BYD Seal used review and buying guide

The BYD Seal is the Chinese giant’s compact executive answer to the likes of the BMW i4, the Polestar 2, and the all-conquering Tesla Model 3.

Over the last several years, the rise of BYD has been nothing short of meteoric. The Chinese ‘New Energy Vehicle’ or ‘NEV’ manufacturer debuted in the UK in early 2023, and was the country’s fastest-growing car brand by the end of the following year.

Come mid-2025, and BYD had already outsold Tesla in Europe – impressive for a company which started life as a battery maker in 1995 and didn’t turn its hand to carmaking until eight years later.

Part of BYD’s success story is the Seal, the only saloon car in its UK range of vehicles, which is, in line with consumer tastes, largely dominated by SUVs.

The Seal is the Shenzhen-based multinational’s rival to the BMW i4, the Polestar 2, and the Tesla Model 3 – a car that topped the UK’s EV sales charts in 2021, and continues to find favour amongst new and used EV buyers.

Despite being well built and generously equipped, the BYD Seal does come with a few quirks – most of which are related to the infotainment system, price, and charging speeds.

However, if Elon Musk – and, by extension, Tesla – leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and you just fancy a used all-electric saloon that’s an alternative to the mainstream, then the BYD Seal is very much a car worth considering.

UK model history

When the BYD Seal arrived in the UK in November 2023 it was available in two trim levels. The entry-level 309bhp Design model came with a rear-wheel drive powertrain, a 354-mile range, and a £45,730 asking price.

Keen to beat the Tesla Model 3 Performance in the firepower stakes, BYD also introduced the £48,730 Seal Excellence, with 523bhp on tap, a smart torque-vectoring system, and all-wheel drive to cope with that extra grunt.

Despite the difference in performance, both versions of the BYD Seal come with the same 82.5kWh battery, with the Design returning an official consumption figure of 4.5 miles/kWh, and the Excellence managing slightly less at 3.9m/kWh.

Given BYD started life as a battery manufacturer, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Seal benefits from some clever battery tech. The car rides on BYD’s EV-only e-Platform 3.0 and has its blade battery integrated into the chassis.

Known for their safety and efficiency, Blade batteries were unveiled by BYD in 2020, and are built using cobalt-free Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) as their cathode. As well as being more stable than NMC units, LFPs are cheaper to make and offer superior thermal stability.

After almost three years on sale in the UK, BYD will update the Seal with a second-generation model later this year, promising a more ergonomically-friendly cabin, new seats, and more luggage space.

Used BYD Seal equipment

As with almost all Chinese cars, the BYD Seal comes packed with equipment. Amongst plenty of other standard toys, the Seal benefits from Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality, 19-inch alloy wheels, a 360-degree camera, vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, plus a wireless charging pad, and a heat pump for those cold winter months.

For those of you who enjoy ‘Big Choons’ while driving, the BYD Seal has a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system. In fact, the only difference in equipment is that the Excellence gets a head-up display.

Bar the Dolphin Surf, all BYDs we’ve come across have been beautifully built, and the Seal is no exception. All of the materials are top-notch, as is the fit and finish. Despite being a newcomer to the EV game, BYD’s cabin quality gives more established manufacturers a run for their money. Yes, we’re looking at you, Tesla. And you too, Mercedes.

Yet sadly, not everything is rosy with the Seal’s cabin. The centre of the dashboard is, unsurprisingly for a Chinese car, dominated by a 15.6-inch infotainment screen that controls almost everything. Yet while Tesla’s system isn’t perfect, it’s relatively drama-free and intuitive, unlike BYD’s.

The Seal’s touchscreen is a confusing mess of sub-menus, poor graphics and laggy responses that will leave many drivers frustrated. Its party piece of rotating through 90 degrees is largely pointless, as are features such as in-car karaoke and customisable screensavers.

Used BYD Seal price range and running costs

The BYD Seal is an absolute depreciation bomb, which is good news for used buyers. As always, we scoured AutoTrader to seek out the most affordable and most expensive models from official BYD retailers.

Of the 224 used BYD Seal cars we found, the most affordable was a 2024 Design car costing £27,357, which had covered a total of 7,100 miles from new. The most expensive was a £39,999 2026 Excellence with just 922 miles on the clock.

BYD is also offering massive discounts on brand-new Seals, as it seeks to make way for the revised 2026 model later this year.

Using a wall-mounted homebox, the BYD Seal can be charged from 0% – 100% for as little as £5.36 with a dedicated off-peak EV tariff.

Note that EVs are no longer road tax exempt, meaning that all electrified vehicles registered after April 1, 2027 will be charged £195 annually.

Used BYD Seal insurance

The BYD Seal can certainly rival the Tesla Model 3 when it comes to insurance costs. The Design model sits in insurance group 46 from 50, while the more powerful Excellence comes under group 48.

While insurance costs will be inevitably high, shop around and don’t forget that factors such as age, occupation, and whether you have on or off-street parking will be factored into the price.

Used BYD Seal reliability, official recalls, and faults to look for

After less than three years on the market, the BYD Seal has so far proven reassuringly reliable with no official recalls and no reports of any major faults.

China’s biggest Model 3 rival scored a five-star Euro NCAP safety award, and BYD has been more than generous with the warranty: the car is covered for six years (or 93,000 miles), and the battery enjoys an eight-year, 124,000-mile warranty.

The ‘one to have’

When choosing a used BYD Seal, it’s worth asking yourself if you need the full-fat 523bhp Excellence model. The 3.8-second 0-62mph time is enjoyable and the torque vectoring is clever, but the entry-level Design car’s 309bhp is plenty, and the bigger 354-mile range will certainly be a factor in decision-making.

If it were our money, that’s the one we’d go for.