BYD will put the second-generation Seal 07 on sale in China on 5 November, and the car has moved up a class in the process. Length is now 5,080 mm and the wheelbase 2,960 mm, against 4,995 mm and 2,900 mm for the outgoing model, which pushes a car that used to fight in the B-segment into C-segment territory. Plug-in hybrid versions are priced from 149,800 to 201,800 yuan, and the electric version is expected to start at around 169,800 yuan.
Photo: JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) — Illustrative: previous-generation Seal 07 DM-i.
A bigger body, not just a bigger boot
The growth is worth more than the numbers suggest. Rear legroom and shoulder room both improve, and the boot measures 618 litres with another 160 litres under the front lid, close to 780 litres in total. The cabin gets front seats with zero-gravity recline, heating, ventilation and massage, a 20-speaker Devialet audio system and a refrigerated box between the seats. BYD has also kept a physical slot beside the wireless charging pad for a tissue box, the kind of detail that only shows up when someone has actually lived with the car.
Magnetic dampers reach the BYD badge
The bigger technical story is underneath. The Seal 07 is the first car wearing a BYD badge to use Yunian-M, the company's magnetorheological damper system, which until now has been reserved for Yangwang and Denza models. Instead of hydraulic valves, the dampers use a fluid whose viscosity changes when a magnetic field is applied, so the damping force can be adjusted far faster than a conventional adaptive setup. Combined with double wishbones at the front, a five-link rear axle and road preview, it is a chassis specification that has no business appearing at this price.
Photo: User3204 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Illustrative: previous-generation Seal 07 DM-i.
875 km and a nine-minute charge
The electric version runs an 800V architecture with BYD's second-generation Blade pack and a rear motor in either 245 kW or 300 kW form. CLTC range is 775 km for the entry car and 875 km for the longest-legged one. BYD quotes a 10 to 97 per cent charge in nine minutes, and says the same process takes only three minutes longer at minus 30 degrees Celsius. The plug-in hybrid uses a 1.5T engine with a 160 kW motor and a 38 kWh pack, giving 245 km of electric range on the WLTC cycle and 4.25 litres per 100 km with the battery flat.
What buyers actually get
Not every car will have the magnetic ride or the roof-mounted lidar that feeds the God's Eye B assistance system, and the gap between the launch price and a well-equipped car is likely to be several thousand yuan. Standard across the range are 11 airbags, high-speed blowout stability control and a driver assistance suite that BYD is no longer selling as an option. Rivals include the Tesla Model 3, the XPeng P7+ and the Geely Galaxy E8, all of which now look expensive next to a 5-metre saloon with 875 km of range.
- Length 5,080 mm, wheelbase 2,960 mm, height 1,495 mm
- Rear motor 245 kW or 300 kW, 800V architecture
- CLTC range 775 km or 875 km; 10-97 per cent in nine minutes
- Plug-in hybrid: 245 km electric range, 4.25 L/100 km depleted
- First BYD-badged model with Yunian-M magnetorheological dampers