I took my BYD Seal U to France – here’s what it was like

This is my BYD Seal U, and over the last few months it’s been working pretty hard. I use it for carrying all the kit and clobber we need for video shoots, and following the arrival of our first-born it’s been put into service as a family wagon.

I already cover a lot of miles every week, but a few weeks ago the time came to take my son to meet our family down in the north of France. This would be a real test of what the Seal U is like on a long family road trip covering almost 700 miles.

Something no one tells you about having kids is the sheer amount of stuff you end up having to carry around with you, and this is where I hit a bit of a snag with the BYD. At 425-litres, the boot isn’t all that big for a car of this size (a plug-in hybrid Volkswagen Tiguan has a 490-litre boot).

The sloping rear end also makes it tricky to stack stuff up beyond the parcel shelf. We did manage to squeeze everything in – at the expense of most of the rear visibility. That said, even when the car is empty the view out of the back isn’t great thanks to the narrow rear window.

Still, at least fitting the bulky rear-facing child seat was easy. The doors open nice and wide, and the ISOFIX anchors are really easy to get to as well. I also like having anchor points on the front seat when it’s just me and the baby in the car – it makes it easy for me to keep an eye on him.

So what was the actual drive like? Well for the most part, pretty good. The hybrid system is really quiet and smooth, and it averaged just under 40mpg on the trip. Not bad for a big, fully-loaded SUV, but our old diesel Skoda Kodiaq long termer would do 47mpg on a similar run.

The suspension is a bit hit-or-miss though. It’s very soft, which you’d imagine would make it comfy over bumps. However, the Seal U can be quite crashy when you hit a pothole, and it wallows a bit through corners on country roads.

At least it’s not bad on the motorway. It’s a bit more fidgety than a Kia Sportage, but on the whole me and my family were all comfortable for the trip.

Another cool feature is the massive panoramic glass roof. My son loves staring out of it as we drive along and it keeps him relaxed, and it’s even better that it comes as standard.

So what did I make of the BYD Seal U as a family road trip car? Well it’s certainly not perfect – I’d like a bit more boot space and smoother suspension – but you’ve got to remember that this car costs just over £35,000 and has all the toys you could want. Check out my intro to this car to see exactly what you get.

At this price, it’s much harder to poke holes in the Seal U. It may not be the best SUV to drive, but it’s still more than good enough for crossing countries and it’s economical, too.

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