Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have brought extreme performance to the mainstream. You can now buy family sedans and SUVs with acceleration that would have served a supercar proudly 20 years ago.
We have to look to Tesla for popularising this whole silly-fast-family-EV thing, but now it’s everywhere. The BYD Seal Performance is a good example: 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds beats a 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena, for example. Impressive.
But once the novelty of neck-wrenching acceleration has worn off, you could make an argument that slightly slower and much cheaper versions of same make vastly more sense. As long as you’re dealing with a good car to begin with.
The Seal is indeed a good car; we know that already. And that’s why we wanted to try one with a little less power; to see if it has the same (or more) finesse.
Meet the $72,990 Seal Premium. It’s the middle model, in between the $62,990 Dynamic and $83,990 Performance.
It stands to reason that the Premium also boasts the best range of the, um, range, with a WLTP figure of 570km.
More to the point, it’s closer to a calmed version of the Performance than a spruced-up Dynamic: the Premium has the same 230kW/360Nm rear electric motor as the Performance (it’s missing the 160kW/310Nm front one, of course), same upsized 83kWh battery, same wheel and tyre size and a very similar interior specification. The only notable omission is a heated steering wheel, which is an odd thing for the Performance anyway, because your palms get quite sweaty driving it.
The Premium’s 0-100km/h sprint of 5.9sec is swift without being silly, and still a good deal faster than the 7.5sec of the Dynamic.
You lose plenty in sheer cornering speed compared to the Seal Performance, but you gain something in flow and feel.
It stands to reason that the Premium also boasts the best range of the, um, range, with a WLTP figure of 570km (Dynamic 460km, Performance 520km). In typical BYD fashion that’s truly achievable and in fact several times during our week with the car, a full charge was showing 600km-plus on the dynamic range indicator, tech which we have confidence in after our time in the Atto 3.
The Premium chassis is less gung-ho than the Performance generally, not just because you’re missing the brutal acceleration but also because the RWD model doesn’t have the AWD’s Intelligent Torque Adaption Control (ITAC, which can proactively shift power around for speed and more speed in corners) and Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shock absorbers.
If you prefer balance over brutal speed, you could argue the Premium is the sweet spot of the Seal lineup.
So you lose plenty in sheer cornering speed, but you gain something in flow and feel. The Premium is still pretty firm, but the limits are more clearly telegraphed and while those limits are much lower, the car has more to say about them on the way. It’s arguably a more engaging driving experience. It’s also 130kg lighter.
The interior package is pretty much as per the Performance (read about that here), with truly impressive quality and truly impressive technology, including that signature rotating screen.
If extreme performance is your thing, you could argue the Seal Performance brings a lot to the party for an extra $12k. But if you prefer balance over brutal speed, you could also argue the Premium is the sweet spot of the Seal lineup.
BATTERY: 83kWh with single electric motor. POWER: 230kW/360Nm GEARBOX: Single speed 0-100KM/H: 5.9 seconds RANGE: 570km (WLTP) PRICE: $72,990 (special at time of writing $69,990)
What are the key statistics for the BYD Seal Premium?
The Premium essentially takes the rear 230kW/360Nm electric motor from the flagship Performance, for 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds. Same wheel and tyre size, but sans the Performance model's fancy ITAC torque vectoring and adaptive dampers.
Is the BYD Seal Premium efficient?
It boasts the best range of any Seal, because it combines the biggest battery with the single-motor layout. The official figure is 570km (WLTP) but we saw 600km-plus on the dynamic range indicator at times. It's one of the longest-range EVs you can buy in NZ.
Is the BYD Seal Premium good to drive?
The Seal has a good chassis generally: it's strong thanks to "cell-to-body" construction, which means the battery is part of the structure of the car. The Premium might not have the fancy adaptive technology of the Performance, but it's quick enough and arguably more fun because it's more about communication than crazy cornering speed.
Is the BYD Seal Premium practical?
For a medium sedan, yes. You sit really low, but the cabin is spacious thanks to the long wheelbase (that's an EV thing) and the seats are comfortable front and rear. The huge panoramic glass roof also adds some ambience.
The boot isn't huge at 4000 litres, but it's fine for the class; and don't forget the "frunk" under the bonnet, which adds another 50l.
What do we like about the BYD Seal Premium?
Sharp looks, swift performance and a more accessible handling package than the crazy-fast Performance model. You get essentially the same interior specification as the flagship model too. We love the thoughtful interior touches like twin wireless mobile phone chargers (the wireless phone projection is faultless, too) and the intelligent voice control is brilliant.
What don’t we like about the BYD Seal Premium?
The ride is a little fussy on urban surfaces. The cabin is swish but as with all BYDs, the rotating screen can't display phone projection when in portrait mode, nor is it actually readable with polarised glasses; so the takeaway is leave it in landscape.
What kind of person would the BYD Seal Premium suit?
Somebody who's keen on the traditional sedan body shape but wants electric power and all the latest technology. Somebody who's set on an EV but wants maximum possible range. Or somebody who wants something different to a Tesla Model 3.
