BYD Seal Design

The BYD Seal Design is the entry trim of BYD’s electric executive saloon: four doors, rear-wheel drive, one rear motor, about 4.8 m long, with a 485-litre boot and a 72-litre front boot. It’s BYD’s flagship in the UK, where it launched in 2023 as the third model after the Atto 3 and Dolphin. The 2026 update added boot space, a driver monitoring system, new wheels and new colours. Design already comes with a panoramic roof, a 12-speaker sound system, a 15.6-inch screen and two wireless phone chargers.

The battery is an LFP Blade pack with 82.5 kWh usable (about 84 kWh gross), rated at 354 miles WLTP combined. The motor makes 308 bhp, and 0-62 mph takes about 5.9 seconds. AC charging is 11 kW three-phase, roughly 9 hours from empty to full. DC peaks at 150 kW, and 10-80% takes 36 to 37 minutes depending on the source. The sources agree on these numbers for the Design. Wikipedia gives 110 to 150 kW DC for the Seal range as a whole, so 150 kW applies to this battery only.

The Design costs £45,730 in the UK, and the all-wheel-drive Excellence costs £48,730. I didn’t check other markets. It suits someone who covers a lot of miles, perhaps in a company car, and wants range and standard kit more than fast charging. In BYD’s range it sits above the Atto 3, which uses the same e-Platform 3.0, and overlaps with the Seal U SUV (87 kWh, 311 miles WLTP). The Hyundai Ioniq 6 (220 kW) and BMW i4 (200 kW) both charge faster. The closest direct match is the rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3, which tops out at 170 kW. The Car Expert rates the Seal A (74%). Car’s Keith Adams thought the i4 drove better and the Ioniq 6 rode more comfortably. Evo’s Sam Jenkins warned that the driver aids could be a sticking point.

BYD Seal Design Images

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