KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- The BYD Seal happens to be one of the few electric sedans in the Rs 40 lakh-50 lakh price bracket
- The mid-spec Premium variant offers 650 km of claimed range
- Check out its key features below
Its been not too long since the BYD Seal made its debut in the Indian market, and with an appealing starting price tag of Rs 41.00 lakh (ex-showroom), the Seal comes in as a refreshing take in a segment currently dominated by SUVs such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the Volvo siblings; the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge. Before moving ahead, do join the 91wheels WhatsApp community to stay updated on the latest automotive news.
Also read: 2024 BYD Seal Vs Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV: Detailed Key Differences
Blade Battery
The BYD Seal comes equipped with the Blade battery pack, which is said to be one of the safest battery packs around. According to BYD, the Blade battery pack does not emit any smoke or fire after being penetrated, and has also passed various extreme condition tests as well. All three variants can be charged via a 7 kW Type 2 AC charger, while the base Dynamic trim can be juiced up via a 110 kW DC fast charger. Meanwhile, the Premium and Performance variants get the option of a 150 kW DC fast charger. The mid-spec Premium variant offers 650km of claimed range, while the base Dynamic and the top-end Performance trims offer 510 and 580km of claimed range respectively.
Competition Check: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 comes with a 72.6kWh battery pack, which can be charged via a 11 kW AC charger, a 150 kW DC fast charger, and a 350 kW DC fast charger, and you get a claimed range of 631 km on a single charge.
Fixed Glass Roof
The BYD Seal gets a silver-plated fixed glass roof, which is said to offer more than 99% UV isolation. This contributes to the interiors of the car, which follow an Ocean Aesthetics theme, with blue ambient lighting, blue inserts elsewhere in the interior, and a crystal-clear drive mode selector inspired by water droplets.
Competition Check: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 gets a conventional panoramic sunroof, along with two interior theme options; obsidian black, and dark pebble grey. The latter gets white upholstery on seats which can be difficult to maintain in our conditions.
What equipment do I get in the BYD Seal?
Some of the features on the BYD Seal include a 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 10.25-inch LCD instrument cluster, a 360-degree camera, automatic frameless wipers, a powered tailgate, eight-way power-adjustable driver seat, and vehicle-to-load, among other things.
The Seal also gets a 50-litre frunk up front, along with height-adjustable cup holders, and the infotainment screen can be used to customize various aspects of the car, including the airflow from the A/C vents. Then you also get things such as wireless smartphone charging, dynamic turn indicators, follow-me headlamps, front sport seats, an air purifier, a 12-speaker sound system, wireless Android Auto, wired Apple CarPlay, automatic dual-zone climate control, traction control, hill-hold control among many other features.
Competition Check: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is similarly specced in terms of ADAS features, but it gets manually adjustable A/C vents.
Safety features
On the safety front, the BYD Seal packs a level-two ADAS suite consisting of adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and prevention, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, door open warning, and automatic emergency braking.
Competition Check: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 also packs similar levels of safety equipment.
Design
Being a sedan, the BYD Seal stands out with the Ocean Aesthetics design language, inspired by natures elements such as the ocean and the sky. The DRLs are based on the shape of ocean ripples, and the Seal also gets water-drop LED tail lights, connected via a light strip as is the trend these days. The Seal also gets waterdrop-inspired ORVMs and 19-inch precision blade alloy rims.
Competition Check: While the BYD Seal comes across as a smooth-looking fastback, the Ioniq 5 bears a minimalistic yet futuristic design, and its size in pictures can deceive you in real life.
Also read: BYD Seal EV Sedan Launched At Rs 41 Lakh, Gets Up To 650 Km Range
Verdict
The BYD Seal is interesting, because it stands out in a segment that is currently dominated by the likes of SUVs such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Higher variants of the Seal can also be compared against the Mini Cooper SE, and the Volvo siblings; the XC40 Recharge and the C40 Recharge. The Seal offers decent performance and range at a rather tantalizing price, and not to forget the numerous features it comes equipped with.
