BYD Seal 6 Review & Prices

The eighth car in BYD’s ever-expanding UK range of cars, the Seal 6 is a plug-in hybrid saloon which undercuts its alternatives in price while offering loads of standard kit. It’s very fuel efficient, but it’s uncomfortable to drive and the seating position is odd.

Where the Seal 6 shines, though, is that it’s one of very few plug-in hybrid saloon cars on sale. You could compare it to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class, but it’s a fraction of the price of its German counterparts. Even the saloon-like hatchback Toyota Prius is a good chunk more expensive than the BYD.

It’s a bit like buying off-brand trainers instead of Nike and Adidas footwear. To all intents and purposes they do the same job, but they’re not quite as posh, or as comfortable to wear.

The Seal 6 does look good, however, easily on par with the European cars at a quick glance. The wide front grille, sleek headlights with intricate details and a swanky light bar at the back. It doesn’t have much road presence, but it’s stylish - as sensible family saloon cars go.

You might expect an outrageous cabin, but the Seal 6 is a surprising departure from the typical BYD fare. While there’s a swoopy dash and floating infotainment system in the front, it’s less mad than in a Dolphin, Atto 3 or Sealion 7. It looks smart inside, but the touchscreen is very frustrating to navigate and the three-finger swipe for the climate controls is difficult to use on anything but a smooth road.

Where the Seal 6 loses points is in the driving position, because the seats are set very close to the floor and the bases don’t tilt, so you get almost no under-thigh support. It’s no better in the back, and headroom isn’t great either, but at least you get three ISOFIX points across the front and back seats. The 491-litre boot is well sized, but the opening is too small for bulky items.

The boot stays the same size whether you opt for the entry-level model with a 10kWh battery or the Comfort models with a larger 19kWh unit, which is handy.

The Seal 6 isn’t much good once you’re behind the wheel, because while the hybrid system is refined and highly efficient, driving comfort is poor. It clatters over bad surfaces, thuds through potholes and bounces over speedbumps - sending lots of vibrations through the seats and steering wheel.

Visibility is good and the 360-degree parking cameras are excellent, but otherwise it’s a jarring car to drive around town, especially with aggressively sharp brakes which make it hard to come to a smooth stop.

Things settle down on the motorway, but there’s plenty of road and wind noise in the cabin which is tiring on a long drive. The lane-keeping system does a good job of centring the car in the lane, but the driver assistance systems are infuriating. You’re constantly getting bonged at for looking away from the road - even while looking at the road - and we couldn’t work out how to turn it off.

It’s at its best on a smooth country lane, where there’s little body lean and plenty of grip, but the numb steering and vocal engine mean it’s far from a sporty experience.

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The Seal 6 is very competitively priced, around £14,000 cheaper than the BMW 330e and £17,000 less than the Mercedes C300e. The only comparatively priced PHEV cars on sale are the Chery Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8, though both are SUVs, while you may want to consider the Toyota Corolla as a self-charging, efficient hybrid hatchback alternative.

Entry-level Seal 6 Boost models come on 17-inch wheels, with a leatherette interior, 360-degree cameras, adaptive cruise control and three ISOFIX points across the front and back. Top-spec Comfort with its 18-inch wheels and panoramic glass roof, but they’re similarly equipped otherwise. Both come with the same infotainment software, though the Comfort has a larger 15.6-inch screen.

The biggest difference is in the battery, because the Comfort has a larger 19kWh unit which offers 65 miles of electric range and quick DC charging, whereas the Boost has a 10kWh battery with 34 miles of range, and only AC charging capability.

Comfort models are adequately quick, but the Boost is sluggish and both models are uncomfortable around town

In town

You’d hope that a family-friendly saloon car is comfortable around town, but that’s not the case with the Seal 6. Its suspension is overly stiff which makes for a jittery experience on battered roads, vibrating through the steering wheel and seats while the car thuds through potholes - even with its massive tyres.

It bounces over speed bumps too, which feels unsettling, but otherwise it’s easy to manoeuvre. There’s enough shove away from the lights thanks to its electric motor and the steering is neither comically light nor too heavy. Watch out on the brakes, though, as they’re very sharp and abrupt, which makes it tricky to come to a gentle stop.

Visibility is generally good, but that’s of little consequence thanks to the fantastic suite of parking cameras and sensors that come as standard. They’re crisp, true-to-life and show off important angles such as how close your wheels are to the pavement. Excellent.

On the motorway

Getting up to speed is painless as the Seal 6 isn’t exactly slow, but the engine is a bit too vocal if you really floor it on a slip road. Over-the-shoulder visibility isn’t great on the driver’s side, but you get blind-spot assist as standard, which helps.

Once you’re at a cruise the suspension settles down a little, but there’s far too much tyre roar in the cabin - you need to raise your voice to keep a conversation going - and noticeable wind noise. Our test car had an annoying whistle from its sunroof at 70mph, too.

It’s otherwise stable, while the standard-fit lane assist cruise control does a decent job of keeping you in the middle of your lane.

On a twisty road

This is where the Seal 6 feels best, not because it’s sporty, but because it does a good job of keeping body lean in check and inspiring confidence through turns thanks to its grippy tyres. Even then, there’s almost no steering feel and a sponginess to the brakes once you get past that sharp initial bite.

You’ll want to turn lane-keep assist off, because it’s oversensitive and very aggressive in the way it pulls you back into your lane - even if you’ve never left it. Rough roads will have you bouncing around, too, so it’s best to take country lanes at a steady pace in the Seal 6.

While space is generally good in the Seal 6, the seating position spoils an otherwise practical interior

There are plenty of storage spaces in the Seal 6, with large door bins, a pair of cupholders that can take large bottles, a big, hidden cubby in the centre console and a large storage compartment below.

Finding a comfortable driving position is a faff, because the seats are severely lacking in adjustment. The floor feels very high up and you can’t tilt the seat base, so not only is there no under-thigh support but you feel like you’ll slide right off the seat when braking. The lack of lumbar support is annoying on long drives, too.

The glove compartment is mediocre but usefully square in shape, while you get a felt-lined phone compartment beneath the infotainment with two slots; one as a wireless charger with a fan to keep your phone cool.

Space in the back

While leg space is more than adequate in the back, and you can just about slide your feet under the front seats, you have the same lack of thigh support for the Seal 6’s rear bench. If anything, it’s even more pronounced in the back.

We also found headroom a bit tight in our sunroof-equipped Comfort model, especially for middle-seat passengers which have to duck under a lump for the sun shade to find headspace. Combined with the sharp brakes it’s a recipe for a headache, and the back doors don’t open very wide, which makes it a pain to get in at times and will make fitting bulky child seats tricky.

The flat floor is handy for three-abreast foot space though, while the door pockets are large enough for water bottles and there are simple storage pockets on the front seat backs. The flip-down centre armrest has two cupholders in it, and the ISOFIX points have handy flip-up covers.

Boot space

A 491-litre boot puts the Seal 6 far ahead of the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class, and it’s only nine litres behind the Seal 6 Touring estate. That’s where the plus points end, however, as there’s no underfloor storage and you can’t adjust the height of the boot floor, while the lack of any hooks, tie-down points or storage pockets for small items is disappointing.

The Seal 6 gets a handsome cabin with some plush-feeling materials, but the infotainment system is a pain to use

It’s not quite as outlandish as BYD’s other models (Atto 2 aside), but the Seal 6 has a handsome interior with some funky fabric upholstery on the swoopy dashboard, as well as pleasant ambient lighting.

BYD’s infotainment tech is always lightning quick and responsive to your inputs, plus the graphics are pleasant, but the Seal 6’s menus are annoying to navigate. To adjust the heated seats and steering wheel you need to delve into the climate control settings as there’s a lack of physical switchgear; a real pain in the neck as you need to back out of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to do so.

Deactivating the driver assistance systems required a degree in computing, while scrolling through the driver’s display is annoying. You have to cycle through multiple options instead of going up and down a list - while the font used is a bit too small to read easily.

Material quality is generally high, that being said, with squidgy plastics on the upper dashboard and centre console and leatherette around the parts you’ll touch the most. The steering wheel feels a little hard, though, and the fabric trim feels like it should be padded - Citroen and Mini do a better job of it.

There are harder, scratchier plastics around the door bins, below the dashboard and on the lower centre console, but for the price the Seal 6’s cabin feels sturdy and more premium than you’d expect, and the rear feels no less plush than in the front.

There are no two ways about it, the Seal 6 has an impressive hybrid system. It’s not particularly powerful, but the electric motor is smooth and even in ‘hybrid mode’ the BYD does a good job of prioritising the electric power rather than turning the engine on.

BYD claims a 64.2mpg figure for the Seal 6 Boost, while the Comfort drops to 58.9mpg. We managed to achieve 58.8mpg during our testing in a Comfort model, over a mix of urban, countryside and high-speed dual carriageways. That’s almost bang on BYD’s claims, which is more than can be said for some alternatives.

Even in top spec with the optional paint colours you won’t pay the luxury car tax on a Seal 6, while the claimed 52g/km (Boost) and 34g/km (Comfort) of CO2 put the car in a very low tax band. Company car drivers will pay one of the lowest rates of Benefit-in-Kind duty, too.

The Seal 6 has a stellar Euro NCAP safety rating, as it earned five stars when tested in 2025. With a 92% adult and 90% child occupant safety score the BYD offers great peace of mind as a family car - especially as it has a trio of ISOFIX child seat anchor points.

It comes as standard with an array of sensors, cameras and driver assistance systems too, such as automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, active cruise control and blind spot detection.

The driver attention warning system, however, is woeful. Not only does it flash up on the dashboard intrusively, but it bongs at you and it’s shockingly oversensitive. Even if you’re looking at the road it flashes up, which prompts you to look away from the road. It’s also the hardest driver assistance system to turn off, which is annoying.

BYD scored poorly in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, coming 30th out of 31 brands entered. That’s far from confidence-inspiring, but at least BYD offers a six-year, 93,750-mile warranty in the UK, while the electric motor and battery get eight-year, 125,000-mile coverage.

That’s better than you get from Kia or Hyundai, but Toyota still leads the way with an extendable 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty with regular servicing.