Since launch, the BYD Seal hasn’t shied away from leaving those of us in the specialist motoring press rather impressed. With its good looks, strong zero emission poke and the amount of technology you get for the price, it just does everything very well indeed. Having tested the flagship AWD Performance, BYD NZ gave me the chance to compare notes with the mid-range Premium.
At $69,990, the Premium is $8k over the entry level Dynamic and undercuts the Performance by $12k. So, pretty much smack-bang in the middle price wise, but what else? Naturally you get BYD’s Blade Battery pack with 83kW, but only sending 230kW of power to the rear wheels, instead of the 390kW you get to all four in the Performance.
What you lose in power though, you gain in range. BYD claim an electric range of 570kms (WTLP), 50 more than the Performance, but when I jumped in when collecting it from Euromarque, Christchurch’s BYD agents, the range showed to be in excess of 600km. Torque sits at 360Nm and BYD claim a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 5.9 seconds. Like its Performance counterpart, the Premium is also compatible with 150kW DC fast charging.
Looks wise, the Seal Premium is pretty much identical to the Performance, and the Dynamic for that matter. You have a handsome set of LED DRLs, a low front lip, blacked out rear diffuser, a mesmerizing full-width rear light bar and a low, swooping coupe-like roof-line. It seems to hug the tarmac with this kind of stance and in Aurora White, it does look pretty good.
Hop inside and you still find yourself sitting very low. It feels more sports car-like than saloon in this regard. It is an overused expression, but the cabin very much does “wrap around you.” It also leaves the feeling of you looking down on the LCD instrument cluster and the immediate controls in front of you instead of ahead. I also love the now familiar floating centre console with crystal-esque looking gear selector.
The level of quality has been steadily improving with each new BYD. The leather wrapped seats are supportive and feel plush, but you certainly don’t sink into them. Maybe that’s a good thing? Sitting in the rear leaves you feeling just as supported as in the front. The sloping rear roofline
Levels of equipment include a 360-degree rear camera, head-up-display, heated and ventilated front seats, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, the now familiar rotatable 15.6-inch touch screen infotainment display, all manner of active safety gear, dual phone charging pads, dual USB C-Ports, satellite navigation, BYD’s voice interface system and a 12-speaker DYNAUDIO system which doesn’t sound half bad. You don’t get a heated steering wheel in the Premium as you do in the Performance, but this was no biggie.
Straight off the bat, this Seal, much like its more powerful sibling is eager to get going. Sure, it’s not as abrupt off the mark as the flagship Performance, but I reckon there is more than enough poke to satisfy many. It actually doesn’t matter you don’t have an extra electric motor providing drive, the fact you only have the one electric motor for the rear means the Premium is 130kg lighter than the Performance, 2501kg over 2631kg.
As a result, it feels much more supple and lively in the corners. You won’t be able to corner as hard or as sharp as the Performance and its underpinnings do feel a tad softer here thanks to the additional loss of the AWD’s BYD’s Intelligent Torque Adaption Control and Frequency Selective Damping. This is no big loss however, as the Premium feels much lighter on its feet and there is infinitely more feedback through that leather wrapped wheel.
When dialling back the exuberance and treating the Seal Premium as your daily tool, I found the ride to be decent and it’s just as intuitive and easy to helm around town as the Performance. In fact, after a week in its company, I struggle to see why you would need to fork out the extra dosh for the Performance.
Sure, you don’t get those aforementioned tweaks underneath and yes, you are a bit down on power over the flagship, but they look the same, they have the same amount of kit, give or take a few non-essentials and it’s just as good to drive.
People often come to the conclusion the middle child in the family tends to get overlooked. The oldest usually gets the freedom and responsibility, and the youngest often gets all the attention. With the BYD Seal family, the Premium by no means should be overlooked. Thanks to what it can do for less, this middle child really does deserve just as much praise as the Performance, and maybe a bit more.
RATING: 8.5/10
