Top Gear review are usually spot on BYD isn’t there with chassis dynamics yet. It feels softly sprung but doesn’t quite have the necessary damping control. a lack of body control and a slightly scruffy ride Too much road grumble comes back through the chassis at low speeds, the steering is distant and the damping is too loose to control vertical motion properly. It just doesn’t feel very cohesive Even more intrusive, though, is its suite of active safety systems. ‘Yeah, yeah,’ we hear you say, ‘you always moan about these things’. But almost every rival implements them with more class, or certainly makes them simpler to turn off than the cumbersome trawl through tricky sub-menus required here. You’ll get there in the end, but it’s not going to help you fall in love with the car. WHAT’S THE VERDICT? “You can tell it comes from a firm that is trying to find its feet and hasn’t quite figured out what works yet” this is a car that lacks the charm or character to win your heart; and doesn’t quite stack up for the head either. Overall it’s a bit Beta. (Fast car but imo its reported Over-zealous safety aids, confusing touchscreen, ride lacks sophistication would put most off inc me ) https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/byd/seal
I question whether Top Gear have actually drove or even sat in the thing!
It doesn’t have the mid-speed pitching motion that plagues most of its Korean rivals. it’s impressively flat and quiet over coarse road surfaces. It equals the i4 – one of the few bigger EVs (aside from the premium-priced Porsche Taycan) that ride with true composure on practically any surface. The 2WD version is marginally the better of the two for suppleness. accurate and communicative steering, which we were able to investigate on a streaming wet handling track. Overall a composed ride.
Many of the Hyundai type warning bongs built into early models have been quelled and the ‘human’ voice that previously warned you about exceeding the speed limit has been muted.
ADAS aids can be turned off or their sensitivity reduced. I turn most of what I can off anyway.
The touchscreen is responsive, with perhaps too many sub menu’s however the ventillation controls are visable at the bottom of the screen. Every driven a Hyundai or Kia!
BYD itself is a massive company and isn’t new to the UK. In 2013, the BYD E6 taxi, was registered to green taxi firm, Green Tomato, BYD was also selling cars in Switzerland, France and Germany. European MD Isbrand Ho wanted a fleet of 2500 e6s.
The UK’s leading manufacturer of electric buses, the BYD ADL partnership have delivered fully electric BYD ADL Enviro400EV double deckers to London bus operator, Metroline, along with manufacturing them for other European countries. CATL has a similar partnership with EU’s top bus maker Solaris….
However BYD aren’t a premium manufacture like BMW, Merc etc.