mReview: BYD Sealion 7 Performance – Big Bang For Your Buck

The BYD Sealion 7 is the flagship product in Singapore from the Chinese brand, featuring the best of what they have to offer, all in one competitively-priced package.

For month after month, BYD has been topping the sales charts in Singapore, and this car has played a leading role in that feat since its launch earlier this year. The Sealion 7 is BYD’s halo car at the moment, sporting the most power, the most space, and in this writer’s opinion, the most value.

For starters, the Sealion 7 is a handsome vehicle. LED headlights up front and distinctive daytime-running lights give it a distinctive look, while the body’s smooth lines and sloped roof give an air of Sealion sleekness. 

Nappa leather upholstery is a great premium touch.

The Sealion 7 is available in three variants, the entry-level “Dynamic” (the only Sealion 7 in Cat A COE), the middle-of-the-road “Premium”, and the top-of-the-line “Performance”, which is the version our test car came in.

What’s so “Performance” about this family electric SUV, you might ask? Well, I believe its 390kW (523hp) of power, 690Nm of torque, and 4.5-second century sprint time speak for themselves. It might not look like it, but the Sealion 7 in Performance spec is an absolute animal. 

Acceleration from any speed is rapid with a capital R, pushing you and all your passengers back in the seat without any undue effort. The Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres offered as standard provide suitable traction under all that load too, giving you the confidence to lay into the throttle again and again.

It's very easy to fall asleep back here.

Though they might get a little woozy after getting thrown around in the back, when driven gently, your passengers will be treated to an expansive and highly comfortable rear cabin. The rear seats are slightly reclined, and when combined with the ample leg and headroom, the second row becomes quite a serene space. 

A sloped roofline gives it that "coupe SUV" body style that many desire.

The Sealion 7’s ride quality helps to heighten that sense of relaxation as well, with a ride that isn’t too busy or too wallowy. The isolation from the outside world is also up to scratch, thanks to the best build quality I’ve seen so far from BYD. The interior has a much more premium feel than any other BYD before it and is a marked improvement overall.

Occupants of the Sealion 7 are not short of amenities either, far from it in fact. The Sealion 7 is loaded to the gills (or lungs?) with gizmos and gadgets that really add to the value proposition of the car. It has, as standard, the full suite of ADAS features, a 360° camera, a panoramic roof, soundproof double-glazed glass for the windshield and front doors, Nappa leather upholstery, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ventilated seats, and the list goes on. 

The best part? Apart from the Nappa leather, everything else on that list comes as standard regardless of which variant of Sealion 7 you pick, which means even the entry-level “Dynamic” spec gets all of the goodies too, at a friendlier price. 

The value proposition provided by the Sealion 7 is frankly off the scale, with multiple variants available to cater to your budget, but without any of them scrimping on what gives it such great value in the first place. The Sealion 7 is a real hard-hitting product from BYD, and it’s no wonder that these are flying off the showroom floor as fast as they can stock them. 

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