BYD Sealion 7: A Powerful & luxurious electric SUV  

From the various EVs that I have driven this year, I can easily say that the Chinese carmaker BYD’s Sealion 7 is one of the finest out there. Yes, you read that right. Gone are the days when Chinese cars, akin to rattletraps, looked more like monstrosities where the front and the rear seemed “inspired” by two different cars, from two different segments altogether! Clearly, all that seems to be a thing of the past. Now, you’ll be hard pressed to find fault with most cars that come from China – at least in terms of their design, and the BYD Sealion 7 is no exception. The Sealion 7 goes up against South Korea’s Kia EV6, Sweden’s Volvo C-40 Recharge, Germany’s Mercedes-Benz EQA, and America’s Tesla Model Y, and is able to hold its own, despite being Chinese, and that is quite a feat. Read on to learn more about what I thought of the BYD Sealion 7…

At first glance, my Press Demonstrator’s Atlantis Gray colour (that looked more like blue in the flesh), convinced me that the ocean-inspired theme that BYD has going on its cars looked swell on the Sealion 7! After driving BYD’s sedan, the fabulous Seal, last year, I was expecting the Sealion 7, to exceed expectations – and it did, and that too in practically every department! More on the Sealion 7’s excellence as we go along, but for now, let’s take a look at its exterior. 

The bold contours and the angular design on the Sealion 7 instantly makes it a standout product, and its silhouette gives it the semblance of swiftness which seem befitting on this coupe SUV. There’s a freshness about the lines on the Sealion 7 that lends a very contemporary quality to it. Especially when you look at the lines below the headlamps and the DRLs, on the front fascia that blend beautifully with the air dams, not to mention those  gorgeous lines on the side doors as well. We just wished that the grille below the registration plate which looks rather homely, had a slightly more elegant design instead. Nevertheless, those gorgeous minimalist lines on the bonnet, the BYD lettering, just below the bonnet, and the sharp sweeping LED headlamps, all add to the Sealion 7’s wide-bodied visual appeal. 

On the side, the sloping roofline which drops down at the rear to give the Sealion 7 its coupe-SUV-like look, and the 20-inch wheels on the version (4.5S) that I drove, looked super impressive and gave the Sealion 7 it’s sporty look. Even, the semi-square wheel arches are beautifully designed and elevate the fender’s look. Also, those flush door handles looked really neatly set into the doors.

At the rear, the uniquely shaped spoiler adds more intrigue to this handsome electric SUV. Furthermore, there’s another thin spoiler on the boot lid that also helps with aerodynamics. Below it, you get a strip of LED light that runs across along with beautifully-designed taillamps that look striking when they glow. Below the taillamps, on the left, the version of the electric SUV is mentioned, which in my case was the AWD, and on the right, is the BYD Sealion lettering, all in an attractive font and size. The rear bumpers that accommodate the sensors and the camera look robust and also get a unique design. 

Considering the Sealion 7, gets a 2930mm wheelbase it provides ample room for the driver and occupants (both front and rear) to be really comfortably seated inside. The overall visibility for the driver, from the sporty driver’s seat, which is electrically adjustable, is really good and the large glass windows also gives the other occupants of the car a feeling of spaciousness inside without feeling claustrophobic. Not to mention the massive glass roof and the quarter glass treatment which further add to the feeling of spaciousness inside. 

Both the driver and the front occupant’s seats are ventilated… something that most car buyers seek these days and that ticked a box on my list of “must haves.” The rear seats which are reclinable and get three headrests. They’re comfortable with plenty of room on offer and there’s also a sturdy armrest. However, I did wish that the upholstery which is stark black, came in a lighter EV colour, instead.

The quality of materials used inside, such as brushed aluminum, suede, and leather, is excellent, and the fit and finish are also splendid which tells you right away that BYD hasn’t skimped on anything when it comes to delivering a premium experience in terms of comfort and convenience to its buyers.

The dash of the Sealion 7 is clean, sans any physical buttons. The air-con does a fine job with the cooling and the vents (both front and rear) cooled the cabin pretty quickly when I drove it. The grey suede finish, (below the dash) on the 50w charging pads is a nice touch which elevates the Sealion 7’s interiors furthermore while ensuring that our cell phones are always fully charged. Also, just below the dash, the carmaker has provided a USB Type-A, Type-C and a 12V charger for charging our other devices as well. (Besides, there is also Type-A and Type-C charger at the rear for the rear-seat occupants.)

In BYD cars, the touchscreen has always been the party trick and so, this time around too, the 15.6-inch touchscreen is no different. Yet again, it does its job brilliantly of displaying information the way you like it. The fact that you can turn the touchscreen into the orientation of your choice (Portrait or Landscape mode) itself, eases so many things for so many drivers as well as the occupants and that is a big plus. This touchscreen is from where most of things on the car can be operated.

Whether it is ambient lighting or seat ventilation, almost about everything can be operated via this slick touchscreen with its super crisp display. Personally, I have always been a fan of physical buttons but for those who like touchscreens, the Sealion 7 does provide you with a very engaging experience.

Furthermore, the Sealion 7’s cool instrument cluster gives you a lot of driving-related info such as battery, ADAS, and driving speed, to name a few, at a glance. 

Also, just above it is the electric SUV’s Head-Up Display which displays additional driving information on the windscreen, thereby making driving the Sealion 7 a smoother experience thanks to not taking your eyes of the road for longer distances.

There is also a fancy little monitor which is the Driver Alert Detection System that sits on the A-Pillar that constantly tracks your eye movements and when you get your eyes off the road, it alerts you. I experienced these alerts quite a few times, when I took my eyes off the road to reach out for my cell phone while driving and each time it alerted me without fail. Is this feature a plus or a minus? Go figure! After a while, I’ll admit, it did get annoying, but fortunately, BYD has ensured that you can turn it off at any time.

Planning a long road trip? Fret not. The Sealion 7 not only comes with a 542 kms range (NEDC) but it also gets a 58-litre frunk and a cavernous 520-litre boot that will hold loads of luggage and that way you can really plan those long drives mapping out charging stations along your journey.

So, how did the Sealion 7 fare during my drive? Well, to cut a long story short, it performed brilliantly with extraordinary ride and handling. Powered by dual motors (located on the front and rear axles) and an 82.54kWh battery pack, based on their famous Blade battery technology with LFP chemistry, the AWD Sealion 7, puts out 530hp and 690 Nm of torque which makes it a blisteringly quick electric SUV to drive. 

The steering is light and the Sealion 7 which gets four driving modes to choose from feels extremely refined to drive. However, I thought that adding paddle shifters would’ve further elevated the driving experience. Also notable, is the fact that the electric SUV comes with Regenerative Braking that is adjustable. The brakes also offer enough bite and despite driving it in the rains, at no point in time did we get the feeling that the SUV was sliding out of control, despite very hard braking on a couple of occasions. Of course, the tyres also had a role to play but all in all, we came away pretty pleased with its ride and handling. Also, the near 170mm ground clearance played a vital role in ensuring that the Sealion 7 glided over notorious potholes smoothly. And, lest we forget the cabin insulation was remarkable. Barely any noise filtered into the cabin, not even tyre noise from our pock-marked roads which made driving the Sealion 7 a sheer delight.  

What further added to my driving pleasure was that beautiful crystal drive selector, which with a casual flick would catapult the Sealion 7’s driving experience into a different segment altogether, providing an experience akin to some of the finest luxury cars out there. I had fun using it as I did with the beautifully squared off steering, while I maneuvered the car around the city. Everything from those sleek buttons with knurled finish to the beautifully done up piano-black panel looked rather exquisite inside the cabin of the Sealion 7 and it only further augmented my driving experience.

The Sealion 7 is a lot of fun to drive, but at times such as when I was cornering, there was a certain heft that I immediately become aware of. The heft isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just reminded me that this ain’t no flimsy electric SUV, and that it is in fact capable of 0-100 dash in 4.5 seconds flat!  

In terms of safety, the Sealion 7 has us covered with most of the safety features that most EVs get these days and besides, it also gets Level 2 ADAS and a 360-degree camera which proved super useful to me as I negotiated some particularly narrow roads with two- way traffic.

All in all, driving the Sealion 7 was a lot of fun. This electric SUV surprised me and provided me with not just a sense of luxury, but was also super comfortable inside as well as big on tech. What more could I possibly want? 

So then should you buy the BYD Sealion 7? Absolutely! It’s got looks, features, tech, and speed to give you that adrenalin rush each time you get behind its wheel. Also, it gives you the choice of two variants Premium (567 km) (Single Motor) and Performance (542 km) (Dual Motor) and with an AC 11kW charger, you can charge your electric SUV from 0-100% in around 9 hours while a DC fast charger (150kW) can charge it from 10-80% in 32 minutes flat and those figures aren’t bad at all. What say?

Technical Specifications of the BYD Sealion 7 (India)