BYD Seal Premium | Long Term Review | Update 1

I've been living with the BYD Seal Premium for 5,000km now. It's time for a long-term update! Get the REAL story on reliability, range, tech quirks, and overall owner satisfaction with this Tesla Model 3 rival in Australia.

Key points I'll cover:

- Living with the BYD Seal daily: Pros, cons, and surprises of daily use.
- Actual range and charging experiences: How does it compare to the claimed range?
- Maintenance and reliability: Any issues or costs I've encountered.
- Technology quirks: What's working well and what's still frustrating.
- Would I recommend it? Honest assessment after 4,000km.

Find out if I miss the Tesla Model 3 that I did nearly 100,000km with in 2023.

Check them out for all your ride share rental needs, corporate fleet rentals, short term holiday rentals and accident replacement vehicle rental needs.

[Bennix]

Why so many hates from the anti-china buzzers in the comment section?? I think BYD is making good cars and the review is great.

[MacrosFTW]

Love the look of this car compared to Tesla.

[I_dont_want_an_at]

Great review. Great car. From a great country

[yggdrasil]

Fantastic review. Would love one of these.

[lasekundes]

how long does it take to charge at home with a normal power stock in the garage?

[eb.]

The current comparison could for many buyers be with the Model 3 Highland. You don't even mention it. It has a new suspension you could try and compare. I drive a older M3. I notice the road feel. I also am impressed by the substantial comfort and isolation of the seat. I have never experienced that combo. I had to recalibrate. Now it's not something I object to. I am an enthusiastic performance driver in this car.

[archiefleming]

Ref the door handles if you are in a crash if you are incapacitated and/or you lose power how do rescuers get you out in time or do you have to wait for emergency services, in an EV with the likelihood of fire is not good.
I've done 5 million kms on the road in taxis & I NEVER drove with the doors locked. I have pulled people out of crashes a number of times on road or in rallying

[peanutbutterjellyjam]

I see a few M'GUY followers in the comments. Don't let them distract you from your work.

[inspector]

Hi, what is the material of the upholstery? Are those all real leather like Tesla? Thank you.

[remz]

50-60 dollars a charge is still a lot cheaper than a petrol car for similar ks. although not quite 6 dollars a tank

[jamesjarman]

Love to get your feedback on the dynamic as well-is the handling much different from premium? Do you notice much difference with the seats? Ordered one and waiting for it but considering the premium (only test drove premium as no dynamics in WA).

[sydneycycling]

Well done. Please do a review of the dynamic. Thanks

[ThethDentist]

Is there anyway you think a spare wheel can be kept in the vehicle?

[dunx]

How is the adaptive cruise control/autopilot? Does it keep the car centered in the lane?

[kevinsamuel]

What would be the real world range of the AWD Performance variant?

[BurntFaceMan]

Great review appreciate this, was weighing this up vs the new Tesla Model 3 (the one with the nice interior at last!).
if both were the same price (here in NZ they are about 60-80K depending on load out) would you buy the mod3 high range or the seal premium? They're btoh about $70KNZD

[denisrenaldo]

Sorry, it's a mix of real and expected figures. Mentionning 600 km range is pure advertisement. Should be better to compare with other EVs in range and charge speed

We currently own the 2 smaller model from BYD (Dolphin, Atto 3) and I am very impressed of the quality of this brand. I was used to Japanese cars (Mazda) and BYD is already close; not yet at that level but already close (especially concerning the price.). I also really like the Seal. But is a large car and then I would like more range and a bigger boot with a hatch. Perfect would be a Seal Touring!

[pkerry]

Have u not driven high performance cars before? They all have low suspension and u feel the bumps its just what u get model 3 is not a luxury car people need to stop thinking of it that way. If u want luxury buy a bentley or rolls royce.

[johnwhelan]

Your review is totally flawed, getting more efficiency on a motorway compared to town is complete bull, unless you were doing 70 KLM’s on the motorway that is. Telling people they are going to get 550 KLM’s per charge is crazy ! Why do I say that because I’ve tested the BYD Seal performance and got 358 KLM’s or 4.5 KLM’s per kilowatt on a full charge !! And that’s my normal driving, Motorway at 120 KLM’s and town driving!! Not bad in my eyes but please don’t exaggerate the range it’s just crazy and wrong !! By the way I drive a Tesla Model Y Performance and I do think the BYD is a good car but not as efficient as a Tesla to include the Model Y. Why because it’s much heavier and motors and bearings not as good. My average efficiency in the Tesla by the way is 6.3 KLM’s per kilowatt . There is a huge difference in efficiency just for everyone to note. My model 3 LFP battery car was 8 KLM’s per kilowatt so saying the BYD was as efficient as it is basically totally incorrect by a country mile. I think the BYD is a very good car but has its drawbacks like every car.