Tesla Model 3 beater? BYD Seal 2024 review: Premium | Is this new electric car the best EV sedan?

The 2024 BYD Seal is looking to disrupt the mid-size sedan segment, which has come to be dominated by a particular fully electric vehicle, the Tesla Model 3, in recent years. While other EVs have attempted to challenge the sales leader, this new Chinese contender might come the closest to doing so – at least on paper.

For one, the Seal is very aggressively priced, so much so that it undercuts the Model 3's starting price by $12,000 – that's a significant head start, especially considering the former kicks off from a tick under $50,000 plus on-road costs. But it also goes spec for spec in most instances.

So, in this expert review, CarsGuide Senior Journalist Tom White gets behind the wheel of the Seal's mid-spec Premium variant to find out how well it stacks up against the recently facelifted Model 3. With 230kW/360Nm of rear-wheel-drive grunt and a 570km of driving range, it's well positioned to do so.

#BYD #Seal #Review

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Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Pricing and features
02:44 Design
05:56 Practicality
08:34 Under the bonnet
08:49 Efficiency
09:41 Driving
13:33 Safety
14:35 Ownership
15:08 Verdict

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CarsGuide - Go beyond the test drive

[wentjen]

Tesla beater or not I don’t care. I like it and I just bought one here in Indonesia.

[willwong]

Having it for first 10, 000km now. Whole family loves it. The most surprising part is the glass roof, didn’t disappoint us during the whole summer, never get a chance to put the shade on.

[thepitbull]

Nice review Tom. I’m 5000Ks into ownership of the Performance model. It’s a cracking good car inside and out. It really has exceeded my expectations.

[vasil]

Thanks for the review. One aspect I would have to disagree with is your assessment that the car "isn't just good for a Chinese car", but it's at the level of mainstream and legacy auto makers. This is selling the car short. The Seal clearly sits well ABOVE the mainstream level.

[mj]

Get mine this week. Goodbye cartel priced petrol, hello Chinese espionage 😂😂😂

[erhuforever]

The BYD Seal actually looks much more attractive than the latest Tesla Model 3. It looks like a product from a German manufacturer. If you stick a Porsche badge on it, most people who have never heard of BYD won't even blink an eye.

[dalepurton]

I've had my performance model for 4 months now. I have 3-phase in my house so I added a wall charger in the garage to charge at 7kw - can charge it fully in a day when the sun is beating down on my solar panels - almost free fuel!!!
But the car - now I have received the first software update it has mostly solved the nagging issues - I still turn off front cross traffic braking and traffic sign alert to shut up the speed-nanny. But otherwise it goes like stink, handles with aplomb, and rides beautifully. Rear passengers I think get the best view with that massive panoramic roof. For the price I'm blown away. I have it on a novated lease and it's cheaper per month than my previous RAV4 hybrid. And this has THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY KILOWATTS.

[Another_opinion_]

Wow. I could have written your review 😂. Same thoughts. I've actually really liked it and, coming from a BMW series 3 driver, I was very impressed by its handling. Not at BMW level, but very good.
To add a couple of points, I've tested both this one and the model 3 on a 40+ degree day and the difference in heat coming from the sunroof was very noticeable (the seal way cooler). The other point is that byd seems quite attentive to its customers base. They have quickly addressed many shortcomings of the safety system and I wouldn't be surprised if they kept tuning the software to improve the experience.
Really a good car.

[OlyMar]

Great effort by BYD for a first generation version for Australia. The highland is has had great reviews For its improvements so far. This seal will only improve more.

[davids]

who knew buttons in an electric car would be a good idea .... instead of just one giant screen

[passby]

Seal is objectively better looking, period.

[vasil]

Small but useful detail not mentioned, the wireless chargers can be individually disabled.

[shenzhenmaster]

2011 Musk was asked about his competitor BYD, he laughed and responded, "Have you seen their car?

[_Negra_Arroyo_Lane]

What's wrong with just using android? It's guaranteed to work rather than some proprietary system that might crash on you.

[mahonjt]

I should say, this is also a very good review from a driving experience perspective.

[AL-tqq]

Good for Australians! Here in Canada, we have nothing but Tesla.

[kpkaus]

From my research BYD Seal has more safety features than Tesla Model 3.

[dingbatt]

Not sure if you were criticising it for copying Tesla for the dual wireless charger or applauding it? Kind of sounded like you did both. Android skinning of the Infotainment aside, it looks better if you set it to “dark mode” and the fact it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity is a bonus. And it has a HUD, which its main competitors lack.
Where BYD needed to “take inspiration from” Polestar rather than Tesla is in the boot. If they had made it a liftback rather than a separate boot, it would have been that much better.

[mahonjt]

So are the dual wireless chargers "wearing Tesla on their sleeve" or "a great touch" - likewise, is the screen just a "Android re-skin or is it "better than a lot of the software on the market to be fair"? I agree about the shifter and the current representation of the digital dials, however.

[johnlambert]

So the advantages of a Model 3 over this are:

Access to ALL Tesla Superchargers
Ability to automatically preheat battery for fast DC charging
Inbuilt navigation showing SOC at destination, etc. and ability to reroute if needed
No regular servicing (saving you at least $300 a year)
Full remote connectivity using mobile app (BYD is very limited in features)
Slightly more efficient
Inbuilt apps are a lot more extensive (eg. Netflix, Disney+, etc.)
Sentry Mode (including ability to view live camera views remotely)

BYD Seal is certainly a great car for sure, particularly for those who want something more traditional than a Tesla. It's definitely great value for money too.