BYD Seal U review

Interior:

Dashboard & tech

The interior of the BYD Seal U is dominated by technology. There’s a huge 15.6-inch infotainment screen which, as well as all your major media and navigation functions, has a trick up its sleeve. You can actually rotate it between portrait and landscape orientations, helping to tailor the experience to what you need.

The overall layout is good, though we’d like a few more physical controls to help when adjusting certain settings. Nearly everything is adjusted through the main screen, so something as simple as increasing the temperature requires more thought than simply rotating a dial as you would in a ‘regular’ car.

Comfort

Comfort is an area where the Seal U excels. While the steering might not be the most communicative, the Seal U does a great job of ironing out the lumps and bumps in the road. Plus, the seats are well-padded and supportive, so you do get a very comfortable experience when you’re out and about.

Quality

BYD has come on leaps and bounds in terms of quality and with each new model it releases, this seems to get better.

The Seal U has plenty of soft-touch materials used here and there, and though there are some scratchier plastics lower down the cabin, it’s no different to rivals within the segment. The interior is all quite stripped-back, too, with the lack of buttons giving it a de-cluttered feel overall.

Practicality & boot space:

Interior space

You’ll find plenty of legroom on offer in the BYD Seal U, though a standard-fit panoramic sunroof does eat into headroom.

As a result, taller passengers might find their heads brushing the roof, but for most average-sized occupants, there should be enough space available. The rear doors do open quite wide, too, which helps with access.

Boot space

At 425 litres, the amount of boot space that you get from the BYD Seal U is less than what you’d get in something like a Honda CR-V or even a Volkswagen Tiguan. The good news, however, is that you can lower the rear seats and expand that area to 1,440 litres, helping to boost practicality in the process.

Versatility

That fold-down seating arrangement helps with versatility, too. There are also plenty of storage options located throughout the interior which should help to keep things as tidy as possible. There’s also a handy wireless smartphone charging tray located underneath the main display, so you can keep a phone charged up without the need for cables.

Driving:

Driving experience

The driving experience that you get from the BYD Seal U is safe, assured and comfort-focused. The steering isn’t communicative at all, but at least it’s light and easy to operate.

This helps to make the Seal U easier and more agile to drive around town, though it can feel a little out of its depth when you head through some twistier sections.

Performance

You can get the BYD Seal U with two output options. There’s the standard car which uses a 1.5-litre engine and an 18.3 kWh battery pack which brings 214bhp and an electric-only range of up to 49 miles.

Running costs:

Fuel economy & CO2 emissions

Because of that plug-in hybrid engine setup, the BYD Seal U should cost far less to run than rivals. Stick to running on electric power and there’s little need to trouble the petrol engine.

BYD claims that you could get up to 314mpg, but you’ll only be able to achieve that by running on electric-only power for nearly all of the time. During mixed driving, we’d expect to see around 60mph. Emissions, meanwhile, are very low at 21g/km CO2.

Value for money

Value-for-money is something that BYD has put a strong focus on since it first started selling cars in the UK.

That filters through to the Seal U, too, which undercuts many key rivals. In fact, on Cazoo, we’ve found many cars for around £25,000 with around 11,000 miles on the clock, making these a great-value option.

Reliability & warranty

BYD is known for its reliability, having been a battery manufacturer well before it started building cars.

All cars get a six-year warranty as standard, while the battery and powertrains are covered by a longer eight-year warranty for added peace of mind.

Safety:

Safety features

The BYD Seal U is a very safe car, having been awarded a maximum five-star rating by Euro NCAP when it was crash-tested in 2023.

It got particularly high scores for adult and child occupant protection, too, with ratings of 90 and 86 per cent respectively. All cars get a full suite of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) services, as well as lane and speed assistance systems.

Trims & engines:

There are three trim levels available on the Seal U, all of which offer lots of standard equipment.

Trim levels:

• Premier Edition: The base-level variant when the car was launched and featured adaptive suspension, a panoramic sunroof and a powered tailgate.
• Boost: Boost gets an 18.3kWh battery and a 50-mile electric-only range, alongside standard features such as a panoramic sunroof and that rotatable display.
• Comfort: Comfort increases the battery size to 26.6kWh, unlocking a longer electric-only range of up to 78 miles.
• Design: Design uses the smaller battery option but adds all-wheel drive for better traction if you need it. Because of this, the electric-only range drops back to 43 miles, though you also gain additional driving modes in Sand and Mud.

Engines

The BYD Seal U is available only as a plug-in hybrid, which combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and battery. In Boost models, you get up to 50 miles of range, while larger-battery Comfort cars increase this to 78 miles. The good news is that all cars benefit from an automatic gearbox, and you can get all-wheel-drive performance in the Design-specification BYD Seal U, too.