Video by Leah Carroll. Words by Donal Byrne.
I don't see the new Sealion 5 from BYD winning many prizes for innovative design, but it manages to make up for its relative anonymity with some other impressive credentials.
It’s a hybrid, which will be of interest to a lot of people; it has a very spacious interior, and it is competitively priced for the package it represents.
It’s the eighth model from BYD in the three years since the company arrived to the Irish market, and it arrives at a time when people are more and more concerned with fuel, or at the time of writing, its lack thereof.
Its entry level price is €36,990, which will be an instant point of interest for some potential buyers, and it looks - at a length of 4.7 metres, a height of 1.7 metres and a width of 1.8 metres - a more sizeable prospect at this price point than some might have expected. But then the combination of interior space, technology and standard equipment are what Chinese companies tend to excel at.
That list of standard equipment on the entry-level Comfort version includes 18" alloy wheels, aluminium roof rails, LED lighting front and back, a 12.8" infotainment screen and an 8.8" driver’s display, electric front seats, rear USB charging ports and rear parking sensors.
The car is driven by a 1.5 litre petrol engine, which runs in tandem with a 12.96 kWh battery, that BYD claims can offer up to 62 kms of electric-only range and an overall range - with no charging required because it’s a hybrid - of up to 1,016 kilometres.
We will wait for a longer drive to establish how these claims stack up in the real world.
The more expensive Design version, which comes in from €40,990, has a bigger 18.3 kWh battery and has a claimed EV-only range of 85 kilometres. The Design also gets a 360-degree camera, an electric tailgate, heated front seats and a wireless phone charging pad.
Initial impressions during a short first drive were of a genuine sense of space, with good head and legroom for even tall people. The seats were firm. The cabin, however, could do with a few more touches to brighten it.
I did not note that the car seemed to be tuned a bit harshly on secondary roads.
The screen is a good size and has clear graphics, although a few too many functions are controlled by it, which I can see changing over the next couple of years as manufacturers respond to customer feedback. A lack of buttons causes too much distraction.
The boot is a generous 463 litres, with plenty more space available when the seats are folded. The boot is also flat and easily loaded. There is even a ‘vehicle to load’ feature that means you can connect a kettle, or other small electrical appliance to the car and thus make that flask redundant for your next family picnic.
There is no EuroNCAP crash test result for the Sealion 5 as it has not yet been tested. The guarantee covers six years driving, or 150,000 kilometres, and the battery warranty covers eight years or 250,000 kilometres.
Read more: Mazda to launch its first hybrid in conjunction with Toyota
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
