Living with a BYD Seal U: the good, the bad and the ugly

This is my BYD Seal U, and over the last six months it’s certainly been put through its paces. I’ve used it for trekking around the country for Carwow video shoots, and about halfway through my time with it we also welcomed our first-born into the world.

So it’s also been put into action as a family wagon, and I even drove my Seal U to France for a family get-together. That’s a lot of miles, and plenty of time behind the wheel for me to get to know all of this car’s quirks and features.

I have a lot of good things to say about this BYD, but there are also a few things which have annoyed me over the last six months. Here are a few pros and cons which I’ve discovered during my guardianship of this Chinese SUV.

Living with a BYD Seal U: three things I love

Let’s start with the positives, because the Seal U has a lot going for it.

1. The hybrid engine is brilliant

The BYD Seal U’s engine is among the best hybrid setups I’ve encountered in a long time. It may not be all that fast, but the petrol engine is so quiet that you barely notice it firing into life when you put your foot down.

Even though I don’t get to charge this car often, it still manages to remain in electric-only mode a lot of the time. I’ve managed to average around 40mpg in this car, which is pretty good going for a big, heavy SUV running in one of its least efficient configurations.

2. Really handy tech

This car has a few clever bits of tech which make day-to-day driving easier. The surround-view camera is really high-definition, and if you switch it on then it stays on regardless of speed or time. This has proven useful on tight London streets with multiple width restrictors, because you don’t have to push the button every time you get to one.

The standard-fit adaptive cruise control is lovely to have on long journeys, as are the heated and ventilated front seats. I’ve also been making use of the voice commands, and when you hit the button it’ll lower the fan speed so it can hear you more clearly. That’s something I’ve not seen before.

3. The interior is nice and roomy

The arrival of my son was a real test of the BYD’s practicality, and thankfully it’s been really easy to live with as a first-time parent. Fitting the bulky rear-facing child seat was a breeze thanks to the easy-access ISOFIX points, and there’s enough room in the back to fit it without moving the front seats forward. There are also plenty of cubby holes to keep all your bits and bobs hidden away.

Living with a BYD Seal U: three annoying features

There’s no such thing as a perfect car, and there are some features on the Seal U which grind my gears.

1. I can’t trust the parking sensors

The parking sensors on this car are a bit strange. They give you a readout in centimeters showing how close you are to an obstacle, but I can’t really trust the readout. According to the screen, this is a 50cm gap to the wall when in reality it’s about half that. I tend to just use the cameras.

2. Rear end issues

This car has a pretty sloped rear end which is meant to make it look more sporty, but the trade-off for this is pretty poor rear visibility thanks to the tiny rear windows. The boot is also pretty small as a result, making it less practical than something like a Skoda Karoq.

3. It’s not the best SUV to drive

The hybrid engine may be excellent, but the rest of the BYD Seal U’s driving experience leaves a bit to be desired. The suspension feels really soft and wallowy, but it still crashes through potholes. The steering is also incredibly light, unless you put it in sport mode which just makes it feel artificially heavy.

I get that SUVs like this don’t need to handle like sports cars, but I’d still like the Seal U to be a bit more composed and refined than this.

The thing is, every time I think about these shortcomings I’m reminded of how cheap this car is. For £35,000 very few plug-in hybrid SUVs offer this much equipment, so it’s easier to forgive the slightly slopping handling.

My time with the BYD Seal U is almost at an end, so check back soon for my final verdict on this car.

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