BYD Seal

Just looking into that a bit further and the manual says this

And I found this pic online of what the 2 memory settings buttons look like I think

So if anyone else who is test driving it soon could check are those buttons there on Irish models that would be great thanks

It is strange, especially when the atto and dolphin's indicators are on the left side if memory serves me correctly. It will probably be rectified at some stage like they did with the BYD slogan. It's still better than the refresh Model 3 with the capacitive button indicators! I wish BYD with provide one pedal driving.

Seems a lot of car for the money. I'll be watching this thread, and the Tesla threads, with interest as I may be changing motors in the new year. Tesla may even have another price cut by then to compete given the cost of the Model 3 when selecting a different colour and upgrading wheels 😂

I also got a quote lately that omitted delivery charges. Wonder have they been dropped from the price

What if they pull the grants though?

Basically the euro car companies are getting a shot in the arm from Ursula

Great review - thanks for that

Was really intrigued by your comments about the Niro. I have the new Niro and was thinking of changing to the Seal. I was thinking that the seal would win hands down when up against each other. I will know more after my test drive next Monday. Niro is a great car but the Seal looks and range are far superior.

Did you test drive the Black AWD in BYD North Dublin? The electric seat button was working for my test drive this afternoon, full range of adjustment.

Here's a summary of my short test drive. Apologies for the wall of text. I tried to space the points but can't do it while numbered.

1. The driver seat is comfortable, nice side support and lumbar support is quite good. No lumbar support adjustment on passenger seat and I felt there isn't anywhere near enough padding in the lower back area to make up for the lack of electric lumbar adjustment. Rear seats also have poor lumbar support , more padding needed, would definitely get tiring on a long journey in its current form. I have no issues with my back. It's something to consider and test yourself if carrying adults/teenagers regularly in the rear.
2. It's noticeably easier to get in and out of the Seal compared to the Model 3.
3. Undoubtedly more knee room and a little bit extra foot space in the rear of the Seal than the Model 3 with the front seat set at my preferred position.
4. The glass panoramic roof is really nice, one continuous glass panel like in the Model Y so it gives a feeling of more space than the Model 3 with the Middle beam intruding into rear passengers FOV. It is nicely tinted. I sat in the rear as the sun was beaming down at one point, no issues for me and provides great visibility in the cabin regardless of interior colour.
5. As Gumbo said, it's not as intuitive as Teslas infotainment. More difficult to find setting and change settings. There's menus and submenus, swiping left to right to see more menu options that could easily be shown on the screen without having to swipe to find them. They need to refine and continuously improve it, which I'm sure they will do. The infotainment screen is not bright enough. Today was rather Sunny and I had difficulty seeing what was on the infotainment, especially when wearing my sunglasses. There was a LOT of glare on the screen, brightness was set to max. BYD need to change the menu colour to white instead of blue for daytime driving to offset for the lack of screen brightness. To paraphrase Bjorn Nyland, it's very much Chinese design and layout.
6. There is a "Easy Entry" setting like with Tesla but only for the Seats because the steering wheel is manual adjustment. It's predefined and can't be set to how you want your "Easy Entry" setup.
7. The car felt comfortable in comfort mode, took bumps quite well. Sport mode definitely stiffened the suspension nicely.
8. Interior storage space is quite good in the door bins. Decent space inside the centre arm console and under centre console.
9. The glovebox is very tight and opening was rather restrictive.
10. The driver needs to lean over the centre console to the passenger side to plug cables in the to usb-c/A ports due to the positioning under the centre console but it's not a big issue as you wont be regularly plugging/unplugging wires.
11. Storage space in the boot and frunk is noticeibly less than the Model 3, little underfloor storage, barely big enough for charging cables. The boot closing mechanism is very well engineered. Completely silent. Boot can also be opened and closed from drivers seat door by holding the boot release button.
12. Like with the dolphin and atto, the brake pedal feel in the seal feels very weird. Mushy, soft? Doesn't give much confidence and the braking force is not linear. Model 3 is superior in mechanical brake/regen feel and deployment.
13. I'm very disappointed they didn't implement one pedal driving like Tesla or Polestar. It shouldn't be a difficult feature to implement. I know some don't like it but it's a feature I absolutely adore. There wasn't much noticeable difference in the regenerative brake settings, regenerative should be much stronger.
14. HUD is brilliant, a rare feature nowadays and very welcome to see it at a reasonably affordable price compared to other brands.
15. Drivers display is good, bright and clear. It's fixed and does not move with steering column.
16. ACC is rather good although it doesn't move once the car is stopped for a few seconds, have to touch accelerator for it to activate again. Can only increase speeds in 5km/h increments for cruise control/ACC, I was unable to find a way to do fine adjustments like you can in other brands by holding the increase/decrease button.
17. Lots of bing bongs from the lane departure prevention and speed sign recognition system, very annoying and could be toned down. At one point one the way back to the Garage the right lane marking became non-existent due to wear, the car actually tried to steer towards a car stuck in traffic in the opposite oncoming lane, from my perspective I think it would have caused an accident if I didn't intervene in time but I can't be 100% certain.
18. Pedestrian warning sound is too loud and it's very intrusive into the cabin when in slow moving traffic, it would absolutely wreck my head as a daily driver. When at a complete stop the noise ceases after about 5 seconds. I understand the necessity and legislation mandates it but again like with the bing bongs of the lane departure warning system/speed sign recognition, it needs to be toned down.
19. The sound system was disappointing, I'm not an audiophile but it sounds is very 'muddy', flat, decent base but not good at anything really despite my efforts to adjust the equaliser settings. Teslas premium sound system is superior.
20. Build quality felt solid, very well put together, no creaking or rattles. Nice door closing sound, not quite German level but still very good. Sound insulation was good. The blue seats feel lovely and the quilted design looks and feel very premium. Durability is unknown.
21. Wing mirrors are nicely sized and visibility is good, rearview mirror visibility is not so good but it's not a negative for me, mirror visibility is better than the Model 3.
22. I found the frunk surprisingly difficult to close properly. It took significantly more force to close than I've used on any other modern car.
23. There's no ability(yet) to unlock/lock car with bluetooth phone proximity like with Teslas.
24. Overhead grab handles are present inside all 4 doors(Tesla👀)
25. Indicators are on the wrong side, salesman said the dealership is providing feedback to BYD so hopefully they will change this.
26. 360 Cameras are brilliant, should be on every car at this price point. Parking sensors thankfully also included. A strange thing to be thankful for a car at this price point( Tesla 👀)
27. The rain sensor worked(Tesla👀)
28. BYD navigation maps is terrible, stick to google maps/waze.
29. The Ice Blue colour is beautiful. I would pick Polar white paint/tahiti blue interior. White looks cleaner for longer and I just want to own a white car for my next upgrade. Atlantis grey paint would be a lovely choice if similar to crayon?
30. Rear cross traffic alert is nice to have.
31. I love having tactile buttons on steering wheel and centre console. I didn't have much trouble configuring the aircon but it could be better implemented. I didn't have time to test whether the shown temps are calibrated correctly.
32. Nice subtle interior mood lighting.
33. I hate that it requires yearly servicing. Why is this needed in a brand new EV nowadays? I know it's to keep the dealers happy but it wastes a day for me.
34. Long basic vehicle and battery warranty(Vehicle: 150k/6 years, battery 200k/8years
35. Wasn't able to fully test the acceleration but it felt as it should from my limited test drive. Traction was great. The steering felt nicely weighted in comfort and sport mode. Very surprised they managed to extract the claimed 530ps using a LFP battery and package a sizeable 83kWh LFP into relatively small package. Hats off to BYD for their innovative Blade battery.

It's a tough choice to choose between the Seal and Model 3 Highland. I would probably choose Model 3 Highland. Some reader are probably rolling their eyes thinking I'm a Tesla fanboy but hear me out. Boot space is bigger in the Model 3 if you have kids but don't want a crossover/Model Y. Driving dynamics are better in the Model 3. Infotainment is better in my opinion. Option of Youtube/Netflix. Supercharging network access when required. Infotainment interface is better designed and display is brighter. Sound system is superior in Model 3 Highland(tested in Germany recently). Ranger callout is a great service. One-pedal driving(I adore this and believe it should be a software option in all EV's). No yearly service intervals. More phone app features(BYD will improve in this area but will take time). Smartphone key proximity unlocking/locking. Sentry Mode(also live viewing). Better standard navigation system. More efficient. Charges faster(long range). I prefer being able to sit into a Tesla, press the brake and drive without having to press a start button, press park when finished driving and walk away.

There are things I dislike and hate about the Model 3 Highland, no Ultrasonic sensors, no HUD, no 360 cam, unreliable rain sensor(presumably, didn't test with highland), no stalks(can be retrofitted next year with 3rd party stalks but hopefully Tesla will reverse their design choice like with the yoke).

BYD offers a far better basic vehicle warranty(6 years/150k kilometres), parking sensors, HUD, rain sensor and 360 cam however I think the refinement of the model 3 and one-pedal driving makes the Tesla a better car for me.

The Seal is a great car for the price despite the added MSL tax, very good looking, and a welcomed competitor in the EV saloon space. It executes a lot of things very well and others not so well. It feels like first iteration. In the EV space, software is king, BYD needs to work hard in this area and will fix a lot of annoyances if they do so. If BYD adopts the approach of continuous annual improvement like Tesla then I believe it will be a cracking car in a few years.

I attached the Seal owners manual for those interested, although it's for left hand drive it should be mostly the same as RHD.

It's important we try to maintain some context here. It's good system when you consider the overall car package. 530ps AWD, premium feeling and looking interior, great range, HUD, 360 cam, blind spot warning, parking sensors, rear cross traffic alert, radar cruise control, Lane keep assist, electric boot etc etc.... The car is loaded with tech to be fair. For the price it really is market leading. Costs had to limited somewhere otherwise the retail price would soar far beyond most people's affordability. It's trying to be the jack of all trades and it does an amazing job of that.

Go look for all that spec in bmw, volvo, audi, Mercedes, hyundai, kia, you'd very easily soar past 75k, 100k.

So considering the context and looking at all the tech, power, range, space, warranty it gives you. It is without doubt a better car than a Model 3.

All of us have our own preferences and wants for a daily car and some people will weigh more value towards certain features than others. I put more value in one pedal driving and audio than I probably should but that's what I like and that's what makes me happy.