BYD Seal U review

Measuring almost 4.8 metres, the Seal U is longer than many of its rivals – think Honda CR-V, Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage – though helpfully most of its supplement sits in the wheelbase, to the benefit of both its proportions and rear passenger space.

Is the tech any good?

The first thing you’ll notice when you get in is that giant 15.6in rotating touchscreen, which spins (slowly) round to give you either portrait or landscape modes.

It's a rather pointless gimmick, and you can only mirror your phone in landscape. Oh, and if you use the native satnav in portrait mode you can practically see the entire country on the map.

The contents of the screen work largely OK, even if the UI is very old fashioned and looks only vaguely designed. Lots of the controls – like the aircon – are fiddly sub-menu jobs. BYD is by no means the only manufacturer to make this mistake, but it has erred.

The screen sits proud of the dash rather than being integrated, which looks a little clunky but gives the front seat passenger as much access to its functions as the driver. Which is handy for disabling some of the more annoying active safety systems in a safe manner.

Is it practical? 

The battery tech keeps the floor low to benefit legroom, while the back seat splits 60:40 with each section separately reclining – via a manual fabric pull strap – to allow some flexibility between passenger and luggage space. However, a fixed brace between the two compartments somewhat negates the advantage, while luggage space itself is left wanting beside rivals.

The 425-litre boot increases to 1,440 litres when the seats are folded, with both figures down about 20 per cent on a Tucson, Sportage or Qashqai, to name just a few. A Honda CR-V is notably roomier still. It might not be a deal-breaker, but it’s definitely worth a little research and a test run in the BYD showroom if you’ve got bulky travel goods to squeeze in.

Still, headroom is impressive front and back, despite the panoramic sunroof, which pairs with expansive side windows for an airy, premium feel on board. Plush materials are used generously while harder-wearing plastics are well concealed and mostly saved for the boot.

The leather is vegan and looks and feels good, especially if you’ve gone for a two-tone colour scheme inside. BYD is coming on in leaps and bounds in terms of perceived quality. This is a nice place to be.

Anything else of note? 

Phone charging abounds, with four USB-C ports across the car and two wireless charging pads up front. In the Skoda Kodiaq these now come with cooling fans, which would be useful. In our first go in the Seal U, it kept rejecting an iPhone due to overheating.

You can set up an iPhone for keyless entry to the car as VTOL comes as standard. Not vertical take-off and landing, alas, but the ability – like numerous EV rivals – to plug in external devices such as e-bikes to feed from the car’s battery.