BYD Sealion 7

BYD might be a relatively new brand for India, but its leading electric vehicle sales globally. The Chinese automaker seems to have found a sweet spot at the Rs 50 lakh price point, following up the capable Seal sedan with the Sealion 7 SUV coupe. A bold design, loads of technology, luxury car level interiors, 500km of real world range — is there anything the Sealion 7 can’t do?

• When I first saw the Sealion7, I found the design to be simple and minimalistic. If you hide the badges, you will feel like this product comes from a European luxury/performance car brand. 

• The Sealion 7 is almost 4.8-metres in length, similar to a Toyota Fortuner. But the sloping roof line and the wide stance makes it look sporty. 

• In the all-wheel drive (Performance) variant, the Sealion7 gets 20-inch alloy wheels. The rear-wheel drive (Premium) variant rides on 19-inch alloy wheels. 

• There are plenty of neat design touches — full-LED headlights, motorised door handles, intricate detailing in the full-LED tail lamps. 

• There are four colours to choose from: white, black, grey and light blue. I think our black test car looked premium, but I liked the signature light blue shade as well. On a side note, the paint thickness and quality can be slightly better. 

• On the inside, the Sealion7 features a layered dashboard design. It’s finished in all-black and gets very high quality leatherette padding/soft-touch materials everywhere you touch. 

• BYD could’ve opted for a lighter/dual-tone interior colour scheme to give the cabin a more premium look. 

• There are interesting textures — such as piano black finishes on the dashboard, brushed aluminium on the steering wheel and even a crystal-type material for the gear selector.

Passenger Comfort

• Getting in and out of the Sealion7 is easy. Even the elders in the family will not complain. Taller occupants might have to duck a little while getting in the rear, however. 

• I liked the support and cushioning offered by the front bucket seats. It’s a single-piece seat with integrated headrests (like sportscars) and is comfortable for even those who are plus-sized. 

• The steering wheel can be adjusted for angle and reach. The driver’s seat gets a 12-way power adjust (with 2 memory settings, set via the touchscreen) and the co-driver’s seat features a 6-way power adjust. Do note that even at its lowest setting, the seating position is a little high. This is great for visibility, but those who prefer a low-set sporty driving position won’t like it. Thankfully, there’s no issue with headroom despite this. 

• Space in the rear seat is generous. Healthy amounts of kneeroom, good footroom and acceptable headroom despite the sloping roofline. 

• I’m 5’11”, and I found the height of the rear seat back to be lesser than ideal. This meant support for my shoulders wasn’t as per expectation. I had to slide forward for more shoulder support, which in turn compromised underthigh and lower back support. 

• For anyone up to 5’8”, underthigh support is unlikely to be an issue. However, those taller will find themselves in a knees up position. 

• There’s enough width for three occupants to sit comfortably. The floor is flat, and the middle occupant gets a proper headrest and 3-point seatbelt too. 

Storage Spaces

• All doors get 1-litre bottle holders. Front doors have some additional space left for any sundry items. 

• There’s a huge shelf under the gear console, ample space inside the front central armrest and a decent-sized glovebox for any thing you might want to store. 

• Below the central AC vents is a fabric-lined surface that’s perfect to place phones. The left half of this section has a built-in wireless charger.

• Both front seats get seatback pockets with dedicated compartments for your wallet/phone. 

• The rear central armrest has a covered storage compartment and flip-out cupholders which I quite liked.

Features

Safety

• Both variants of the Sealion7 get 11 airbags, ABS with EBD, hill assist, traction control and ISOFIX child seat mounts. 

• Level 2 ADAS is offered as standard as well, which includes features such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist (LKA), adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind spot detection (BSD) among others. 

• I found the calibration of the automatic emergency braking system to be too sensitive for Indian roads, braking too early and hard. This can cause a rear-end collision, and is best left switched off, especially within city limits. Other ADAS features function as intended.

• Australian NCAP had tested a plug-in hybrid version of the Sealion, and gave it a 5 star score. While the Sealion7 has not been tested by BharatNCAP, we expect it to have a similar score. 

Convenience & Entertainment

• Both variants of the Sealion7 have an identical feature list. Basics include keyless entry, push-start, dual-zone climate control, front seat ventilation, auto-dimming IRVM, 128-colour ambient lighting, panoramic glass roof and a powered tail gate. 

• The highlight is a 15.6-inch touchscreen that gets wireless Apple CarPlay, and wired plus wireless Android Auto. It can be used in either portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) mode. 

• The screen is the only way to control a lot of functions of the car such as air-conditioning and seat ventilation. This can get slightly annoying. Physical buttons would’ve been far more helpful. 

• I found the output from the 12 speaker ‘Dynaudio’ branded music system to be strictly average. While it has the surround sound effect, the depth in sound is missing. 

• Feed from the 360° camera is shown on the touchscreen itself. Fantastic camera quality and intuitive graphics means you can rely on the cameras alone to park. While indicating left, the video feed from the left camera also pops up on the screen which is helpful while changing lanes. 

• In comparison to the touchscreen, the 10.25-inch driver’s display might look tiny. However, there are no complaints in terms of readability, graphics and information displayed. 

• There’s a driver monitoring system in the Sealion7, placed at the base of the driver-side A-pillar. This monitors your eye movement and prompts you to refocus on the road if you are distracted.

• A head-up display (HUD) is also provided which offers important driving data right in your line of sight.  

• Device charging options include a type-A and type-C charger each for the front and rear occupants. The front occupants also get a 50W wireless charging pad with a dedicated cooling vent.

• Boot space is rated at 500-litres, which is sufficient to carry 4 cabin sized trolley bags or 2 medium sized trolley bags plus a couple of backpacks. 

• The boot is wide, but lacks height which means it’s best to use smaller luggage to utilise the available space fully. 

• There’s a 58-litre ‘frunk’ space that can accommodate a cabin-sized trolley bag if need be.

Battery and Performance

• BYD is offering the Sealion 7 with a single 82.56kWh battery pack, but with the option of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. 

City Performance

• As is the case with all EVs, response from the vehicle when you press the accelerator is instant. However, I liked that it’s not jerky or violent at any point. It is very easy to get used to. 

• I chose to drive the Sealion7 in either Eco or Normal mode inside the city, where I could benefit from more range since the added performance in Sport mode would be unnecessary while tackling city traffic. 

• Brake energy regeneration can be set to ‘Standard’ or ‘High’ using a toggle switch on the centre console. I missed an ‘Auto’/’Single Pedal’ mode that would automatically set regeneration basis inputs from the ADAS and also bring the vehicle to a dead stop without using the brake pedal. This is available in Hyundai/Kia EVs and also in luxury brands. 

Highway Performance

• I switched to Sport mode on the highway to see what the Sealion7 is capable of. Sure enough, the Performance model I was driving very comfortably hit 100kmph under 5 seconds as claimed. 

• The vehicle masks speeds very well, and you will find yourself travelling at a speed slightly higher than you think. This is down to excellent noise insulation that keeps road and tyre noise to a minimum. 

• If you drive between 60-90kmph constantly on a highway, you can extract a lot of range from the BYD Sealion 7. For instance, a near 70km drive on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway consumed only 10% of the battery. 

• Overtakes require no planning at all, and inclines/ghat roads are tackled with extreme ease. 

Range

• The Sealion7 could very easily cover anywhere between 450-500km on a full charge. This should suffice for a week’s worth of office commutes, or an intercity trip (Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai, for example) with range to spare.

Suspension and Ride Quality

• The BYD Sealion7 has a firm suspension setup. On smooth roads, body movement is well controlled. 

• On bad roads the suspension makes a thud sound and the impact is felt within the cabin. At slow speeds, there’s side-to-side movement in the cabin which can be better controlled. 

• Do note that the Premium variant gets 19-inch alloy wheels instead of 20-inch alloys on the Performance variant I tested. I expect ride quality to be marginally better in that model. 

Handling and Braking

• The steering is super light and it is very easy to drive this large SUV even in crowded city streets. Parking too is very easy. 

• While it isn’t outright sporty in terms of handling and lacks steering feel, it feels very neutral and predictable. It gives you enough confidence to carry higher speeds through ghat roads. 

• Braking feel on the Sealion 7 might take some getting used to. It took me a while to understand how much brake to apply to get the deceleration I required.

There’s no obvious compromise in the Sealion 7’s package. For anyone wanting a spacious family SUV that excels in technology and feel-good factor, this electric SUV makes a lot of sense. A real-world range of around 500km, and quick performance is the cherry on the cake. What is likely to seal the deal is that getting such an experience from a luxury brand will involve spending at least twice as much. 

Other Cars To Consider

Mahindra XEV 9e

Reasons to consider

• Far more affordable for similar performance and features

• Widely known Indian brand with better sales/service network

Reasons to avoid

• Not a proven product yet

BMW iX1 LWB

Reasons to consider

• Unmatched rear seat space and comfort

• BMW’s badge value and prestige

Reasons to avoid

• Average performance, not exciting

• Feature list covers only the basics

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Reasons to consider

• Futuristic looks inside-out

• Better execution of features such as infotainment and ADAS

Reasons to avoid

• Available only with smaller 72.6kWh battery pack and rear-wheel drive

• New model is due for launch soon  

Kia EV6

Reasons to consider

• New model looks even sportier

• Supports up to 350kW charging

Reasons to avoid

• Fully imported model, hence expensive.