Chinese giant BYD’s Seal U is high-end SUV dripping in tech & £6k cheaper than rivals – but ‘soft’ feature lets it down

WE all thought BYD was the Chinese Tesla.

Apparently not.

Every BYD on our roads today — we’re up to three models already — is 100 per cent electric.

But this fourth one ISN’T.

It’s a plug-in hybrid, the petrol/electric combo that’s getting more and more popular with drivers because it makes more sense.

Glide around your postcode all week on battery power — then head to the seaside at the weekend using the petrol engine as back-up.

Best of both worlds.

As you’d expect from the Chinese, Seal U is priced to sell.

It costs £34k.

The same price as a mid-spec SUV with a regular petrol engine — and undercutting plug-in hybrids from Ford and Vauxhall by at least £6k.

Again, as you’d expect from the Chinese, Seal U is dripping in tech.

And chrome.

All versions get a crowd-pleasing rotating touchscreen, head-up display, 360-degree cameras and rhythm-reactive ambient lighting that turns the place into a mobile disco at night.

Where you’re the DJ.

There’s also a karaoke app and microphones.

Only available in China for now, although one German buyer did find a set of microphones in his motor by mistake.

Build quality is good.

It really is.

There’s lots of space in all directions.

The big, glass sliding roof is standard.

The drive mode controller is jewel-like.

It’s a nice place to be.

Progress is smooth and feels very EV-like

So what’s it like to drive?

Good and not so good.

The £34k Seal U pictured here pairs a 1.5-litre non-turbo petrol engine with an 18kWh battery.

Progress is smooth and quiet and easy and feels very EV-like.

That’s the good bit.

The petrol engine’s main job is to charge the battery, but it also drives the front wheels when accelerating hard.

You can do up to 50 miles in EV mode and 600 miles on a tank.

Another version with a bigger battery will go further on electric power, up to 78 miles.

The priciest Seal U, costing £38,995, uses a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine and is four-wheel drive.

But unless you live out in the sticks, save your cash.

Now for the not so good bit.

The suspension.

You might end up wearing your coffee if you’re not careful because this car feels too soft and floaty for my liking and there’s too much body roll when cornering.

The Chinese will read this and probably have it sorted before you reach Mystic Meg.

I mentioned Tesla right at the start but the truth is BYD (Build Your Dreams) is bigger.

It makes cars, trucks, buses, vans and pick-up trucks — and millions of them.

In little over a year here, BYD has launched Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal saloon.

Seal U lands in September.

Then we get Sea Lion, an electric SUV coupe, before more plug-in hybrids next year and a budget urban EV called Seagull.

China In Your Hands.