BYD Sealion 7 long-term test

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 6887 List price £59,000 Best price £52,490 Price as tested £60,100 Official range 312 miles Test range 183 miles (Design)

26 February 2026 – Design change

It’s funny how bad experiences can give birth to good ones, like losing a job only to fall into a better one, or having a flight cancellation result in a night in a nice hotel. We’ve all been there, and I’m no exception, as my BYD Sealion 7 recently showed me. 

You see, after a long day of shooting, all I wanted to do was drive home and relax. But as I did so, a stone hit the windscreen and chipped it. This straw broke the camel’s back, and I was in a bad mood. 

When the car went to get fixed at my local dealer, I was offered a short-term replacement: another Sealion 7, albeit a mid-range Design version. My car is a range-topping Excellence, but I’ve always been keen to try a lesser version to see whether splashing out on the more expensive model was worth it. I took the opportunity, and suddenly the inconvenience of the chipped windscreen had an upside. 

At first, it was hard to tell the difference between my Sealion 7 and the Design one – aside from it being blue, as opposed to black. They have the same 20in wheels, the same ‘AWD’ and ‘4.5’ badging on the back (because both are four-wheel drive and capable of 0-62mph in 4.5sec), and both have eerily similar black interiors. 

The pair get a lot of the same luxuries, too, like an electric tailgate, a panoramic glass roof and heated and ventilated front seats. To drive, I found them indistinguishable. 

The main differences between the two come down to electric range and charging. Due to its smaller battery, the Design can officially travel up to 283 miles on a charge, as opposed to the Excellence’s 312 miles. The Design has a slower maximum charging speed of 150kW (against 230kW), too. 

As you might expect, this caused a little more range anxiety on longer journeys and meant I spent more time at public chargers than I did in the Excellence. I’d say the time pretty much doubled, and that was enough for me to be glad I went for the Excellence.

But then I reminded myself of the price gap. Look at the list prices and it’s £8000 between the two. Even considering the amount of miles I cover, I'm not sure whether the extra range and faster charging is worth such a substantial premium. When I ordered the car, I was new to electric car ownership. I desperately wanted the most range available and was accepting of the premium I'd need to pay to get it. But now that I'm more experienced? Well, I’m on the fence.  

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