Living with a BYD Seal 6 Touring: my honest first impressions after one month

I never thought my first time driving in a Carwow drag race would be in a budget-friendly Chinese hybrid car, but here we are. We recently raced all of our long term test cars, and my BYD Seal 6 Touring was the second-slowest car on the fleet.

But in my defence, I was up against cars such as an Audi S5, a BMW M5 Touring and a 455hp Volvo, so I won’t hold the BYD’s performance against it. Away from the drag strip, it’s been a pretty good daily driver.

You can check out my introduction to the Seal 6 Touring for a full rundown on the specs, but for now here are some first impressions after a month with the car.

BYD Seal 6 Touring first impressions

Whenever I get into this car, I have to remind myself that it only costs £35,000 – it feels like a much more expensive car.

I quite like the simple dashboard layout, and the materials all look and feel high-quality as well. The 12.8-inch infotainment screen is also brilliant. It’s responsive and easy to navigate, although I would still like a few more physical buttons for things like the climate control.

But at least you do have a handy drop-down menu which you can customise to put all your frequently-used features in one place. I have it set up with the controls to turn the speed limit and lane departure warnings off, making it easy to do when you get in the car.

I’m not totally convinced by the design though. I love an estate car, but this one looks a bit bland to my eye. I don’t think the bog-standard white paint helps, it makes the car look like it’s run by a big fleet and the manager was pinching pennies.

The driving position isn’t ideal either. I find that the seat is too low to the floor, which means my legs are bent at a funny angle. It’s not the most comfortable on long journeys.

Speaking of comfort, the suspension is also quite unsettled at any speed. It jiggles over broken surfaces, and on motorways it can get a bit bouncy over bumps.

But on the plus side, it’s been a really practical car for ferrying my son around, as well as carting kit to and from shoots. There’s loads of rear seat space, and the 500-litre boot is a nice, square shape which is easy to load.

It’s also been really economical so far. BYD claims it’ll do 839 miles on a full tank of fuel and a full hybrid battery, and I’ve been easily getting 700 miles out of it. I’ve also been seeing 60mpg on the motorway and 50mpg around town; it’s a really cheap car to run.

So my first month with the BYD Seal 6 Touring has been a bit of a mixed bag. I like the interior and tech, and it’s economical, but the driving experience lets it down. Maybe this is something I’ll get used to over the coming months – keep an eye on our long term test car updates to find out.

Report 1: Introduction to my BYD Seal 6 Touring

After spending six months with a BYD Seal U, the brand’s plug-in hybrid SUV, it’s now been taken away and I’ve been handed the keys to something a bit different. This is my new BYD Seal 6 Touring, and it’s the only Chinese estate car currently on sale in the UK.

I’m going to show you around the Seal 6 Touring, as well as explain why I was keen to try this car out for a few months and give you some first impressions after a couple of weeks with it.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

My BYD Seal 6 Touring is as basic as they come. It’s the entry-level Boost trim, finished in no-cost white paint and there are no options fitted to it.

Despite this, it still has a decent amount of standard equipment. I have a 12.8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control and 17-inch alloy wheels. Heated seats would be nice during the cold winter months, but you have to step up a trim to get them.

Under the bonnet you’ll find the same 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid petrol engine as I had in my old Seal U SUV, only I’ve now got the version with the smaller of two battery options. This means it has an all-electric range of 31 miles, as opposed to 62 miles if you get the larger pack.

All in, this car will cost you £35,000, however you can save an average of almost £2,500 on a new Seal 6 Touring right now through Carwow. Even before any savings, this car is around £6,500 cheaper than a plug-in hybrid Skoda Superb, and it’s a whopping £8,700 less than a Volkswagen Passat E-Hybrid.

Why am I living with the BYD Seal 6 Touring?

One of my biggest gripes with my old Seal U was the boot, because it wasn’t all that big and the sloping roofline made it hard to load all the way up. In theory, a boxy estate car should be more practical thanks to the flat rear window, and the Seal 6 Touring has 75 more litres compared to the Seal U as well.

I’ve also got an eight-month-old boy to ferry around, and when I was that age estate cars were the go-to family haulers. SUVs have since overtaken in popularity, but I’m interested to compare the two bodystyles back-to-back.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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