BYD Sealion 7 long-term test: report 6

The Car BYD Sealion 7 Excellence AWD

Why it’s here To prove that an electric car can be a suitable choice for a high-mileage, luggage-loading videographer 

Needs to Provide comfort on long journeys, easily transport people and equipment on long shoots and convince a die hard combustion engine user that ICE isn't the only way to go 

Mileage 6664 List price £59,000 Best price £52,490 Price as tested £60,100 Official range 312 miles Test range 210 miles 

5 February 2026 – Frosty Feelings

Electric cars (EVs) generally have a tougher time than most cars in the winter, and my BYD Sealion 7 is no exception. Cold temperatures, standing water and often strong winds are all bad for the efficiency of EVs which, in turn, affects how far I can go on a charge. 

This is my first winter of EV ownership, and I had been apprehensive about it. Years of Winter Range Tests at Millbrook Proving Ground have posted pretty poor results across the broad range of EVs tested.

Still, despite my fears, I remained intrigued and keen to put the Sealion 7 to the test. The scene: a fully charged battery, a consistent temperature of 3°C and a 267-mile drive from Bicester, Oxfordshire to Carlisle, Cumbria. I had four passengers and full boot, and when planning the trip I aimed to make just one charging stop. 

Sure, with an official 312-mile range, you might assume that 267 miles should be a piece of cake for the Sealion 7. However, in the real world, I’ve seen much closer to 250 miles on a full charge, meaning I knew that there and back was too much to ask. My plan was to stop 128 miles into the journey at Knutsford Services.

My expectation was to arrive there with about 50% charge remaining. Then, I could top up the battery while we all stretched our legs. Easy peasy… or so I thought.  When we pulled in to Knutsford Services, I looked down at the range readout and saw just 24% charge remaining. Do the maths and that put my total real-world range at around 170 miles.

I plugged into a hideously expensive charger (£89p/kWh) and put 55.6kW of power in, which was far more than I had wanted to at this stage of the journey. I paid £49.52 to get the car up to 82% charge, making that 128 miles in the Sealion more expensive than a petrol car doing a mere 16mpg. 

Granted, I can't put the blame for how expensive the charger was on the Sealion 7. But it was harder to forgive the BYD for how much energy it had consumed, even given the subpar conditions – 24% is far off the 50% I hoped for.

We arrived in Carlisle and were able to charge the car again at the house we were staying at. Mind you, we still had to stop at Knutsford Services on the way home. So much for one stop, then. 

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