2026 BYD Seal 6 DM-i review: Quick drive

Barely a day seems to go by without us buckling in for the launch of yet another Chinese car designed to upset the automotive apple cart, and here’s another such premiere – in this case, it’s the BYD Seal 6 DM-i plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Despite its baffling marine-mammal-and-alphanumeric nameplate, this is not a bigger, grander car than the existing Seal mid-size electric sedan. Instead, it’s pretty much BYD’s take on a large family vehicle with PHEV power and the choice of two body styles, which are the Saloon and the Touring estate.

Ostensibly, this is a D-segment machine, competing with models such as the Volkswagen Passat eHybrid available overseas. But such is BYD’s market positioning and aggressive pricing strategy, the company reckons it could tempt people out of even a BMW 3 Series Touring PHEV – which isn’t sold in Australia.

Bold claims, so we headed over to the European launch of the car in the UK to discover the truth.

How much does the BYD Seal 6 cost?

Australian pricing and specs for the Seal 6 DM-i haven’t been confirmed, as the model hasn’t been locked in for our market yet, but it’s a good bet that in true BYD style, this vehicle will offer a lot of car and a lot of kit, all for not a lot of moolah.

Any extrapolation we do here would be pure guesswork, but over in Europe where we have some comparable prices to play with, even the very top-spec Touring Premium is about 9.4 per cent cheaper than the most inexpensive Skoda Superb iV Estate, while it’s a massive 17.3 per cent less dear than the entry point of Volkswagen Passat Estate PHEV ownership (NB: the two VW Group cars are only offered as wagons if they’re plug-in hybrids).

Of course, referencing those two cars here is perhaps a sore point, because we only get the Superb in high-ranking Sportline spec and with a 4×4 TSI drivetrain in Australia, so it’s a $74,000 car before you’ve even started. And we don’t even get the Passat in its current, estate-only format at all.

Therefore, a better yardstick might be BYD’s own Sealion 6 mid-size SUV. It’s also sold in DM-i PHEV format and is priced from $42,990 to $52,990 before on-roads here. So, if the Seal 6 does, as expected, arrive here for less money than the Sealion 6, it could be tremendous value for money considering the size and class of car you’re getting.

What is the BYD Seal 6 like on the inside?

It’s okay, although we wouldn’t say it’s brilliant. Material quality is about passable in most places, yet there are a few key touchpoints which can leave you cringing – the column-stalk gear shifter, for instance, feels flimsy and cheap.

Generally, though, the Seal 6’s cabin isn’t too offensive to look at or operate. Technology is presented by a dual-screen interface – all cars get an 8.8-inch full-LCD instrument panel, but the size of the central touchscreen varies according to trim; base cars make do with a 12.8-inch unit, while the flagship version upgrades to a 15.6-inch item.

Only the latter of these does BYD’s party trick of rotating from landscape to portrait orientation and back again. The 12.8-inch screen is a fixed display, although we’ve always questioned the merit of that spinning-bowtie infotainment panel anyway, because you can’t run either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in portrait mode.

Anyway, everything’s laid out quite nicely and there’s enough visual interest going on to ensure the fascia of the Seal 6 doesn’t look boring. Also, the synthetic leather seat trim is worth a thumbs-up too.

As for space, both the Saloon and the Touring have plenty of rear legroom, but the bench’s squab seems high-mounted, so headroom is only average and there’s not really much space under the front seats into which second-row occupants can put their feet.

There is, though, a flat floor right through the back of the cabin.

Boot space is also acceptable, with the Saloon offering up 491 litres with all seats in use, and a healthy 1370L with the rear bench folded down – although remember this is a proper saloon body, with a shallow opening; the BYD is not a ‘surprise’ liftback in disguise.

Strangely, the Touring isn’t actually much better in this regard. An initial 675L seats-up capacity looks amazing, until you realise that’s with the wagon loaded up to the roof lining.

The more accepted measurement to the tops of the rear seats is a modest 500L. And that only climbs to 1535L with the back row folded away. A whopping great Skoda-rivalling estate, this thing is not.

What’s under the bonnet?

The two powertrains announced for the BYD Seal 6 DM-i so far are both PHEVs, because that’s what the ‘DM’ stands for in the name: Dual Mode.

Both are centred on a rather reedy 72kW/122Nm 1.5-litre petrol engine without a turbocharger, with power going exclusively to the front wheels through an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT).

The lesser variant, which we drove as a Euro-spec Boost, but which will likely be called an Essential here, loses a few key spec battles with the range-topping Comfort (aka, Premium).

Its peak system output is down to the tune of 21kW, to an overall maximum of 135kW, which results in a claimed 0-100km/h time that’s 0.4 seconds slower than the Premium’s at 8.9 seconds all-in.

Therefore, we suspect most will go for the 156kW Premium, although bear in mind that car is carrying 100kg more ballast than the Essential, due to various upgrades to its electrical system (see below).

For what it’s worth, the Touring is 40-45kg heavier model-for-model than its equivalent Saloon, but there’s no guarantee we’ll even get the estate here in the first place.

The key difference between the Essential and Premium Seal 6 DM-i cars comes with the electric portion of the drivetrain. A smaller battery measuring about 10.1kWh in the Essential results in 55km of electric driving range.

But the crucial point is that it’s slower to charge. Its peak AC top-up rate is precisely half that of the Premium model, while it cannot replenish its lithium-ion (LFP) ‘Blade’ battery using a DC connection at all.

Whereas the Premium, which gains the larger 19kWh battery pack that reins in the overall vehicle weight penalty, can go more than 100km on electric power alone, has 6.6kW AC charging capacity, and the ability to take electricity on board at 26kW through a DC fast-charger.

How does the BYD Seal 6 drive?

This is a long way from being BYD’s finest dynamic hour.

It’s all well and good saying what great value the car is (or might be, given we don’t have that data for our market as yet), but if it delivers a driving and ownership experience that’s notably sub-par across the board, is it worth saving the money in the first place?

We began in an Essential Saloon on a cold British morning, and frankly things started going south for the BYD Seal 6 from kilometre one.

The ride quality, for instance, is all sorts of wrong. The suspension is loose and slovenly, which results in the car wobbling about over lumps and bumps during low-speed town driving.

Soft suspension is recommended for ride comfort, but it needs some quality damping control to make it work and the BYD’s setup is nothing short of sloppy.

This then transforms into a kind of imprecise, waterbed ‘floating’ feel once you’re up to 80km/h and more on open roads, detaching the driver from the surface of the tarmac in a way that’s not entirely positive.

In turn, that doesn’t inspire much confidence in the Seal 6’s handling, although that’s not so much of a worry because you’d first of all have to work through uninformative and numb steering if you wanted to hustle the car along quickly on a quieter road, plus also a brake pedal that’s weirdly inconsistent.

It either delivers sharp, grabby responses at low speeds, or the sensation of a load of dead travel at the top of the pedal when you’re moving on at a faster pace.

We did throw the BYD into a few corners with as much gusto as we dared muster. What ensued was scrappy handling.

Both understeer and then snap-oversteer presented themselves, so although we’ll cut the car a tiny bit of slack and say the conditions under its Hankook tyres (on 17-inch wheels with the Essential) were slippery and slimy, by the same token we’re not confident it would transform into an assured, polished roadholding display in more favourable weather either.

Of course, mid-size PHEV cars with less than 200kW don’t really need to be mimicking hot hatchbacks in the curves – they need to be comfortable and quiet instead, to effortlessly munch up the kilometres.

As we’ve already said, the ride quality of the Seal 6 is certainly lacking in the former regard. It doesn’t ever really settle down to anything more than adequate, and that’s only if you’re on a particularly well-surfaced section of freeway with no undulations in its surface.

But it’s the ever-present road roar which bothers us the most. You hear the tyres whooping away almost from the minute you roll off on your journey, and that is something which would become tiresome during repeated use.

All this, and we’ve not even got onto the powertrain. As long as you don’t use anything more than half-throttle, the Seal 6 DM-i is sort of bearable. It’s also better when using its electric motor to propel itself, than when you’ve called the 1.5 into action.

But if you do that, what you get is a lot of noise, incredibly slow responses from the transmission in terms of the build-up of acceleration, and the disconcerting feeling that all 135kW and 300Nm of the powertrain has gone missing in action. It’s basically rowdy and slow, which is an unwelcome combination.

And traction is also an issue, because despite the lowly power outputs, the Seal 6 Essential was either briefly spinning its front wheels or flashing its traction control light at us far too often for our liking.

As an addendum to possibly offer a glimmer of hope, a quick comparison drive in a Premium Touring did improve things – but not by much.

We suspect this was due in the main to two things: one, the temperatures had risen a bit by the time we drove it, so the roads had dried a little and grip levels improved; and two, it was on bigger 18-inch wheels with bigger contact patches, and a set of Continental tyres at that.

However, it didn’t feel much faster, still had the assorted rolling refinement and powertrain issues, and ultimately couldn’t save the BYD from a mainly negative first impression.

What do you get?

Again, we’re waiting to see exact specs for our market, but going by the European cars, an Essential should come with a solid level of standard equipment.

2026 BYD Seal 6 DM-i equipment highlights:

• 17-inch alloys
• Twin digital screens (8.8-inch cluster and 12.8-inch infotainment)
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity
• Dual-zone climate control
• Vegan leather upholstery
• Multifunction steering wheel
• Electrically adjustable front seats
• LED headlight and tail-lights
• Rear parking sensors
• Reversing camera
• Adaptive cruise control
• Keyless entry and go
• Six-speaker sound system
• Comprehensive suite of ADAS

Stepping up to the Premium adds:

• 18-inch alloys
• Larger battery, DC charging
• Power upgrade to 156kW
• Privacy rear glass
• Panoramic sunroof
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Memory function for front seats
• Ambient interior lighting
• Auto-dimming interior mirror
• Eight-speaker sound system
• 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen
• 50W wireless smartphone charging
• Front parking sensors
• 360-degree camera

Is the BYD Seal 6 safe?

ANCAP hasn’t assessed the car as yet, though the Seal 6 DM-i has been given top marks by its Euro NCAP affiliate.

*Euro NCAP scoring

As we said above, even the base-grade car comes with every available ADAS item fitted as standard – there are no safety ‘options’ with the BYD, which is impressive.

How much does the BYD Seal 6 cost to run?

The benefit of the DM-i system is that the BYD Seal 6 has some mammoth range claims to its name.

Not the electric-driving numbers, which are 55km for the Essential and 105km for the Premium, but the combined distance it can travel on its fuel and electric reserves together.

A 65L fuel tank and BYD’s clever control systems that ration out the electric power over a whole journey see the Chinese firm claim the Saloon Essential can drive for up to 1505km at a time, while the slightly heavier Premium still manages 1455km.

All versions of the Touring are pegged to a 1350km range combined. We saw a reasonable 6.1L/100km from the Premium Touring while on test, but bear in mind that included a lot of economy-boosting, steady freeway cruising speeds. 

BYD’s standard warranty here is a competitive six years or 150,000km, whichever comes sooner, although its roadside assistance is offered on a service-activated basis. There’s 12 months of complimentary cover from the delivery date.

CarExpert’s Take on the BYD Seal 6

We’ve driven quite a BYDs in recent years – and while some are incredibly good, the Seal 6 DM-i isn’t one of them.

Sure, it’s likely to be super-cheap and generously equipped, and it’s fairly spacious inside, as well as innocuous to look at and blessed with mighty range claims due to its PHEV powertrain.

But the way it drives feels severely compromised to us – like a breakthrough car of 15 or 20 years ago, not something that’s up to 2025 standards, because it lacks refinement and comfort, and the responses of its major controls are vague.

There are much better plug-in hybrids to choose out there than the Seal 6 DM-i – even if they are more expensive to purchase.

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