Living with a BYD Seal U: is this Chinese plug-in hybrid SUV a bargain or a false economy?

Chinese cars are flooding the UK market right now, with a new brand seemingly popping up every month. They all seemingly go by a similar business model: build an SUV, pack it with standard equipment and sell it for a temptingly low price.

The BYD Seal U is a perfect example of this. For just over £33,000 you get a plug-in hybrid SUV with a nice interior, loads of legroom and decent electric range, all for around £10,000 less than the equivalent Volkswagen Tiguan.

Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? But is the BYD Seal U cheap and cheerful, or just cheap? Well to find out, we’re going to be living with one for six months.

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All Seal U models use a 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with an electric motor. Our Comfort model has a larger battery than the entry-level Boost, and as a result it should be able to do up to 78 miles on electric power alone according to BYD. We’ll see how close it gets in reality over the coming months.

There aren’t really trim levels to choose from, all cars just come fully loaded. You get heated and ventilated leather seats, a heated steering wheel, a 15.6-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a head-up display, a 360-degree camera and adaptive cruise control. The list goes on.

There are no optional extras to pay for on the BYD Seal U aside from paint jobs. You simply pick between the entry-level model with a smaller battery, a Comfort model like ours or the dual-motor all-wheel drive version, then pick and colour and you’re done.

Our car is finished in Time Grey, which is a no-cost colour option, making the total price of this car £35,315. For context, if you wanted a plug-in hybrid Volkswagen Tiguan with adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, a 360-degree camera and heated and ventilated seats you would have to pay £47,415.

So the BYD Seal U seems like a bit of a bargain, but is it actually any good? We’ll report back once we’ve got some miles under our belts.

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*Prices correct at the time of writing