A glowing report for the Tesla Model 3 rival from our man up in Scotland.

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BYD Seal Excellence

List price (BiK): £48,640 (2%) CO2: 0g/km Economy: 323 miles Test efficiency: 321 miles

Monday

“Is that a Tesla?” is a question I’ve already become accustomed to and the BYD Seal has only been here a few hours. I suppose it’s a fair question when the BYD’s silhouette is similar to the Tesla Model 3’s, but for my money the Seal is a much more handsome car with better detailing and a far more resolved front-end – the Model 3 has a gormless appearance to my eyes.

Tuesday

The Atlantis Grey paint of this particular Seal suits the car’s lines very well, while the 19-inch wheels that are standard across the range add a sporty flavour. I was worried they would also bring an overly firm edge to the ride quality, but the BYD deals with the constant abuse of roads round here with a calm confidence. It’s good in town and great on the open road.

Wednesday

A long day’s driving in an EV would normally have me scampering onto one of the various charge apps to check where I can top up. However, the Seal in Excellence trim claims a range of 321 miles and, so far, it’s proved to be very accurate. A round trip of 60 miles is shrugged off and the range on the infotainment screen goes down by, very precisely, 60 miles.

Thursday

Idle curiosity this morning saw me comparing notes on the BYD Seal with the Tesla Model 3. You can get into a Model 3 for less money, but to have a Tesla in equivalent spec and performance is going to cost more. Also, the BYD’s extremely generous level of standard equipment means you’ll want for nothing, and it has that party trick rotating screen that is more useful than you might first think.

Friday

With the first frost of the year and an early start this morning, the Seal Excellence’s four-wheel drive is a useful aid. It’s not so much the added traction as the peace of mind when accelerating down a still-frosted slip road onto the A9. Without any fuss, the BYD is up to cruising speed and makes easy work of the journey, and it’s also pleasing to note that its driving aids are easy to disable when you don’t want them.

Saturday

The more time I spend in the Seal’s cabin, the more it impresses. It has a good mix of physical buttons for vital functions, though I’d prefer physical buttons for the heating and ventilation controls. The only demerit, really, is the saloon shape dictates a boot rather than a hatchback tailgate, and the opening is a little small when stuffing in my son’s football kit this morning.

Sunday

Simple, quick charging is becoming easier in my part of the world, and the BYD Seal made light work of this while I grabbed a coffee. Checking the numbers for the BYD Seal Excellence also showed it has stayed true to its claims about mileage and range. What you see on the screen is what you will get on the road, which is very unusual with EVs in my experience. That alone makes the BYD Seal one of my favourite electric cars.