BYD, the Chinese EV giant, continues its UK expansion with the Sealion 5, a plug-in hybrid SUV. While offering a tempting price, questions arise about its design, size, and value proposition compared to BYD's other models, such as the Seal U. The article examines the Sealion 5's features, powertrains, and how it fits into BYD's growing UK lineup.
BYD seems to be the unstoppable car firm, and its numbers make for impressive reading. It sold 4.6m cars in 2025 and is now selling more EVs than Tesla, with the UK being one of its largest overseas markets, with more than 50,000 BYD s registered in Britain last year.
Not bad for a car that only entered the market three years earlier. Having seen this success, BYD is now looking to push its plug-in hybrid models – which it calls DM-I – further in 2026 – with a series of new arrivals, the first being the new Sealion 5. Yes, it’s a terrible name, and the design wouldn’t have looked out of place a decade ago, but it has a price with the potential to tempt many out of their far more expensive petrol SUVs. So, is it any good?BYD’s rapid model expansion means the Sealion 5 is the Chinese firm’s ninth car to be sold in the UK, giving it a wider range of vehicles than Vauxhall. Though BYD describes the Sealion 5 as a ‘compact’ SUV, it isn’t really, as at 4.73m long, it’s almost 30cm longer than a It’s also *very* close in size to the Seal U, which begs the question why the Sealion 5 starts from £29,995 and the Seal U from £33,395? Well, the more expensive model has a lot more road presence and looks nicer than the very bland Sealion 5 and its battery is also far larger. But other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual, with an interior closely mirroring other BYD models as well as the brand’s usual focus on value for money and a generous standard equipment offer.Though the Sealion 5 is available with two powertrains, they both use a 1.5-litre petrol engine, with most of the power coming from the electric motor , with the combined total standing at 209bhp. So, the difference between the two versions is the size of the battery, with the Comfort trim having a 13kWh unit capable of a claimed 38 miles while the Design trim’s larger 18kWh battery gives a quoted 53 miles. Both models can also only charge at a slow AC rate of 3.3kW, hardly any faster than a three-pin plug, which takes 4.5 hours with the small battery and six hours with the larger battery. It’s areas like this where you realise why the BYD is so cheap – a, for example, can charge almost three times faster. A vehicle-to-load function is included, however, to use the car’s battery to power external electrical equipment. Getting to 62mph will take 7.7 seconds with the small battery and 8.1 seconds with the bigger unit, despite the Design trim only weighing 25kg more. Claimed fuel economy ranges between 104.6mpg and 134.5mpg, with CO2 emissions of 62g/km for the Comfort and 48g/km for the Design, enough to make a difference in company car tax.Things get off to a decent start with the Sealion 5, with the car defaulting for the most part to driving as if it’s an EV, cleverly switching between the two power sources. The battery also rarely drops below around 20 per cent, the engine keeping it topped up to help retain that ‘electric’ driving experience, even if it hasn’t been plugged in. Performance is generally brisk enough, though there is quite a lag in the acceleration when you want to overtake. The issue is that you get used to this refinement, so when the engine does fire into life it’s a bit of a shock how gruff and loud it is. When going up a long uphill section, you can feel unpleasant vibrations coming through the floor of the car and at higher motorway speeds there’s a constant rumbling that really takes the shine off its refinement as wind and road noise are otherwise very well subdued. It rides better than other BYDs we’ve tried recently, though can still struggle on particularly uneven surfaces and on expansion joints in the road, for example, where you get a sense the dampers can’t keep up with the rest of the car’s movements. But the biggest letdown is the steering, which is completely devoid of feel. Yes, this is a family SUV and we don’t expect it to have the most direct setup, but even some vague idea of what the wheels are doing would be useful. Though you can flick between ‘sport’ and ‘comfort’ steering settings, neither are preferable. BYD’s safety assists also continue to irritate. The lane keep assist is annoying rather than helpful, the driver monitoring system bongs all the time even if you’re paying attention and the autonomous emergency also attempted an emergency stop when it saw a lorry coming in the opposite direction on a blind crest on a wide B-road. More work needed on this, please.A lot like most other BYDs, unsurprisingly. There’s a big 12.8-inch touchscreen that no longer rotates as BYD said customers weren’t ever using the feature, a busy digital instrument cluster and – surprisingly – some actual buttons. These remind me a lot of previous-generation BMW buttons that surround the gear selector, though we’d happy swap out the ‘snow mode’ switch for a menu that gets straight to the climate control. But the interior is generally very smart considering the lower price, and there’s minimal difference in look between the two trims. Artificial leather seats are standard, and orange stitching and silver decorative accents across the cabin helps to give it a more upmarket feel. It has a better mix of physical and digital controls than plenty of other cars in this class. But the seating position, and seats in general, let it down. BYD speaks a lot about the Sealion 5’s longer combined range than its rivals but you’d struggle with how solid those seats are after a couple of hours. The steering wheel has a pathetic amount of adjustment, too, and the driving seat doesn’t go as low or as far back as we’d expect for a car in this class. And despite being part electric, the passenger seat has no height adjustment. It fares well on the space front, though, with its fairly long wheelbase freeing up plenty of room for adults to sit in the rear, with no shortage of headroom either because of the car’s boxy shape. There’s a good amount of storage dotted throughout, though the 463-litre boot is quite average considering the Sealion is longer than most of its rivals. While there are various storage compartments beneath the boot floor, it would be far more helpful if this space was freed up for overall boot volume.BYD’s approach with the Sealion 5 is to offer a PHEV powertrain for the same or less money than rivals charge for their petrol SUVs, and it manages that. The BYD’s £29,995 starting price comfortably undercuts the £30,615 charges for a base-spec, manual Qashqai. Standard equipment is generally, good, too, with an electric driver’s seat, 18-inch alloys, a big touchscreen and adaptive cruise control included on the base Comfort model. The Design trim adds £3,000 for the price, and as well as the larger battery adds a 360-degree camera, heated seats and an electric tailgate, but is worth choosing alone for the longer PHEV range.But if you compare the BYD to what more established crossover PHEV rivals cost, it’s hard to get past its value. Both theMany will consider the Sealion 5 for the price alone, and it would be daft to ignore the potential £10,000 saving compared to one of its more established crossover PHEV rivals. Even for those who wouldn’t have considered a PHEV before will likely be drawn in by the headline price and low monthlies, and BYD deserves credit for that. Its interior is also smart for the price, and rear space is generous. But for any keen driver, the Sealion 5 is worth leaving as it certainly lacks the polish offered by a Kuga or Tiguan, and more fine-tuning of its safety assists and powertrain would go a long way in improving it. The entry-level trim is worth avoiding for its smaller battery, too. So the Sealion 5 is a decidedly mediocre car, but its price does an awful lot of heavy lifting. Just don’t be too surprised if you have to make a few compromises in the name of saving money.
BYD Sealion 5 SUV Electric Vehicles Plug-In Hybrid
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