My test Seal held my gaze gracefully, standing still outside the showroom, as I squinted to find the water droplets and other motifs of fluid design inside and outside the car.
The Design
The LED lamps seemed to pay a tribute to the natural architectural artistry of a raindrop, while the lower lines inside the headlamp reminded me of waves caressing the shores. Inside too, patterns did carry the connotations across the dashboard trims and console design, which my handover executive from BYD pointed out as a reason for the oceanic name. Anyway, the BYD Seal had a fluid design that was largely aerodynamic, sporty and electric – given the clean contemporary lines.
Cabin Comforts
The modern design made an electric statement through the white premium leather and the ambient light strips – of course the leather was recycled too! The sunroof that formed a vast vault was immovable and could not be tint-adjusted but it still had a strong design presence in the cabin.
The 8-way electrically movable driver seat and 6-way passenger seat were ventilated, and moved back to make space when I wanted to step out. Both the front passengers can choose different temperatures and the Seal can be remotely switched on a few minutes early on, to cool the cabin.
BYD Seal: how big is it really?
The BYD Seal is 8 cm longer than the Tesla Model 3 and 5 cm more than the Model Y.
However, the Tesla models offer more of boot space and front bonnet storage space – the trunk and the ‘frunk’ as Tesla nicknamed it. In the smaller Model 3, it is 594 L and 88 L respectively while the Zeal offers 400L in the rear and 53L in front. The Zeal also has a 4.5 cm longer wheelbase.
The Drive
Unlike the Atto 3, the Seal I drove had two motors, one dedicated for the front wheels and the other for the rear – thus it was an all-wheel drive. The digits displayed in the rear – 3.8s – turned out to be the time taken for a 0 – 100 sprint – justified pride for an electric performance sedan. The quick take off is all thanks to 670 Nm of torque and the reliable 523 hp coming from an 82.5 kWh motor. Yet, the power plateaus out soon enough to restrict the car to a top speed of 180 kmph. (There is a real wheel drive version of the BYD Seal that takes 5.9 sec to touch 100 kmph.)
If instant torque is the mark of an EV, BYD Zeal lets you feel that electric zing in the chambers of your head. How else do you make that 3.8 sec sprint to 100? The movements and maneuvers are quick and sporty, and contributes to the thrill of driving more than the speed per se. It is also the secret of on-road confidence in quick and sure-shot decision making. The capable support cast includes Bosch performance brakes and Frequency-variable damping shock absorbers.
BYD Seal proudly flaunts this number on its rear badging space – well, that is the amazing acceleration in seconds!
THE SPECS AT A GLANCE
Battery: 82.5 kWh LFP
Dimensions: 4800 x 1875 x 1460 mm
Wheelbase: 2920 mm
Kerb weight: 2185 kg
Turning radius: 5.7 m
Rear trunk: 400 L
Front trunk: 53 L
Bi-colour alloy wheels: 19”
FEATURES: Keyless entry and start, Remote start, panoramic glass roof
The “frunk”
Cabin tech
Many brands have used technology to leave a signature – like the gear selector in last decade’s refreshed Jaguar models that would rise like a submarine on ignition. Seal begins with a display of a digital water dance on its screens. The driver info screen is 10.25” while the central screen – the source of all comforts and conveniences – is 15.6” wide and can be rotated. That’s the drama BYD has reserved for its models, allowing you to view the screen horizontally or vertically (some drivers might consider the latter a minor hindrance to forward vision but, overall, this piece of gadgetry suits the style of those used to tablets. My car had a 12-speaker DYNAUDIO sound system and a bevy of satellite channels, including some interesting podcasts from Planet Money. Vehicle controls, driver assistance features, cabin comforts – it’s all activated and adjusted on the central monitor. However, changing the music source or radio station appeared to be a bit layered – having to either go back to the steering to reactivate or do it through a voice command.
Another impressive slice of design is on the central console tunnel where a congregation of buttons are arranged as a black, circular ensemble – appeared to me as an old portable Philip’s CD player’s modern techy version! The console sported twin wireless chargers which left some speed to be desired but hey, there are two!
Tech: 10.25” driver’s screen, 15.6” rotating central screen, 12 speakers DYNAUDIO sound, Voice-activated assistant, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 2 wireless chargers of 15W
Safety
BYD Seal comes with driver and passenger airbags, front row side airbags, rear row side airbags, curtain airbags, 360º camera and a host of active and passive safety features that assign the badge of semi-autonomy to the new-age EVs. The sporty car’s driving is made accurate and easy by technologies like Vehicle dynamic control, Auto hold and Hill Start. Head up display is another thing that adds a great deal of safety to driving by projecting all necessary information onto the road, making it unnecessary to withdraw your glance at any time. Features that detected obstacles around and acted on it pro-actively worked rather well, instilling confidence.
Electronic driver assistance
Blind spot, Adaptive Cruise Control, Intelligent Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assist, Predictive Collision Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Cross traffic alert and intervention, Lane departure warning and assistance
BYD is an advocate and proponent of LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries for their cars that are more heat resistant and therefore, less susceptible to fire. The Blade Battery as they call it has 82.5 kWh capacity and also employs power battery cooling for a more conducive environment.
BYD claims a 17 kWh consumption per 100 km. My drive returned figures like 14.7 and 19.8 overall. Neat!
Longer EV range
When I pulled out of the BYD parking, the car was over 90% charged with close to 580 km on its max range indicator with 520 as the practical promise displayed next to it. The ideal kept to an equivalent of approximately 580 for most part of the drive and fell to around 560 towards the close. As for the practical indicated range of 520, a reasonable minimum of 480 can be expected even without fussy driving.
The 45% mark of the range is shown as 261. Which means full charge would be 583. The driver kept mostly to the same figure but by 13% it dropped to 561. Still very encouraging figures!
The price
At 195,000, it is 45,000 dirhams more expensive than the Atto 3 and closer to the Tesla rivals. Which also underscores that BYD is a global player seriously in the game through what they offer in the Seal rather than resorting to typical Chinese vantage pricing. The warranty on the battery is the market-standard of 8 years while Al Futtaim mobility and BYD back it with an overall warranty of 6 years – both the warranties expire at 150,000 km.
The essential BYD Seal
BYD Seal is a zealous pick, for those looking to trace the mid-line between sporty and futuristic.
