but only a single motor. While not for those looking at outright performance, this should suffice everyday needs, as max power of 313 hp and a claimed range of 650 km is plentiful, to say the least.
Interior: Equipped with high safety tech, a panoramic roof and symmetrically beautiful interior with memory seats and a 12-speaker audio system. | Photo Credit: Photos by Iguana Motion Pictures
The rear-wheel drive car is said to do 0-100 km/h in under 6 seconds, but it doesn’t have the urgency that’s usually associated with EVs. Don’t get me wrong here, the car can easily do triple-digit speeds, but there wasn’t as much pinned-to-the-seat acceleration as I expected.
Value proposition
In terms of everyday use, the 145 mm of ground clearance might seem like a potential reason to worry, but in actual use, it doesn’t become a deterrent. Even on some notoriously tall speed breakers, the Seal didn’t scrape its underside. It has an independent coil suspension on all four wheels, which ensures that while a bit stiff, the car offers decent comfort without compromising its handling. Further working in the latter’s favour is its low centre of gravity.
When compared to its rivals, the Seal appears to have bagged itself a sweet spot in terms of value and performance. There’s a lot on offer here, not limited to looks, features and performance, but also how well it works as a package. Priced between ₹41 lakh and ₹53 lakh, ex-showroom, the BYD Seal deserves a second look not just from new EV buyers but also those who have been on the fence about making the switch. For those new to the brand, BYD stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’, and with the Seal, maybe it’s time to realise those dreams too.
© Motoring World
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