What is it?

BYD is already starting to feel like a familiar presence on our roads. With a seemingly never-ending list of China-based manufacturers arriving, it can be hard to stand out, but, given its background in battery creation, BYD has started to become one of the more trusted names in the market.

The curiously named Sealion 7 is currently BYD’s largest vehicle and one which goes up against cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Enyaq. Can it do enough to stand out? We’ve been driving it to see.

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What’s new?

The Sealion 7 is the fourth car to come to the UK from BYD, sitting alongside the Dolphin, Seal and Seal U. It sits some 30mm longer than the Seal saloon and gets a roofline some 160mm higher, giving this car a little more space to offer. Underpinned by BYD’s Platform 3.0, it’s got the brand’s latest battery technology on board, too, with the ‘Blade’ units aiming to deliver better energy density with less weight and, importantly, no cobalt whatsoever.

BYD also says that the rear motor on the Sealion is the ‘fastest mass production e-motor’ as it can spin at up to 23,000rpm. Essentially, that means quicker acceleration and faster responses.

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What’s under the bonnet?

There are three powertrain options with the Sealion 7. You’ve got a rear-wheel-drive version and an all-wheel-drive model, which get an 82.5kWh battery for respective ranges of 300 and 283 miles. Then, there’s the flagship Excellence model – which we’re testing here – and this gets a larger 91.3kWh battery and dual electric motors for a range of up to 312 miles, the longest of the Sealion range.

It’s got a decent level of performance to offer, with 0-60mph coming in 4.3 seconds. Importantly, the Excellence Sealion can charge at speeds of up to 230kW, meaning you should be able to sort a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 24 minutes. An efficiency-boosting heat pump comes as standard on all models, too.

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What’s it like to drive?

The Sealion 7 is quite a large car, so to begin, you do need to take your time getting acquainted with the car’s proportions. However, once you’re up to speed, this BYD makes for a relaxing and easy-going way of getting from A to B. The steering doesn’t offer much feedback, mind you, and you can feel like you’re struggling to accurately place the car.

That said, the Sealion 7 sits very happily on a cruise, though, in truth, there’s probably too much performance for a car like this. We’d be tempted to go for a lower-powered model – it’s just a shame that you don’t get more range in this model, given how enormous the battery fitted is.

How does it look?

The look of the Sealion 7 neither excites nor offends – to our eyes, at least. BYD’s entire range follows a rather rounded, smoothed-off design direction and while it might not be all that easy to spot one out, they’re hardly bad-looking cars.

Similar to other Chinese manufacturers, BYD doesn’t offer the Sealion 7 with a great range of exterior colours. You’ve only got four to choose from on most models – Atlantis Grey, Indigo Grey, Polar White and Space Black – while Excellence cars gain an exclusive Tahiti Blue shade. It would be far better if a great range of more exciting colours were offered.

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What’s it like inside?

As with other BYD models, the interior of the Sealion 7 is dominated by technology but thankfully, there’s far more on offer here than just screens alone. The material quality is good throughout the car and the front seats provide a decent level of comfort. Adjustability isn’t bad, either, but it’s a shame that the rearward visibility is so hampered by the sloping roofline. It’s a bit like trying to look out of a letterbox.

Rear-seat space is excellent, however, and there’s a flat floor back there so whoever is in the middle seat doesn’t need to feel cramped. In terms of boot space, you’ve got 520 litres on offer there but, because of the shape of the tailgate, it’s quite shallow, so you can’t load taller items in there easily. Thankfully, you’ve also got a 58-litre ‘frunk’ at the front of the car for storing the charging cables in.

What’s the spec like?

One area where BYD has routinely succeeded is standard equipment and it looks to be the same story on the Sealion 7. Up first is the 15.6-inch central display, which is your main point of contact for all media, navigation and connectivity features. Thankfully, BYD has seen fit to put a shortcuts bar at the bottom of the screen, so you can always get back to a display or readout that you need in an instant. It’s still quite tricky to find certain menus given the sheer number of them, but it’s far better than on other Chinese-made cars that we’ve seen lately. All cars get wireless smartphone charging, too, alongside a suite of assistance systems.

Verdict

The Sealion 7 is smartly finished and has acres of space inside, not to mention some very impressive standard equipment. It goes to show that BYD has achieved this level of finish in just a few years on sale here, too, so the future looks bright for the brand.

It’s just let down in terms of range, as with a battery as large as the one fitted to this Excellence model, we’d expect more mileage between trips to the plug, and it’s in this area where rivals will seem far more appealing.

Facts at a glance

Model as tested: BYD Sealion 7 Excellence AWD

Engine: Dual electric motors

Power: 523bhp

Torque: 690Nm

Max speed: 134mph

0-60mph: 4.3 seconds

MPG: NA

Emissions: 0g/km

Range: 312 miles

Maxmim charging speed: 230kW