BYD SEALION 5 ESTATE

Name: BYD SEALION 5 1.5 DM-i Design 5dr Auto
Brand: BYD SEALION 5
SKU: 109553
Availability: InStock

1.5 DM-i Design 5dr Auto

Top deal

Images are for illustrative purposes only.

Fuel Type Hybrid

Range 53 miles

Real World Estimate 45 miles

Co2 14.00g/km

Transmission Automatic

Top Speed 106mph

WLTP Combined Range/Economy achieved under standardised test conditions.

Customise Deal

Lease Type

Personal Business

Contract Length

Initial Rental

Annual Mileage

Maintenance

An excess mileage charge will apply if you exceed the contracted mileage. The exact charge will be confirmed on the official quotation prior to your acceptance to proceed.

Important Information

Excess mileage charges will apply if you go over the stated contract mileage.
Vehicle damage charges may occur if the vehicle is returned outside BVRLA's Fair Wear and Tear guidelines.
All rentals are subject to the necessary finance acceptance criteria.
Prices shown are indicative and subject to change.
No ownership option is available on this lease.
Manufacturer’s maintenance schedule must be observed and additional charges may apply for failure to maintain servicing and any non fair wear and tear damage to the vehicle.
Quoted leadtimes are estimates based on information from the manufacturer and are subject to change. We will keep you up to date during the course of your order.
If you are ordering a Used Vehicle you acknowledge that some minor wear and tear or cosmetic damage may be present on the vehicle, such as small chips, scuffs, or scratches.

Fetching your price

Fuel Type Hybrid

Range 53 miles

Real World Estimate 45 miles

Co2 14.00g/km

Transmission Automatic

Top Speed 106mph

WLTP Combined Range/Economy achieved under standardised test conditions.

BYD SEALION 5 Review

- Independent review from Car and Driving

Performance
7
Handling
5
Comfort
7
Space
7
Styling
6
Build
7
Value
8
Equipment
7
Economy
7
Depreciation
6
Insurance
6

The BYD Sealion 5 DM-I broadens the PHEV options in the Chinese maker's line-up. Jonathan Crouch drives this mid-sized Plug-in Hybrid SUV.

Ten Second Review

Chinese maker BYD further establishes its growing position in the mid-sized SUV Plug-in Hybrid market with a second potentially more affordable model, the Sealion 5 DM-i. There's everything here you need from a car of this kind and nothing you don't - at a cheaper price than you might expect to have to pay.

Background

BYD seems like an unstoppable force. It's still Britain's fastest-growing car maker and globally, it now sells more EVs than Tesla. In our market though, with its hesitating electric transition, the bigger BYD emphasis is now on PHEVs, with the Seal U DM-i mid-sized Plug-in Hybrid SUV one of the company's biggest sellers. Which has encouraged the brand to add in a couple of PHEV products above it - the Seal 6 U DM-i saloon and Tourer estate. And three more below it - the Dolphin G DM-i supermini, the Atto 2 DM-i compact SUV and the car a look at here, the more mid-sized Sealion 5 DM-i. If you're wondering, as we were, why the company needs two separate mid-sized SUVs with PHEV power, drilling down into the detail reveals some of the answers. The Sealion 5 DM-i is available with a smaller-battery version of the 1.5-litre PHEV powertrain used by its Seal equivalent, which allows this Sealion to offer a significantly lower entry-level price. With that 13kWh 'Comfort'-spec base Sealion 5 model, BYD can offer PHEV motoring to customers of this size of SUV who previously probably thought they couldn't afford a combustion crossover they could plug in. Sounds like a good approach. Most Sealion 5 sales though, will probably be of versions with the longer-ranging 18kWh PHEV drivetrain that we tried, which goes head to head with some tough segment opposition, much of it Chinese.

Driving Experience

As you'd expect, the Sealion 5 DM-i uses broadly the same 1.5-litre petrol PHEV system as the brand's Seal U DM-i - though there are small differences. Most versions of the equivalent Seal are sold with broadly the same 18kWh 209bhp powertrain that most Sealion 5 DM-i customers will also want. Range is 53 miles. Unlike the equivalent Seal, this car can't offer this PHEV powertrain in its longer-ranging 26.6kWh form. But the Sealion 5 DM-i does exclusively offer a smaller-battery 13kWh option (with the same drive motor), though with that, EV range falls to just 38 miles. The 1.5-litre powertrain in play here is one of those PHEV units where nearly all of the grunt comes from the electric motor. The four cylinder petrol unit contributes just 95bhp and is content to be unused most of the time, chipping in unobtrusively when necessary. So it's quite an EV-like driving experience - though not an especially engaging one, with light feel-less steering. The all-independent suspension is reasonably supple and drive always goes to the front wheels. Refinement is excellent as the two power sources blend seamlessly. The intrusive nature of the various ADAS systems isn't, so try before you buy. With 300Nm of torque, 0-62mph takes 8.1s for the 18kWh model and 7.7s for the lighter 13kWh version. Top speed either way is 106mph. There are four drive modes - Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow - and two selectable levels of regenerative braking, neither of them of the aggressive 'one-pedal' variety.

Design and Build

You probably won't be choosing this Sealion 5 U DM-i primarily on the basis of the way it looks. As you'd expect from the name, there are styling cues from the bigger Sealion 7 EV - but few from the car this Sealion 5's territory overlaps into, the Seal U DM-i. BYD calls the Sealion 5 a 'compact SUV' but at 4,738mm long, it's actually more a lower mid-sized SUV - and a reasonably substantial one at that, almost 30cm longer than a Nissan Qashqai for instance. For reference, a Seal U DM-i is 37mm longer. Inside a Sealion 5, you'll probably be quite pleasantly surprised given the price tag if you haven't tried a BYD before. If you have, you might be a little disappointed to find that the 12.8-inch centre touchscreen doesn't rotate as it did with earlier BYD models (and does with the equivalent Seal). The instrument cluster screen isn't as cluttered as it usually is on Chinese cars and at least there are physical buttons around the fascia. The cabin finish is fine provided you don't mind the rather artificial feel of the standard vegan leather upholstery. The air vents and column stalks feel a little cheap and the steering wheel could do with more adjustability, but the orange stitching is nice, there are soft materials on the doors and dash - and there's a proper chunky gear selector. Rear seat space might really sell this car to you; there's plenty of it, even for tall adults, who'll enjoy plenty of legroom - much more than in a Qashqai for instance. And because of the flat floor, a third centre-seated adult could occasionally be accommodated if need be. The boot capacity suffers a little because of the palatial rear seat space; it's rated at 463-litres, 11-litres more than a Seal U DM-i. With everything flat, up to 1,410-litres of space is available.

Market and Model

At first glance, the Sealion 5 DM-i seems to be priced quite a slug below the brand's identically-engineered Seal U DM-i - but that's illusory. The eye-catching £30,000 entry price that the Sealion 5 was launched with only gets you the base 'Comfort' version, which uses a relatively feeble 13kWh battery that the Seal U DM-i doesn't bother to offer. The Sealion 5 DM-i with the more normal 18kWh battery that most customers will want is the 'Design' version - and that cost around £33,000 from launch, just £345 less than an equivalent 18kWh Seal U DM-i 'Boost' model. There are no other trim variations with the Sealion 5 DM-i 'Comfort' and 'Design' packages. So it'll come down to which of BYD's interpretations of what a mid-sized Plug-in Hybrid SUV should be takes your fancy. Either way, you'll be getting plenty of standard equipment. Even 'Comfort' spec gets you vegan leather upholstery, keyless entry, roof rails, LED headlights and a Vehicle-to-Load function so you can power external devices from the car's drive battery. Inside, there's an 8.8-inch Driver's Display and Intelligent and Adaptive Cruise Control. Media stuff's taken care of by a 12.8-inch central touchscreen with navigation, intelligent voice control, 4G connectivity, cloud services and 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'. The bigger-battery 'Design' version adds a 360-degree camera, heated front seats, a powered tailgate and a wireless smartphone charger. In terms of safety and advanced driver assistance, the Sealion U DM-i offers Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Rear Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Brake, Lane Keep Assistance, Lane Change Assist and Emergency Lane Keep. There's also Adaptive Cruise Control and Intelligent Cruise Control, a Blind Spot Detection System, ESP, Traction Control, Hill Decent Control, Automatic Vehicle Hold, Intelligent Speed Limit Information and Intelligent Speed Limit Control.

Cost of Ownership

The 13kWh and 18.3kWh batteries used here can be either AC-charged at up to 11kW or DC charged at up to 18kW. Maximum AC charging power is 3.3kW and AC charging time using that 3.3kW single-phase source is 4 hours 30 minutes for the 'Comfort' and 6 hours for the 'Design'. That's not especially fast; a Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid, for instance, can charge almost three times faster. We gave you this Sealion 5 model's drive range figures in our 'Driving' section: 38 miles for the 13kWh base 'Comfort' model and 53 miles for the 18.8kWh 'Design' version. The 'Design' variant has a quoted combined consumption figure of 470mpg (or 282mpg for the 'Comfort' version), but you're not likely to achieve either of those stats outside of a laboratory. CO2 emissions are supposedly 22g/km for the 'Comfort' and 14g/km for the 'Design'. A more realistic stat is that base variant's total range figure of up to 631 miles (for the 'Design') with a combination of a full battery charge and a complete 52-litre fuel tank. It's up to 616 miles for the 'Comfort' version. There's a better warranty than you get from most rivals - up to six years or 93,750 miles, with an extra two years for the drive unit and the battery. That battery is covered for up to eight years or 125,000 miles and is guaranteed to retain at least 70% of its capacity throughout the warranty duration.

Summary

You can see why BYD thinks the Sealion 5 DM-i is going to be one of its biggest sellers. For its baseline 'Comfort'-spec price tag, obvious rivals can't offer Plug-in Hybrid tech - and aren't as spacious. It might well be a winning sales formula. This bigger-battery 'Design'-spec version might be a slightly harder sell, but you might still feel that there's still plenty of value to be had here. Unless of course you happen to object to the kind of caveats that tend to apply to other BYDs - and most Chinese models of this type; uninvolving drive dynamics and intrusive ADAS features. But those things didn't put many people off this car's Seal U DM-i stablemate and this Sealion 5's potentially cheaper price makes such issues even less likely to be relevant here. Expect to see plenty of these about.

Read Full Review

Vehicle information and specification is supplied by an industry leading third party provider and is to be used for guidance only. We encourage you to check all equipment on the manufacturer's website before you place an order.

Standard Equipment

Technical Data

Options

Charging info

Driver Convenience

360 degree view camera
8.8" TFT full LCD instrument panel
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC)
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Automatic vehicle hold
Blind spot detection
Cloud service - BYD APP
Controlled deceleration parking (CDP)
Drive mode select (Eco, normal, sport, snow)
Driver monitoring system
e-Call (emergency call)
Electric tailgate
Emergency Lane Keeping Assist (ELKA)
Forward collision warning
Front parking radar
Intelligent speed limit control (ISLC)
Intelligent voice control - "Hi BYD"
Lane departure assistant with lane departure warning and lane departure prevention
Onboard 4G connectivity
PAS
Rear collision warning
Rear cross traffic alert and rear cross traffic brake
Rear parking radar
Smartphone wireless charging - 1 x 15W single charge
Traffic sign recognition (TSR)

Engine/Drivetrain/Suspension

3.3kW On-Board charger

Entertainment

12.8" Electrically rotatable touchscreen
6 speakers
FM/DAB+ radio
Front and rear USB ports - 1 x 18W Type C + 1x 60W Type C

Exterior Features

Aluminium roof rails
Automatic headlights
Automatic rain-sensing boneless wipers
Dynamic welcome lights
Electric adjustable door mirrors
Electric folding and heated door mirrors
Exterior mirror footlights
Follow me home headlights (The headlights turned on in advance and delayed off function)
Front windscreen, UV protection, thermal insulation and sound proofing
High beam assist
LED 3rd brake light
LED daytime running lights
LED Headlights
LED taillights
Manual dimming interior rear view mirror
One touch electric front/rear windows with pinch protection
Rear side wing doors
Rear wiper

Interior Features

12V power outlet
3 seat bench in 2nd row
4 way electrically adjustable front passenger seat
6 way electrically adjustable drivers seat
Boot parcel shelf
Driver and passenger sunvisors with illuminated vanity mirrors
Front centre armrest
Front LED reading lights
Front seat footlights
Heated front seats
Height and reach adjustable steering wheel
Integrated headrest in front seats
ISOFIX and i-Size for front passenger and outer rear seats
LED front door lights
PM2.5 air filter
Rear air vents
Rear armrest with 2 cupholders
Rear seats with manually adjustable headrest
Rear side LED reading lights
Single front passenger seat
Split folding rear seats - 40/60
Trunk light
Vegan leather multifunction steering wheel
Vegan leather upholstery

Passive Safety

3x3 point rear seatbelts
ABS
Automatic emergency braking system
Brake override system (BOS)
Child presence detection
Comfort stop
Door open warning
Driver airbag
Electric parking brake
Electronic brake distribution
Force limiting pre-tensioned front seat belts
Front centre airbag
Front passenger airbag with deactivation switch
Front side airbags
Hill hold control
Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)
Hydraulic brake boost
Mechanical child safety lock
Pre-tensioned outer rear seat belts
Rear middle seat force limiting seat belt
Side curtain airbags
Traction control system (TCS)
Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
Vehicle Dynamics Control System (VDC)

Security

2 x Smart keys
Alarm
Automatic door locking
Immobiliser
Keyless entry and keyless start

Wheels

18" Bi-colour alloy wheels
Tyre repair kit

Electric Vehicle Data

Battery Capacity % guaranteed under warranty

70
Battery Capacity in kWh

18.3
Battery Charging Scenario 1 - Charge Time (Mins)

360
Battery Charging Scenario 1 - Percentage Change

15-100
Battery Charging Scenario 1 - Power Supply - kW

3.3
Battery Charging Scenario 3 - Charge Time (Mins)

Not Available
Battery Charging Scenario 3 - Percentage Change

Not Available
Battery Charging Scenario 3 - Power Supply - kW

Not Available
Battery Charging Scenario 4 - Charge Time (Mins)

Not Available
Battery Charging Scenario 4 - Percentage Change

Not Available
Battery Charging Scenario 4 - Power Supply - kW

Not Available
Battery Leased

No
Battery Type

Lithium-ion
Charging Port Location

Right Side Rear
Coupler/Connector Type

CCS Type 2
Maximum Charging Rate - kW

3.3
Standard manufacturers Battery warranty - Mileage

155000
Standard manufacturers Battery warranty - Years

8
Usable Battery Capacity

18.3
WLTP - EC (kWh/100km) - City

31.1
WLTP - EC (kWh/100km) - Comb

24.9
WLTP - EC (miles/kWh) - City

2
WLTP - EC (miles/kWh) - Comb

2.5
WLTP - Equivalent AER (km) - City

119
WLTP - Equivalent AER (km) - Comb

85
WLTP - Equivalent AER (miles) - City

74
WLTP - Equivalent AER (miles) - Comb

53

Emissions - ICE

HC+NOx

Not Available
Particles

Not Available
Standard Emissions

EURO 6

Emissions - PHEV

WLTP - CO2 Weighted (g/km) - Comb

14

Engine and Drive Train

Camshaft

DOHC
Catalytic Convertor

Yes
CC

1498
Cylinders

4
Engine Layout

FRONT TRANSVERSE
Fuel Delivery

MULTI POINT FUEL INJECTION
Gears

1 SPEED
Number of Valves

16
Transmission

AUTO

Fuel Consumption - ICE

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies

No

Fuel Consumption - PHEV

WLTP - FC Ch Sus (l/100km) - Comb

5.3
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (l/100km) - High

5.1
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (l/100km) - Low

4.2
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (l/100km) - Medium

4.2
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (mpg) - Comb

53
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (mpg) - High

55
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (mpg) - Low

68
WLTP - FC Ch Sus (mpg) - Medium

67
WLTP - FC Weighted (l/100km) - Comb

0.6
WLTP - FC Weighted (mpg) - Comb

470

General

Alternative Fuel Qualifying

Yes
Badge Engine CC

1.5
Badge Power

212
Based On ID

Not Available
Coin Description

DM-i
Coin Series

Design
Generation Mark

1
Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07

26D
Manufacturers Corrosion Perforation Guarantee - Years

12
Did at least one aspect of this vehicle's safety give cause for concern?

No
Service Interval Frequency - Months

12
Service Interval Mileage

10000
Special Edition

No
Special Order

No
Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage

93750
Standard manufacturers warranty - Years

6
Timing Belt Interval Frequency - Months

Not Available
Timing Belt Interval Mileage

Not Available
Vehicle Homologation Class

M1

Performance

0 to 62 mph (secs)

8.1
Engine Power - BHP

212
Engine Power - KW

156
Engine Power - RPM

6000
Engine Torque - LBS.FT

221
Engine Torque - MKG

30.6
Engine Torque - NM

300
Engine Torque - RPM

4500
Top Speed

106

Test Cycles

Emissions Test Cycle

WLTP
RDE Certification Level

RDE 2

Tyres

Alloys?

Yes
Space Saver?

No
Tyre Size Front

225/60 R18
Tyre Size Rear

225/60 R18
Tyre Size Spare

TYRE REPAIR KIT
Wheel Style

Not Available
Wheel Type

18" ALLOY

Vehicle Dimensions

Height

Not Available
Height (including roof rails)

1710
Length

4738
Wheelbase

2712
Width

1860
Width (including mirrors)

2063

Weight and Capacities

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)

52
Gross Vehicle Weight

2195
Luggage Capacity (Seats Down)

1410
Luggage Capacity (Seats Up)

463
Max. Loading Weight

410
Max. Roof Load

75
Minimum Kerbweight

1785
No. of Seats

5
Turning Circle - Kerb to Kerb

6

Exterior Features

Metallic paint
Special metallic paint

Paintwork

Metallic - Atlantis blue
Special metallic - Obsidian black
Special metallic - Polar white
Special metallic - Time grey

Trim

Vegan leather - Black

Charging Speeds

2h 34min

Home

7kW Charger

0h 21min

Fast

50kW Charger

0h 10min

Rapid

100kW Charger

0h 7min

Ultra-Rapid

150kW Charger

Company car tax calculator

Tax Year	BIK	BIK Value	Tax Payable at 20%	Tax Payable at 40%
2026/27	10%	£273.54	£54.71	£109.42
2027/28	11%	£300.90	£60.18	£120.36
2028/29	18%	£492.38	£98.48	£196.95
2029/30	19%	£519.73	£103.95	£207.89

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