The BYD Seal is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh (ex-showroom).

Chinese EV maker BYD has announced that it has received over 1,000 bookings for the Seal electric sedan within 3 months of its launch.

The BYD Seal was launched in March this year. It is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh (ex-showroom). 

The Seal comes with single and dual-motor configurations. The base Dynamic trim uses a 61.44 kWh battery pack that powers a 201 BHP electric motor. It has a claimed range of 510 km. 

The Premium variant uses an 82.56 kWh battery offering 650 km of range. The electric motor has an output of 308 BHP and 360 Nm. 

The top-spec Performance trim gets an 82.56 kWh battery that powers two electric motors. It has 523 BHP and 670 Nm and offers a range of 580 km on a single charge.

In a straight line, the BYD Seal feels stable. It doesn’t feel nervous and maintains its composure at high speeds.

Driving the BYD Seal Premium

Powering the BYD Seal Premium is a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor that puts out 308 BHP and 360 Nm torque:

The Seal is built on BYD's e-Platform 3.0 which is EV-specific and is not based on an IC engine platform like most EVs available in India. Hence, the design of the batteries and powertrain has been done keeping the EV-specific requirements in mind. This platform comes with cell-to-body technology which integrates the battery and the vehicle body floor together making the battery's sandwich structure evolve into a sandwich structure for the complete vehicle. The battery pack is sealed as part of the body using an integrated sealing plate design, which BYD claims, increases the rigidity of the floor by 13 times. BYD claims that the Blade battery has passed the nail penetration test and an extreme strength test that saw a 46-tonne truck driving over it. The Blade battery has a claimed driving mileage of more than 5,00,000 km.

We got to drive the Premium variant of the Seal which comes with an 82.56 kWh battery, rear-wheel drive and an electric motor that develops 308 BHP and 360 Nm. With your foot on the brake pedal, hit the Start/Stop button to bring the electric motor to life. Shift to ‘D’ mode, take your foot off the brake pedal and the car gets off the line in the smoothest way possible. There is faint music that is played on the outside of the car while driving around at low speeds. It’s to let the pedestrians know that there’s a car coming. Build some speed and the music stops.

If you primarily drive around in the city, you will appreciate the Seal’s smoothness. The power delivery till part throttle is linear and predictable. No jerks from gearshifts and no engine sound means it is an extremely refined experience. Floor the A pedal and you will be greeted with instant acceleration. Performance is brisk with power available right from the get-go. BYD claims a 0-100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds, which is believable. You’ll definitely be ahead of most of the IC engine cars when the signal turns green. If you enjoy instant acceleration and are experiencing an electric car for the first time, this car might just make you a convert. If you’ve driven some of the other EVs, you will notice that the acceleration is very similar to others in this range. 

Out on the highways, the Seal is just as good as in the city. Getting up to triple-digit speeds and maintaining them is effortless. Want to make a quick overtake, no worries there. Just bury the accelerator pedal and you will zoom past the car ahead with ease. You'll hit silly speeds effortlessly and not even realize it due to the lack of drama (engine noise, etc.). However, if you drive hard, the range will drop faster. This is also why you will see EVs that are driving longer distances sticking to the middle lane and cruising at 80-100 km/h (which is the best cruising speed for the current lots of EVs).

There are 3 driving modes to choose from and unlike some other cars, these aren't gimmicky. They're mapped specifically for different driving styles and also change the steering weight.

• Normal Mode: This is the default mode to drive in and works well in the city as well as on the highway. It is a good balance of power and economy. The steering is light in this driving mode.
• Eco Mode: When you want to extract maximum range, this is the mode to engage. The throttle response is dumbed down which results in a smoother drive. However, you never feel that the car is lacking power. There’s still enough power on tap to keep up with the traffic and make those quick overtakes. We found this mode to be the best for driving in the city. The difference in steering weight from normal mode is very little. It almost makes the Normal mode redundant. 
• Sport Mode: The throttle response is sharpened, but power is still delivered linearly. It doesn't feel jerky for day-to-day city driving like some other EVs. Push hard and it provides tremendous acceleration but it is not as brutal as the Mercedes AMG EQS 53 or the Volvo C40 Recharge for that matter. One thing to note is that driving in Sport mode eats up battery faster. So it's best to use this mode on the highways when you want to have some fun while driving. The steering is firmed up in this mode. The brakes feel a little sharper too.

Insulation sheet under the bonnet:

Regenerative Braking

BYD has kept it simple with regenerative braking. There are only 2 levels – Standard and High. The Standard level is barely noticeable and if you have the car in this mode, you might end up using the brakes a lot. The High level very much resembles engine braking in IC engine cars. It’s not very intrusive and you won’t be getting a head nod every time you lift off the accelerator. It’s great for driving around in the city as well as on the highways. People wishing to do hypermiling with the Seal will wish for stronger regeneration from the motor.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

As is the case with EVs, the Seal is also super quiet. There’s no engine or gearbox to make any noise, so the overall driving experience is silent. The windshield and front windows feature soundproof double-glazed glass making the car cabin extremely quiet.

At highway speeds, the wind noise is well controlled and the tyre noise is par for the course. The motor spins silently at high speeds and the whine is very well controlled.

Range

The BYD Seal Premium has a claimed range of 650 km as per NEDC (New European Driving Cycle). Given the rising demand for EVs, there are plenty of charging stations popping up everywhere, which ought to take care of range anxiety as well. There are many apps and websites like pulseenergy.io, plugshare.com, etc. that list out all the charging stations near you. At the end of the day though, remember the golden rule = EVs are best charged where they are parked (either at your office or home).

Charging

When you buy a BYD Seal, you get a 7 kW home charger. The charging time with AC Charging port – Type 2 (7 kW) from 0% to 100% is 12-16 hours. The charging time with a DC charging port - CCS 2 (110 kW/150 kW) from 0% to 80% is 45 minutes. BYD claims that 15 minutes of charging a 150 kW charger adds up to 200 km of driving range. You also get a 3kW portable charger that can be plugged into any 15 Amp socket (the larger 3-pin sockets used for ACs and fridges), but that would take a very long time to charge from 0-100%. If you ever run out of battery, you can always contact BYD’s roadside assistance. You get 6 years of roadside assistance with the Seal.

Suspension

Ride Comfort

The Seal gets a double wishbone suspension at the front and multi-link suspension at the rear. The car rides on 19-inch wheels shod with 235/45 section tyres. Low-speed ride is firm and most cracks and bumps on the road are felt. While the ride is not uncomfortable, it is far from plush. What's nice is that the suspension works silently. Big potholes do register themselves inside and you will have to be careful while tackling them. The recommended tyre pressure is a rather high 42 psi and at this pressure, you do feel a lot of the road. Dropping the pressure while driving in the city might make the ride more comfortable.

Handling & Dynamics

In a straight line, the Seal feels stable. It doesn’t feel nervous and maintains its composure at high speeds. Going over some undulations or expansion joints will result in a fair bit of vertical movement though.

Coming to handling, the turn-in is good but not very eager - very Mercedes-like. The car has a 50:50 weight distribution (over front & rear axles). Body roll is controlled and the car feels fluid and composed on winding roads although not very tactile compared to say, a BMW. 

Steering

The electric power steering is a nice unit and easy to operate as well. It is very light at city speeds which makes it very user-friendly. The steering weighs up fairly well on the highways. It is accurate, but relays little feedback.

Braking

The Seal Premium has ventilated and drilled discs at the front and ventilated discs at the rear. All in all, the car has good stopping power and emergency braking situations are handled well too. On the other hand, the brake pedal lacks feel and takes some time to get used to.

Continue reading the discussion on the BYD Seal on our forum.

The BYD Seal is loaded with safety features like 9 airbags, a 360-degree camera, TPMS, traction control system, ABS + EBD, electronic stability program, hill decent control, hill-hold assist, electronic parking brake with auto hold, adaptive cruise control and ISOFIX child seat anchors for 3 seats, high beam assist and level 2 ADAS features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention, rear cross-traffic brake and more.

BYD Seal Pros

• Good build quality coupled with very appealing styling
• Punchy motor offers fast performance. RWD variant's 0-100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds is enjoyable; AWD variant's performance is ballistic (0-100 in 3.8 seconds)
• Good high-speed stability coupled with sorted handling
• Spacious and well-built cabin with comfortable seats
• Useable 400-litre boot, along with a 50-litre frunk (in the front)
• Inherent EV advantages such as a green image, zero tailpipe emissions, low running costs (charge at home) & top-notch NVH
• We find the BYD Seal to be well-priced for what it offers
• Selectable regenerative braking and drive modes allow you to extract maximum performance or efficiency, as needed
• Sufficient driving range (approx 500 km) for urban commuting as well as the usual road-tripping with family
• 6-year/150,000 km warranty on the car, 8-year battery & motor warranty, 6-year roadside assistance
• Features such as the vehicle-to-load function, soundproof glass, rotating 15.6-inch touchscreen, climate control with heat pump, panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, electrically adjustable A/C vents, NFC key card, etc.
• 5-star NCAP rating, top-notch safety kit & level 2 ADAS to keep you safe

BYD Seal Cons

• 145 mm ground clearance requires you to drive with care over large speed breakers & broken roads
• Firm low speed ride. Liveable, but not plush in the city. You feel bad roads
• Low slung body makes ingress & egress a challenge for the not-so-flexible and elderly
• No option of a lighter-coloured interior theme (cabin is full-black)
• Rear seat offers poor under-thigh support
• Most functions and settings are controlled through the touchscreen, which makes them difficult to access on the move
• Vertical movement over road joints can get annoying
• Missing features such as connected car tech, a spare wheel (in India!!!), wireless Apple CarPlay, etc.
• Poor rearward visibility due to the acutely-angled rear windscreen and large rear headrests
• BYD's currently small dealership & service network. Even major cities like Mumbai & Delhi have just 1 dealer

Read Team-BHP's detailed BYD Seal Review.

It's a great car, but personally, I will hold off on my booking for now.

BHPian speedmiester recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I took a long test drive of about 25 km in the BYD Seal yesterday.

Here are my observations.

Positives:

• Solid build quality, though I would rate it slightly below the Germans. But not a dealbreaker.
• The quality of the interiors is top-notch, very easy to find a comfortable driving position.
• Though it’s over 4.8M long, masks it’s size very well.
• Excellent mile-munching ability and with over 500+kms range even at high speeds, range anxiety is a distant memory.
• Ample power in all modes will never feel inadequate.
• Regen can be set to dynamic which is dependent on speed, traffic conditions and inclination (yes, there is a built-in inclinometer)
• Excellent clarity from the 360-degree cameras.
• Seats are very supportive with good lateral and lumbar support.

Negatives:

• Blunt throttle response which is noticeable in all modes.
• Hated the turn indicator sound and various chimes, it was a pain.
• No built-in maps and navigation, which is a big miss for a car in this segment.
• The software was a bit buggy.
• Most of the controls are through the main screen, which is a major distraction and a safety concern.
• HUD is useless in bright light and only displays current speed.
• I would have preferred a proper instrument cluster; this one is small and is busy with too much information on a small screen.
• Though I didn’t scrape anywhere, it will be a pain on slightly larger speed breakers and on bad roads.

Personally, I will hold off on my booking. While it’s a great car, I cannot have it as my daily drive. A bit more ground clearance would have been good. Also with a limited number sold in India, spares and parts availability might be an issue.

Besides, with the new EV policy, the prices of many CBU EVs might come down.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

My BYD Seal test drive experience: Acceleration, ride & handling, range

BHPian autohead115 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I test-drove the premium model and had the performance booked a week prior, I have experienced the pull to be absolutely amazing and really near perfect for our conditions, it gives you half a second to prepare yourself and behaves like a fast ICE car, the pull was somewhat similar to the c300d I drove recently and the braking was sharp, I used the brake pedal slightly harder than required and it took me a second attempt to correct the pedal pressure.

I am very relieved to hear the performance variant also builds up progressively as I have been confused about my decision to switch to premium or not as that would push my booking number back but have been constantly worried if id get in trouble with instant acceleration. So Performance variant it is - in all black!

A special note to the suspension, what an amazing and muted experience, small road undulations felt non-existent, and the car felt muted and silent throughout, it was a few notches above the A6 that I felt was nice and soft suspension. I also test-drove the Ioniq 5 right after and felt a lot more lateral movement on the regular tarmac while the speed breakers seemed more absorptant and easy to go on in the Ioniq 5.

Overall what a fantastic car, i went in with zero expectations and have been blown away, the Ioniq 5 was great but lacks the overall X factor of the Byd inside out.

I am very excited and eagerly waiting for the delivery.

One more point I noticed. The Byd had 49% of battery left and the distance to empty was 315kms. The Ioniq 5 had 65% battery left and the DTE was at 270 kms. So the extra 10kw battery pack results in very usable real-world milage.

I found this drag race video where you can see the lack of instant launch (choice by design I guess) at play

Video

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The BYD Seal is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh.

BYD has announced that it has received over 500 bookings for the Seal EV in less than a month. The electric sedan was launched on March 5, 2024.

Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior Vice President of Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, said, “We are confident of our product, of our pricing and are pleased to see the response it has generated in the market. We did hit the 200 bookings mark soon after launch, and within 15 days, we have registered 500 bookings.”

The BYD Seal is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh (ex-showroom). It shares its underpinnings with the Atto 3 electric SUV.

The Seal comes with single and dual-motor configurations. The base Dynamic trim uses a 61.44 kWh battery pack that powers a 201 BHP electric motor. It has a claimed range of 510 km. 

The Premium variant uses an 82.56 kWh battery offering 650 km of range. The electric motor has an output of 308 BHP and 360 Nm. 

The top-spec Performance trim gets an 82.56 kWh battery that powers two electric motors. It has 523 BHP and 670 Nm and offers a range of 580 km on a single charge.

The BYD Seal is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance.

BYD recently launched the Seal EV in India. The carmaker has announced that it has received 200 bookings for the electric sedan already.

The BYD Seal is available in three variants – Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh (ex-showroom). It shares its underpinnings with the Atto 3 electric SUV.

The Seal comes with single and dual-motor configurations. The base Dynamic trim uses a 61.44 kWh battery pack that powers a 201 BHP electric motor. It has a claimed range of 510 km. 

The Premium variant uses an 82.56 kWh battery offering 650 km of range. The electric motor has an output of 308 BHP and 360 Nm. 

The top-spec Performance trim gets an 82.56 kWh battery that powers two electric motors. It has 523 BHP and 670 Nm and offers a range of 580 km on a single charge.

The BYD Seal shares its platform with the Atto 3 electric SUV. It competes with the Hyundai Ioniq 5

China-based BYD has launched its third pure-electric offering in the Indian market. The BYD Seal is available in three variants: Dynamic, Premium and Performance, with prices starting at Rs 41 lakh (ex-showroom).

The BYD Seal is an electric sedan featuring a four-door coupe-like body style. It has sleek LED headlamps up front with unique V-shaped LED daytime running lights and slim wraparound LED tail lights at the rear. The car rides on sporty dual-tone alloy wheels and has retractable door handles.

Inside, the BYD Seal comes with a large 15.6-inch central touchscreen infotainment system, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a head-up display. It also has features like ventilated and heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control and memory function for the seats & ORVMs.

The Seal is fitted with ADAS, which includes safety features like lane departure warning and prevention, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, collision warning system, cross traffic alert, emergency braking assist and blind spot assist.

The BYD Seal shares its platform with the Atto 3 electric SUV. The car measures 4,800 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, 1,460 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,920 mm. It is available in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations.

The 'Dynamic' variant packs a single electric motor producing 201 BHP and 310 Nm. It is powered by a 61.44 kWh battery pack offering a maximum range of 510 km. The 'Premium' variant has 308 BHP and 360 Nm on tap and offers up to 650 km of range from an 82.56 kWh battery pack.

The all-wheel drive 'Performance' variant also gets an 82.56 kWh battery, but its maximum range is rated at 580 km (NEDC). That being said, the dual electric motors have a combined output of 523 BHP and 670 Nm. It comes with torque vectoring and adaptive dampers.

While all variants support 7 kW AC fast charging, the Dynamic trim can charge at speeds up to 110 kW DC, while the higher variants support up to 150 kW DC fast charging.

BYD Seal ex-showroom prices:

• Dynamic - Rs 41 lakh
• Premium - Rs 45.55 lakh
• Performance - Rs 53 lakh

The BYD Seal could come in Dynamic Range, Premium Range and Performance trims.

BYD India recently opened the order books for the Seal EV, ahead of its launch on March 5. While the company has yet to announce the details, some reports suggest that the Seal is likely to be offered in three variants.

It has been reported that the BYD Seal could come in Dynamic Range, Premium Range and Performance trims, with two battery options and single and dual motor configurations. The base trim could be offered with a 61.4 kWh battery powering a single electric motor. It makes 201 BHP and 310 Nm and is said to have a range of 460 km.

The larger 82.5 kWh battery pack is likely to power the Premium range. This single-motor variant packs 309 BHP and 360 Nm and has a range of 570 km. The Performance trim uses the same battery pack to power a pair of electric motors producing 552 BHP and 670 Nm. It allows the car to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and has a claimed WLTC range of 520 km.

In terms of features, the BYD Seal will get a 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a head-up display, 8-way power adjustable driver seat with memory function, heated and ventilated front seats, wireless phone charger and a panoramic sunroof.

The Seal is also expected to get a full suite of safety features, including 8 airbags, ABS with EBD, hill hold assist, a 360-degree camera and ADAS.

Source: Cardekho

The BYD Seal could get an 82.5 kWh battery pack, offering a range of 570 km

Chinese EV maker, BYD, has announced the opening of bookings for the Seal EV. The electric sedan will be unveiled on March 5, 2024.

The BYD Seal features a coupe-like design with an all-glass roof, flush-fitting door handles, split LED headlights with boomerang-shaped LED DRLs, and a full-width LED light bar at the rear. Inside, the BYD Seal comes with a large 15.6-inch central touchscreen infotainment system, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a head-up display.

Reports suggest that the Seal will be offered with an 82.5 kWh battery pack, offering a range of 570 km (WLTP cycle). This single-motor variant is said to produce 227 BHP and 360 Nm, allowing the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.

BYD is offering customers a chance to win a UEFA match ticket and a round-trip flight ticket from India to the match venue. Customers who book the BYD Seal by April 30, 2024, will be eligible for this offer. Winners will be declared on BYD’s official social media and website in May 2024.