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 4811 List price £59,000 Best price £52,490 Price as tested £60,100 Official range 312 miles Test range 200 miles 

22 January 2026 – There's an app for that

Most new owners of a BYD Sealion 7 will collect their keys at the dealer and then immediately put them in the kitchen drawer and forget about them. That’s what I did – although my keys are stored in a faraday pouch for extra security. What about when I need to drive the car, you ask? Well, I have the BYD App. 

You see, when a BYD customer buys their car, the dealer sends them an activation link, giving them access to the BYD App. Via the app, they can use their phone or smart watch as a digital key. They can also control a number of systems within the car remotely. You can precondition the climate, set charging limits and turn on the heated seats, for instance. This is not revolutionary by any means, but as someone with very little experience of controlling a car via an app, I found it all fascinating.  

What's slightly different about the BYD App (compared with BMW or Tesla’s, for example) is that the car won't unlock/lock with your phone still in your pocket. You have to tap your phone or smartwatch on the driver’s side wing mirror to unlock/lock the car. For the most part, that's not been a huge inconvenience, but it has proven slightly annoying when my hands are full, if I’m approaching the car from the passenger side or if I'm only after access to the boot. 

The app’s software isn’t always super slick, either, sometimes taking a little while to load or (unless you give it access to facial recognition) asking you to put in a pin to access certain functions. By contrast, on the odd occasion I’ve used Tesla’s app, I’ve found it much more easier to use. It can carry out a lot of the same functions, and the way it goes about doing so is just, well, smoother – and more reliable. 

I find that often my digital key from my phone fails to read on the first tap. Preheating the interior temperature takes a good few seconds to confirm and it sometimes fails due to poor connection. The remaining range indicator has been a bit sporadic with its readouts, too, once glitching and displaying a ridiculously high figure. 

As such, I can never trust the app’s range readout, so it’s a redundant feature in my view. Instead, I go off whatever the car is telling me on its digital driver’s display, albeit with Dynamic Range mode activated. This calculates your remaining range based on recent consumption. It’s much more realistic than Standard Range mode, which goes off the 312-mile official range (like the handy-but-flawed app, unfortunately). 

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