Pros: lots of equipment, long combined range, choice of bodies
Cons: poor ride, unrefined drivetrain, subpar handling, noisy
BYD Seal 6 DM-i Design
The ‘Ocean X’ design that has characterised many of BYD’s Seal and Sealion products continues for the Seal 6, giving the car enough identity that it can be picked out clearly as one of the Chinese manufacturer’s products, but not enough visual clout to call it arresting. The face of the Seal 6 is defined by a mainly smooth upper section, punctuated by a lower grille and swoopy bumper arrangement, while around the back is the now-expected full-width taillight strip. Entry-level Boost cars run on 17-inch wheels while the grander Comfort models gain 18s, and the BYD is available in two body styles – the regular Saloon four-door and a Touring estate.
BYD Seal 6 DM-i Interior
Some thought has clearly gone into the design of the Seal 6’s passenger compartment and so it has plenty of aesthetic appeal, although it doesn’t take much prodding and poking at various surfaces and control interfaces to find some cheap-feeling materials dotted about the place. Technology is handled by an 8.8-inch instrument cluster on all versions, which is fine, and then one of two touchscreen infotainment displays – either 12.8 or 15.6 inches, depending on the spec of the car. These work OK, though all the climate controls are on the touchscreen, so it becomes a faff if you’re using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to navigate and then you want to do something as banal as turning your heated seat off or on.
In terms of space, it seems like there’s a lot in the second row, because the floor of the Seal 6 DM-i is completely flat and the legroom looks generous. Yet due to the way the bench is mounted quite high, there’s not a lot of room for feet to go underneath the front seats, headroom is only adequate and the seating position feels a little unnatural for taller people. At least boot space is fair, with 491 litres in the Saloon and 500 litres available in the Touring with all seats in use.
BYD Seal 6 DM-i Performance & Drive
As it has ‘DM-i’ in its nameplate, the Seal 6 is one of BYD’s ‘Super Hybrids’, with plug-in charging capabilities (PHEV). There are two models, both front-wheel drive and based on a 1.5-litre petrol engine providing propulsion through an e-CVT automatic transmission.
The first of these is the Boost, which has 184hp, a 10.08kWh battery pack and a purported combined range of more than 1,500km on its petrol and electric reserves – that’s a huge figure to be laying claim to. The 0-100km/h time on this one is 8.9 seconds, while the electric-driving distance is said to be up to 55km.
Step up to the Comfort and the battery pack on the Seal 6 DM-i is considerably upgraded, to 19kWh. This almost doubles the electric range to 105km, although due to a 100kg weight penalty the overall range estimate for the entire drivetrain comes down slightly to 1,455km, due to increased fuel consumption. Although it has no more torque, power on the Comfort rises to 212hp, so the 0-100km/h time is trimmed 8.5 seconds, but perhaps of more use to owners is that the more potent BYD with the larger battery can avail of DC charging up to 26kW – whereas there is no DC-charging facility on the entry model.
For all the impressive numbers above, the driving experience of the Seal 6 is disappointing. This is nowhere near BYD’s best dynamic attempt seen so far, as its ride quality is loose and sloppy in almost all circumstances, while the handling is also pretty poor. Numb steering, inconsistent brake-pedal feel and an unrefined noise from the engine whenever it’s asked to do any work all further serve to take the polish off the Seal 6, and on top of it all it’s not particularly quick, in either powertrain or body format. Oh, and there’s way too much road noise in the cabin.
BYD Seal 6 DM-i Pricing
We don’t have pricing for the BYD Seal 6 DM-i in Ireland as yet, although a good indicator of where it will fit into the line-up is to look at the Seal U DM-i SUV, which starts from €42,150. The 6 should therefore be in and around that zone, and while even a base-spec Boost should come with plenty of kit, the upper-grade Comfort will likely load in lots of the most desirable toys to further enhance the value-for-money proposition.
Carzone Verdict
A lot of the Chinese cars we’ve seen so far have predicated their early market success on offering a lot of acceptable vehicle for not a lot of money. BYD is one of the best proponents of this tactic to hail from the country, as well, so it’s something of a surprise that the Seal 6 DM-i is so rough around the edges. It might look like excellent value on the face of it, given it is likely to be several thousands of euro less expensive than equivalent PHEVs from other automotive brands, but we’d argue the driving experience it serves up is considerably less enjoyable than any of those dearer rivals.