It wasn’t all that long ago that BYD Auto launched ‘the most affordable EV‘ in South Africa, and the company is ready to do it all over again. Except this time, it’s given up on all that goodwill and launching the BYD Seal, the company’s latest EV. That’ll set you back R1 million when all is said and done. R1.2 million if performance is a must.
That’s… not bad. Sure, a whole million isn’t something everybody can easily rustle up. Compared to other EVs that have come our way, BYD’s kept things, not exactly reasonable but it’s kept things relatively tame for a brand-new power-guzzler in South Africa.
OMG BYD, BRB
BYD’s only brought two flavours of Seal to try out, meaning you’ll make some sacrifices when picking up the cheaper BYD Seal Lux EXT RWD for R1 million. For R200,000 more you’ll end up with the more impressive Performance AWD model – the quicker of the two, with BYD claiming a 0-100km/h speed of 3.8 seconds.
That’s in addition to the flagship model’s 160 kW/310 Nm fore and 230 kW/390 Nm aft electric motors, coupled with an 82.56kWh battery that’ll get you (most of the way) to Durban with its 520km of range. The RWD derivative only features a single synchronous electric motor in the back, powering the rear’s 230kW and 360Nm specs.
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It may only reach 100km/h from a standstill in 5.9 seconds, but the single-motor promises to add 50km to the range for your troubles, despite sharing the 82.56kWh battery from the AWD. That’s 570km if you’re struggling to do the math. All that, for a whole lot less cash. It may not be a racer, but with the remaining R200,000, you’ll find more than enough racecar beds to keep you satisfied.
Rather than hold something like the in-car tech to ransom, BYD has included all the equipment in both models as standard. That means a 15.6in infotainment system hogging the Seal’s centre console, while a 10.25in entertainment cluster dominates the driver’s side. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are there too, as is a Dynaudio 12-speaker set-up, a 360-degree camera array, and all the sensors you’ll ever need.