BYD is reputed as an electric vehicle brand. However, in Belgium, its best-selling model features a plug-in hybrid driveline. After the Seal U DM-i, the Chinese carmaker is now doubling down with the Seal 6 DM-i, available as a sedan or an estate. Both come with some striking numbers, but is the ride just as thrilling?
For BYD, plug-in hybrid technology is a blessing. As the brand still lacks the leverage of Western premium brands in the corporate car sector, where purely electric vehicles rule, the solution opens doors to the private car market.
Additionally, PHEVs are exempt from the punitive EU tariffs, allowing the carmaker to retain more of the additional revenue generated by these vehicles (the extra tariffs on its EVs aren’t passed on to the customer but are absorbed).
And there’s a further windfall in Belgium. As the government has decided to extend fiscal incentives of 100% for PHEVs for the self-employed, BYD has every reason to keep pushing the technology. Until now, only the Seal U was offered with the branded Dual Motor-intelligent (DM-i) technology, but that’s about to change.
Straightforward proposition
The Seal 6 DM-i now joins the Seal U, a model available in both sedan and estate forms, known as the Touring. These are exclusively offered as PHEVs.
For BYD, this means bringing its very first European wagon to Belgium: a body type that once dominated European roads and is actually being partly revived by the Chinese start-up, as legacy brands doubt their future. Think of MG, which launched the five as the first electric estate in Europe.
At first glance, the Seal 6 is a straightforward proposition. The model is almost identical in size to a Volkswagen Passat, but it carries a price tag (between €36,990 for the saloon and €43,990 for the Touring) which is closer to that of a Golf. That simple equation, more than anything else, explains why BYD believes it has identified a market gap.
To be precise, the Seal 6 measures 4.84 meters in length, 1.88 meters in width, and 1.51 meters in height, so it occupies the same territory as established D-segment estates, even if BYD insists on calling it a C-segment car.
Whatever the label, the reality is that the Touring must face rivals like the aforementioned Passat Variant, next to the Superb Combi, and Peugeot 508 SW. And while those European stalwarts typically carry price tags approaching or exceeding €50,000, BYD is riding a wave wide enough to make even Skoda nervous.
EREV bias
The drivetrain is equally unconventional. Where most European plug-in hybrids begin life as gasoline cars with an electric motor added to the gearbox, BYD inverts the emphasis. Its so-called DM-i system relies primarily on a 194 hp electric motor driving the front wheels.
The 1.5-liter gasoline engine, producing a modest 97 hp, spends most of its time acting as a generator to replenish the battery.
Only under full throttle does it join forces with the motor through a simple transmission, for a combined output of 212 hp (in Comfort trim). It is closer in spirit to a range-extender EV than to a conventional PHEV, not unlike Honda’s hybrid system, which can also switch between series and parallel. Still, BYD offers the added ability to plug in.
Also peculiar for a plug-in hybrid: not one, but two battery capacities are available – the undeniable advantage when you’re a carmaker who’s also a leading battery manufacturer.
The Boost comes with a 10 kWh LFP battery from the Blade family, enough for around 50 kilometers of electric running. Still, it can only charge at 3.3 kW and lacks rapid-charging capability.
The Comfort is the most promising, as its 19kWh pack – also LFP – extends the electric range to a claimed 100 kilometers and allows for 6.6 kW AC charging, as well as 26 kW DC fast charging. BYD’s own Blade battery, already familiar in its electric models, underpins both.
Whopping range
On paper, the range is nothing but whopping. The Comfort Touring we tested combines its battery with a generous 65-liter fuel tank to produce a theoretical maximum distance of 1,350 kilometers before a stop is needed.
Our test drive confirmed that the Seal 6 is not merely bluffing. In hybrid mode, with the gasoline engine quietly topping up the battery in the background, consumption fell to 5.0 liters per 100 kilometers.
A real-world figure of 1,200 kilometers between fill-ups seems perfectly plausible. Additionally, for drivers who can charge at home, the electric range is more than sufficient to cover most commutes. For those who cannot, the large tank means visits to the filling station will still be infrequent.
However, driving the Seal 6 Touring isn’t exactly an ode to driver excitement. The steering feels imprecise and a tad artificially heavy, encouraging calm rather than enthusiasm, and the chassis, while stable in bends, never tempts the driver into exploring its limits.
There is a noticeable pause between pressing the accelerator and receiving a response, a lag that recalls the turbocharged engines of a previous generation.
That makes overtaking something that might require foresight rather than spontaneity. And when the turbocharged engine does kick in, its harsh voice reminds us that Chinese carmakers are better at building quiet, battery-powered systems than loud gasoline engines. Thankfully, such moments are rare.
Refined rhythm
The suspension, too, errs on the firm side. It can feel harsh sometimes, and over more minor bumps, the car fidgets more than it should, particularly compared with the smoother damping of a Skoda Superb, for instance.
Yet once the Seal 6 reaches the highway, it finds its natural habitat. At speed, it settles into a refined rhythm, with road and wind noise kept well in check and the gasoline engine silent for long stretches.
Inside, BYD’s estate makes a strong initial impression. Materials are soft to the touch, and the assembly feels solid. Equipment levels are kept generous but straightforward: even the base version offers powered seats, a sizeable central touchscreen, and vehicle-to-load capability (V2L).
The latter can be used to power 230-volt equipment, but we have yet to find a marketing department that can think of anything other than an electric BBQ as a suitable appliance.
Busy and illogical
The Comfort Touring adds luxuries such as a panoramic roof, upgraded audio, and a cooled wireless phone charger, a small but thoughtful touch that keeps smartphones from overheating.
The main display, measuring either 12.8 or 15.6 inches, no longer rotates as it does in some of BYD’s electric models, but that is hardly a loss. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrate better in landscape orientation.
The only real gripe is the software itself, which can be busy and illogical in its layout, with functions scattered between menus, widgets, and drop-downs. Also, the graphical presentations use relatively small fonts and are not always easily readable.
As for passenger space, adults fit comfortably in the back as long as they can cope with their knees lifted by the high floor, in itself raised by the battery beneath. It also means that one can’t slide their feet under the front seats.
The front passenger seat lacks height adjustment, which may irritate some passengers. The trunk, at 500 liters with the seats in place or 1,535 liters folded, is on par with most rivals without breaking records.
Naggish ADAS
If the interior shortcomings are forgivable, the driver assistance systems are more complex to overlook. BYD clearly wants to demonstrate technological prowess, but in practice, the result is intrusive.
The lane-keeping assist nags at the slightest brush with the road markings, while the driver monitoring camera goes further, issuing spoken reprimands for such heinous offences as checking mirrors or glancing at the navigation screen.
The speed warning system is equally trying, chiming every time a limit changes, and deactivating it requires a laborious three-step process. In a car designed for long-distance ease, this constant scolding jars with the otherwise relaxed atmosphere.
None of this undermines the Seal 6’s central appeal, which remains one of value. Against the Superb Combi PHEV, the Volkswagen Passat Variant eHybrid, and the Peugeot 508 SW, the BYD consistently undercuts its rivals by several thousand euros while offering a more generous equipment list.
Warranty cover is also competitive, with six years on the car and eight on the drivetrain and battery, comfortably exceeding the European average.
Undercutting criticism
So, for self-employed professionals, small businesses, and families looking for a practical estate without blowing the budget, the proposition is compelling.
BYD’s dealer network in Belgium is expanding rapidly, with 17 outlets expected to be open by autumn 2025, up from nine at the start of the year, and registrations already surpassing the total for all of 2024. The Seal 6 Touring will only accelerate that trend.
The truth is that it lacks the polish of its European competitors. But if you let the calculator judge, it makes undeniable sense, not in the least, because the driveline is configured to drive as often as possible in electric mode, undercutting the criticism of PHEVs not being charged regularly enough.
