BYD Sealion 7 Review

Given that BYD stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’, it’s a little ironic that no BYD model so far has majored on driving excitement.

The BYD Sealion 7 is no exception, but it’s still a very good car. Practical, elegant, stylish and high-tech, this electric SUV is worth a spot on your shortlist.

But, as you might know, it’s not the only good electric SUV for this sort of money. The Sealion 7 has to grab your attention away from the Tesla Model Y, Nissan Ariya, Renault Scenic E-Tech and Kia EV6, as well as the retro-styled Hyundai Ioniq 5.

On looks alone, it’s off to a good start. While we don’t see the ‘ocean-inspired’ styling that BYD mentions, the Sealion 7 stands out with a sleek shape, a sporty spoiler and a piercing front end. A panoramic glass roof and ‘water droplet’ tail-lights come as standard. It looks athletic and eye-catching.

It’s perhaps a little odd that the wheel arches are almost square – bringing to mind a rugged 4x4 – especially as the Sealion 7 gets away with a much smaller black side trim panel than many rivals. And, with one wheel design and only four paint colours, once you’ve seen one Sealion 7, you’ve kind of seen them all.

BYD might still seem like a new brand in the UK, but it sold over 50,000 cars here in 2025 (that’s more than Citroen and Dacia combined) and it has a 125-strong dealer network that covers most of the UK. The Sealion 7 also comes with a six-year, 93,750-mile warranty and the option of a service plan. So it shouldn’t be any more difficult to own than its main rivals.

There’s a nautical theme inside, too; apparently the interior is inspired by the ‘dynamic flow and speed of sailboat racing’. This seems a little easier to spot, unless we’re just being distracted by the blue ambient lighting.

The design helps it to feel premium, and the execution backs that up. Build quality is at Mercedes or Audi levels, so it wears its price tag well.

Our test car had light blue Nappa leather upholstery, which made it feel even more luxurious. It’s a bit of a shame that you can only get this upgrade on the near-£60,000 Excellence range-topper; it’s nicer than the standard black leatherette upholstery you get on the Comfort and Design models.

Whichever model you pick, you’ll get a 15.6-inch touchscreen that can electronically swivel between either portrait or landscape orientations. We’d bet you’ll make it go portrait once and then leave it on landscape.

At first, the touchscreen looks like the system in BYD’s other cars, with an artsy wallpaper taking up most of the screen space and the actual functions you’ll want to use often relegated to a small, scrollable bar. But you can have the map view as your home screen background, so it’s actually useful – as nice as the augmented nature pictures are, we’re not here for an art gallery experience.

The screen boasts Google Maps integration for seamless navigation including traffic jams and charging stops, and there’s a voice assistant that seems capable of dealing with complex requests and questions. And, if you prod at the car displayed on the screen, things happen – touch the window and the real window will open or shut.

However, while we like the inclusion of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the on-screen climate controls are completely hidden when you’re mirroring your phone’s screen – making it necessary to return to BYD’s native interface every time you want to adjust the temperature. And you still can’t show several bits of information side-by-side in BYD’s system, such as sat nav and the details of the song you’ve got playing.

As we’ve repeatedly seen with BYD and other Chinese manufacturers, the list of standard equipment embarrasses European rivals. The standard Comfort trim level includes a 360-degree parking camera with a useful top-down view, a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system, powered and heated front seats, LED headlights and cooled 50W wireless phone charging. For context, an iPhone fast-charge cable typically delivers 20W.

Mid-range Design trim merely adds all-wheel drive and larger 20-inch alloy wheels, both of which lower the range estimate slightly. The aforementioned Excellence trim gets a head-up display and a faster charging rate, plus a bigger battery for a slightly improved range figure.

At more than 4.8 metres long, the BYD Sealion 7 takes up more space on the road than a Volkswagen ID.5 or Tesla Model Y. The space inside the Sealion 7 isn’t quite class-leading but it’s more than enough to feel comfortable.

Its length does enable impressive rear legroom, although headroom is a bit tight for particularly tall occupants as a result of the coupe-like shape. The rear seats recline, which should negate this issue for most adults. Three adults across the rear bench shouldn’t be a problem either, thanks to a generous middle seat and a flat floor.

Rear-seat passengers get the usual assortment of cupholders and storage pockets, plus air vents and USB sockets. There’s plenty of room to wriggle in a child seat, although the Isofix points could be easier to access.

The tailgate opens electrically to reveal a generous 520-litre boot. The space is long and wide, but a little shallow, which gets rid of a load lip. Fold the rear seats down and they don’t sit flat; if you’re happy to load to the roof there are 1,789 litres to fill.

Additionally, there are small storage areas under the boot floor and under the bonnet; both are a good size for charging cables or muddy boots.

Further forward, the phone trays are in a prominent position, sitting above a useful storage area. There are also large cupholders, armrest storage and a decent glovebox.

The standard Comfort model comes with an 82.5kWh battery, rear-wheel drive and 312hp. This version has the best balance of performance and efficiency, with a speedy 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds and a quoted 300-mile range.

Design keeps the same battery but has all-wheel drive and 530hp, tipping the dial towards speed. The sprint figure drops to just 4.5 seconds – quicker than a Volkswagen Golf R – at the expense of 17 miles of range.

Excellence, meanwhile, has the fast acceleration and the biggest range of them all. Its 312-mile range estimate is achieved thanks to a bigger 91.3kWh battery, and it also charges faster thanks to a more powerful 230kW capability.

These range figures are fine in isolation, but not exactly stellar considering the sizes of the batteries. For example, the Tesla Model Y is said to achieve 387 miles from a 78kWh battery, and the Polestar 4 is said to manage 385 miles from a larger 100kWh pack.

And remember that BYD’s figures are WLTP estimates that are meant for comparison purposes. All electric cars are less efficient in cold weather and at high speed, so the 300-mile range could quickly become 180 miles when driving on the motorway in winter.

Insurance costs for the Sealion 7 are on a par with the Tesla and Polestar, but you can save a fair bit on your premiums by going for a Skoda or Renault. Because every Sealion 7 costs over £40,000 new, models registered between April 2025 and April 2026 attract the luxury car tax. From April 2026, when the luxury tax threshold rises to £50,000, newly registered examples of the cheapest Comfort version will revert back to the standard rate of road tax.

The Sealion 7 might look athletic but its vibe is soothing rather than sporty. The driving experience is composed and balanced, and the car majors on feeling stable and grippy.

Refinement is good, with not much wind or tyre noise disturbing the peace at motorway speeds.

However, the soft suspension tends to wallow slightly over sustained road scars, while at lower speeds it can’t quite hide the sharpness from potholes and speed bumps. This is a common thing with heavy electric SUVs; the Sealion 7 isn’t much worse around town than its numerous rivals.

Around town, the car’s chunky blind spots make all-round visibility a little tricky. The surround-view cameras are crisp (and necessary!) but they’re not quite a match for judging your surroundings with your eyes. You’ll need to remember that the Sealion 7 is quite a long car, too.

The acceleration isn’t as whipcrack-quick as you might expect from the 530hp dual-motor setup – it’s been calibrated to meter out the power smoothly and not throw it at you all at once. This makes low-speed driving easier, and means it’s less likely that your passengers are just about to see their lunches again.

We didn’t find the numerous advanced driver assistance systems too infuriating on our quite rural test drive. But having to do a deep dive into the touchscreen to find them every time you set off will quickly get tiring. More and more carmakers have realised that we just want to swipe down from the top of the screen or – get this – press a button to disable lane-keep assist and suchlike.