Tesla Model Y vs BYD Seal
- by Carsguide.com.au
- Dec 20, 2023
- 0 Comments
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Now there’s the Kia EV6 and soon to arrive EV5, the Mustang Mach-E, the Subaru Solterra and its Toyota bZ4X twin, while the Polstar 4 is coming, too.
Price and features
Just like its Model 3 rival, the Seal arrives in Australia in three variants - the base Dynamic, top-spec Performance, and the one we’re looking at for this review, the mid-spec Premium.
Price is, of course, BYD’s forte, with this mid-spec Premium (equipped with a long-range battery) even managing to undercut the entry-level Model 3 RWD.
Before on-road costs and state-based incentives you can have one of these from $58,798, while (at the time of writing at least) the enormously popular Model 3 RWD weighed in at $61,900. Its next closes rival, the Polestar 2 Standard Range, costs from $67,400, so value here is obvious.
The Premium’s long-range battery allows a WLTP-certified driving range of 570km between charges which is even one of the longest cruising ranges available on any electric vehicle in Australia right now.
The list of standard features is exhaustive, including 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a massive 15.6-inch multimedia touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a holographic head-up display, dual wireless phone charging bays, built-in navigation and connected services, ‘genuine’ leather seat and wheel trim (a blend of synthetic and real leather), an eight-way power-adjustable seat for the driver, ventilated and heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a fixed panoramic glass roof and keyless entry with push-start ignition.
The Seal also gets an impressive array of standard safety kit. More on this later.
The only options are premium paints and an alternate light blue theme for the interior which cost $1500 each.
This list of kit would even be impressive on a combustion car at this price, so the fact it’s also electric and offers one of the longest driving ranges on the market is a bonus.
The one area where I think it lacks a little is the stock software. It looks okay and, to be fair, functions a lot better than its Chinese contemporaries and even some other brands, but once you dig into it a little there are some clumsy menus, and it becomes painfully obvious it’s a simple Android reskin. A swing and almost a miss for something so integral to a car like this.
Why is it called the Seal? Well, in BYD’s home market of China, its range is so expansive it has split it up into two model lines, the Dynasty series (named after historical Chinese kingdoms) of which the Atto 3 is a member (it is called the Yuan Plus in China), and the Ocean series which the Seal and Dolphin belong to. The next BYD to arrive in Australia, a mid-size SUV likely to be called the Seal U, also belongs to the Ocean series.
Under the bonnet
The Model Y Long Range is all-wheel drive thanks to a motor powering the front wheels and another turning the rear ones.
Together the motors have a combined output of 378kW and 493Nm which is an enormous amount of power and torque for a family SUV like this and that means the 0-100km/h time is also a pretty quick 5.0 seconds.
Under the bonnet
Each Seal variant gets its own drivetrain outputs, and the mid-spec Premium drives the rear wheels with a 230kW/360Nm electric motor via a reduction gear.
On paper, it’s slightly more powerful than the Model 3 RWD, with more power and less torque than the Polestar 2 Standard Range.
Efficiency
The Model Y Long Range’s name suggests it's the version for those looking for the maximum distance they can travel on a full charge and it is the smart choice in the line-up. That said, the extra range isn’t all that much more than the other grades.
Tesla says the Long Range with its battery fully charged can travel up to 533km and has a combined cycle energy efficiency of 16.9kWh per 100km (WLPT).
A range of 533km is impressive but only 78km more than the entry-grade Model Y and just 19km more than the top-of-the-line Performance.
How accurate are Tesla fuel efficiency figures? Well, my own testing over a combination of all types of driving saw the trip computer report an average of 16.8kWh/100km.
Tesla says one of its 250kW Superchargers can add up to 275km of range in 15 minutes.
Efficiency
Providing power is a sizable 82.56kWh lithium-ion battery pack, using BYD’s signature weight and space-saving ‘Blade’ form-factor, and the more affordable LFP (lithium iron ferrophosphate) chemistry.
On the charging front, the Seal Premium can top up at 150kW on a DC unit (using a Type 2 CCS connector) for a 10-80 per cent charge in roughly 40 minutes, while on AC its a disappointing 7.0kW.
The 7.0kW inverter means it’s hardly worth plugging the Seal in at a slow public charger when you visit the shops, as you’ll only get about 50km of range an hour. It’s for this reason most cars with batteries this size have 11kW inverters.
Unlike the Model 3 or Polestar 2, though, the Seal features a V2L system, allowing you to power household appliances from its Type 2 charging port.
Claimed energy consumption for the Seal is 14.6kWh/100km which is low, and about what we were seeing on test. It’s a little hard to tell because the trip computer only offers total consumption over the entire life of the vehicle, or for the last 50km, but not for a set trip interval. Weird.
Driving
CarsGuide hasn't been alone in criticising the Model Y’s overly firm suspension with potholes and bumps seeming to unsettle the vehicle easily.
But Tesla says it's updated the suspension to a more ‘comfortable’ tune and we had a chance to test it.
So, is it more comfortable now? Yes, but it could be better. There appears to be softer absorption in the suspension but anything other than small bumps are still prominent.
Body control remains a bit jelly-like in that there’s too much jiggling and leaning when driving normally, even on typical suburban roads.
At this price point we'd expect the ride to be more comfortable and settled. But this is unlikely to be a deal breaker for most people.
Otherwise, the Model Y drives like most electric cars with instant and quick acceleration, direct steering and it’s all done in silence which makes commuting far more pleasant than idling in the traffic with a petrol or diesel engine and a transmission constantly shifting from first to second and back.
And apart from not using petrol or diesel that's the appeal of electric cars; how easy they are to drive.
What would make life even easier is a head-up display or driver’s instrument cluster because the current central screen set-up, which shows the speed in a fairly small size in the display's top right corner, is far from ideal.
There have been cases reported on Australian Tesla forums where displays have broken making the car illegal to operate and if this happens out of warranty the repair can be costly.
Be aware, too, that the 'Full Self-Driving' abilities of the Model Y are restricted in Australia. The law states that some autonomous tech can be used, such as adaptive cruise control with lane changing, but you must keep your hands on the wheel.
Driving
I wasn’t expecting the Seal to impress me particularly. After all, it’s in this segment against tough competition, amongst recently updated versions of the Model 3 and Polestar 2, and while the previous BYDs I’ve driven have been a cut above their Chinese contemporaries, they also haven’t done a lot to stand out from the crowd.
Clearly, though, BYD has something to prove with its sporting sedan and the Seal is immediately impressive. The cabin is quiet and refined, the seating position is great it's smooth from take-off.
The steering has an artificial tinge to it removing a bit of feedback from the road, but proves at least quick and accurate at speed, and the handling is superb.
I kept pushing the Seal in my test drive, expecting gnarly characteristics to surface but they didn’t. This sedan grabs onto the road with excellent control and traction at the rear, spurred along by its long wheelbase, and improved tyre choice (Continental rather than the sub-par Chinese rubber worn by the Atto 3 and Dolphin).
While on paper it appears to have at least comparable motor output figures to the Polestar 2 and Model 3 - the Seal Premium doesn’t quite feel as rapid, its electric motor having a more relaxed vibe and responsiveness when you stomp on the go pedal.
This can be tweaked a little by dialling it up to Sport mode, and while it still doesn’t feel quite as breakneck fast as the Model 3, in particular, it’s plenty to be going on with.
The most impressive part of the Seal drive experience, though, is its ride. Ride is a constant problem for EVs as manufacturers go to lengths to tame the additional weight of batteries, but the Seal is the most impressive in its cohort, and by quite a margin.
It’s firm enough to be controlled, but has a lovely soft edge to it, so larger bumps, frequent corrugations, or sharper road imperfections don’t ruin your day.
The Model 3 and Polestar 2, even in their improved forms, are not this good. In a lot of ways the Seal’s suspension tune reminds me of the Mustang Mach-e. It has a soft edge, offset by a bit of secondary jiggle as the car settles, which is its only real blemish.
The Seal has no right being this good. It’s now not just matching its far more established rivals but doing some things significantly better.
Safety
The Model Y was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2022, scoring incredibly well for occupant protection for adults and children. The advanced tech on board includes AEB, lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning.
Great all-round camera vision is offered by the Model Y, too, which is very much needed for rear vision given the back window's modest viewing aperture.
For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row.
The Model Y doesn’t have a spare wheel, but there is a puncture repair kit.
Quick note about the lack of physical buttons. I found not having easy to access physical climate control dials distracting. Most of the car’s other functions are also housed in the media display and I feel this is a potential safety issue.
Safety
The Seal has an extensive list of today’s active safety equipment, including auto emergency braking (front and rear), lane keeping aids, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and driver attention alert.
For the most part, these systems aren’t invasively annoying, which can’t be said for many products from rival automakers.
However, the traffic sign recognition and overspeed warning system conspire to intrude with constant beeping.
Mercifully, and unlike the equivalent system in Hyundai products, it’s a distant beep, but a consistent one nonetheless, as the traffic sign system frequently picks the wrong speed for whatever reason, and then chastises you for going over it.
Also, the adaptive cruise control system can’t hold a candle to the Model 3's. The system in the Seal amounts to the usual sort of adaptive cruise in most other cars, whereas the one in the Model 3 (regardless of how you feel about the brand’s outrageous claims) is properly next-level in its lane keeping and distance controls.
The Seal is equipped with seven airbags and was rated a maximum five ANCAP stars to the 2023 standards.
Ownership
When it comes to ownership the Tesla Model Y is covered by a four-year/80,000km warranty which falls short of the Hyundai Ioniq 5’s five-year, unlimited kilometre cover and Kia’s seven-year, unlimited km promise on the EV6.
As for the battery warranty, Tesla will cover it for eight years or 192,000km, which is better than Hyundai’s eight year 160,000km deal and seven years or 150,000km from Kia.
The Model Y has condition-based servicing, meaning it will tell you when it wants to go to a Tesla workshop.
Ownership
The long-term ownership aspect for a BYD product is still a bit of a mystery as the current crop of cars have only just landed in Australia in the last year or two, but if it offers you any peace of mind, the Seal is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty with a separate eight-year/160,000km warranty for the battery pack.
In order to avoid having to have a traditional dealer network, BYD has partnered with MyCar to fulfil servicing. Visits to one of these locations is required once every 12 months or 20,000km whichever comes first, and pricing is fixed for the first eight years, working out to an annual average of $299.
Interested in a Tesla Model Y?
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