TL;DR: The BYD SEALION 5 Premium combines an 18.3kWh Blade Battery, 81km WLTP electric range, 791km combined range, 210hp and 6.6kW AC charging with a spacious, technology-packed family SUV. I particularly like the Premium’s 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control and extra convenience features. It’s a compelling middle ground for anyone who wants meaningful electric driving without completely breaking up with petrol.

The BYD SEALION 5 Premium is the kind of electrified SUV that makes a lot more sense once you stop treating the petrol-versus-electric debate like choosing sides in a console war. You don’t have to swear allegiance to one power source, delete petrol from your vocabulary and start planning every longer journey around charging stops. At the same time, you don’t have to ignore the smoothness, instant response and everyday efficiency that make electric driving so appealing. The SEALION 5 uses BYD’s DM-i Super Hybrid system to sit comfortably between those two worlds, and after spending time with the Premium model, that flexibility is easily one of its strongest qualities.

More importantly, this isn’t the stripped-back version of the SEALION 5. The Premium gets the equipment that makes the car feel considerably more complete, including the 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, additional driver-assistance systems, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, electrically folding mirrors and powered tailgate. Underneath, there’s an 18.3kWh Blade Battery, 81km of WLTP electric range and 791km of combined driving range. Combined output is 156kW, equivalent to 210hp, while 0-100km/h takes 8.1 seconds. AC charging tops out at 6.6kW. On paper, that’s a promising combination. More importantly, it all fits the character of the car surprisingly well.

BYD SEALION 5 Premium design: keeping things sensible

The first thing I appreciated about the SEALION 5 was its restraint. Modern SUVs have developed a strange obsession with looking permanently angry, as though every trip to the supermarket involves settling an old family feud. BYD hasn’t fallen into that trap here. The SEALION 5 looks contemporary without covering every surface in unnecessary vents, creases and aggressive detailing. There’s enough visual character to keep it from disappearing into the crossover crowd, but it doesn’t scream for attention every time you park it.

At 4,738mm long, 1,860mm wide and 1,710mm tall, with a 2,712mm wheelbase, the SEALION 5 has proper family-SUV proportions. The 150mm laden ground clearance also makes its intentions pretty clear. This might wear an SUV body, but nobody should mistake it for something designed to spend weekends conquering mountains. This is very much a road-focused machine, which is exactly where most SUVs spend approximately 99.9 percent of their lives anyway.

The Premium rides on 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels wrapped in 225/60 R18 tyres, and I think BYD has got the proportions right. I’m particularly glad it hasn’t joined the increasingly ridiculous competition to see who can attach the largest possible wheels to a family SUV. There’s still a sensible amount of tyre sidewall, and visually the wheels fill the arches without looking cartoonishly oversized. Bigger wheels might win a few extra showroom points, but comfort and tyre costs eventually arrive to collect their debt.

The overall styling is handsome rather than dramatic. The lighting gives the SEALION 5 enough identity, while the roof rails add the expected SUV flavour without pretending you’re about to cross a desert because you bought groceries on the way home. The Premium’s extra exterior details help dress things up, but the SEALION 5 remains pleasantly restrained. It isn’t the kind of car that makes everyone stop and stare, but I don’t think that’s what BYD is chasing here.

And honestly, I’m fine with that. There are cars that visually shout at you every morning. The SEALION 5 simply gets on with being a family SUV.

Inside, things get much geekier

The relatively conservative exterior hides a considerably more technology-focused cabin. A 12.8-inch multimedia touchscreen dominates the centre of the dashboard, while an 8.8-inch digital instrument display sits in front of the driver. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, and that’s immediately good news because there comes a point with every proprietary infotainment system where I simply want my apps, playlists and navigation exactly where I expect them.

There are two USB connections up front and another two in the rear, along with wireless phone charging and Wi-Fi connectivity. The audio system uses six speakers. None of this is particularly revolutionary in isolation, but together it gives the SEALION 5 the connectivity expected from a modern electrified SUV. More importantly, passengers aren’t forced to begin negotiations over the last remaining charging port whenever several phones hit single-digit battery percentages.

The Premium specification also makes a noticeable difference to everyday comfort. The driver’s seat gets six-way electric adjustment, while the powered tailgate is one of those features that sounds completely unnecessary until you’ve lived with one for a while. Then you return to manually closing a heavy tailgate and suddenly feel like civilisation has collapsed.

Dual-zone automatic climate control handles cabin temperature, with rear vents ensuring passengers in the back aren’t simply expected to enjoy whatever climate eventually migrates backwards. There’s also a PM2.5 high-efficiency filter. It isn’t the kind of feature you’ll excitedly demonstrate to friends, but filtering the air entering the cabin is arguably more useful than half the gimmicks modern cars use to sell themselves.

The Premium trim is the one I’d want

Having the Premium model matters because the additional equipment isn’t merely cosmetic. This version gets the convenience and driver-assistance features that better complement the sophistication of the hybrid powertrain underneath.

The 360-degree camera is one of my favourite additions. Cameras have reached the point where squeezing an SUV into a tight parking space feels less like spatial reasoning and more like playing a very slow top-down video game. Once you’ve become accustomed to having that complete view around the vehicle, going back to a simple reversing camera feels surprisingly primitive.

Front and rear parking sensors complement the camera system, while the exterior mirrors fold electrically. The powered driver’s seat makes finding the right position easier, and the electric tailgate is genuinely useful when your hands are occupied. These aren’t features that fundamentally change how the SEALION 5 drives, but they absolutely change how pleasant it is to interact with every day.

The Premium also brings the more comprehensive driver-assistance package. Adaptive cruise control is joined by blind-spot monitoring, intelligent cruise control, automatic emergency braking, front and rear collision warnings, lane-related assistance and door-open warning.

For me, that’s enough to make Premium the version that feels properly finished. You’re not paying extra for a few badges and decorative trim while the useful stuff remains locked away like automotive DLC. The additions are features I would actually use.

There’s proper space behind all those screens

The SEALION 5 seats five, and the 2,712mm wheelbase gives the cabin enough room to function as a genuine family SUV rather than a vehicle that technically possesses rear seats. The second row also includes ISOFIX mounting points, while rear ventilation and device-charging options make life considerably easier for passengers spending longer periods back there.

The boot offers 463 litres of luggage capacity with the rear seats upright. That’s enough for everyday family duties, luggage, shopping and the mysterious collection of objects that inevitably colonises every SUV boot over time. The rear seats split 60:40 when additional cargo space is required, giving the SEALION 5 the flexibility expected from this class.

This is an important part of the car’s appeal because electrified vehicles sometimes make you pay for their clever drivetrain through compromised packaging. Batteries and associated hardware have to live somewhere, after all. The SEALION 5 manages to combine its plug-in hybrid system with a cabin and luggage area that still feel genuinely useful.

I also like that the practicality isn’t dependent on some clever seating trick you’ll use twice before forgetting exists. The layout is straightforward. Five seats, useful rear space, a decent boot and folding seats when you need more room. Sometimes boring solutions are boring because they work.

DM-i is the SEALION 5’s real party trick

The clever engineering underneath the SEALION 5 is far more interesting than its restrained exterior suggests. The DM-i Super Hybrid system combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric drive system and an 18.3kWh Blade Battery. Drive goes to the front wheels, while total system output is 156kW, or 210hp.

What I like about the system isn’t simply the output. It’s the philosophy behind how the two power sources work together. The SEALION 5 feels much closer in concept to an electric vehicle with petrol backup than a traditional combustion SUV receiving occasional assistance from an electric motor.

That distinction becomes important in everyday driving. The electric side provides the immediate response and smooth initial acceleration that makes electrified cars so pleasant around town. There’s no need for dramatic revs or a gearbox desperately searching for inspiration before something happens. Press the accelerator and the car gets moving with the easy response you’d expect from an electric-focused drivetrain.

That’s exactly how I want a modern plug-in hybrid to behave. If I’m carrying an 18.3kWh battery and plugging the vehicle into the wall, I want the electrical side of the drivetrain to meaningfully change the experience. It shouldn’t merely exist to make a fuel-economy number look prettier.

210hp is more than enough

With 210hp available and a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds, the SEALION 5 Premium has plenty of performance for what it’s designed to do. We’ve reached a slightly ridiculous moment in automotive history where eight seconds to 100km/h can somehow sound slow because high-performance EVs have completely broken our collective understanding of acceleration.

For a family-focused SUV, it’s perfectly respectable. More importantly, the power is accessible. The electric side of the drivetrain gives you immediate response when pulling away, making urban driving, merging and overtaking feel straightforward rather than requiring a committee meeting between your right foot and the powertrain.

The SEALION 5 isn’t going to rearrange your internal organs when you floor it, nor does it need to. There’s enough acceleration to prevent the car feeling sluggish without turning every traffic light into a qualifying session. Sport, Normal and Eco modes allow some adjustment to the character, but efficiency and smoothness remain the central themes.

Front-wheel drive reinforces that philosophy. This isn’t a performance SUV wearing sensible clothes. It’s genuinely a sensible SUV. And given how many crossovers currently pretend they’re one carbon-fibre spoiler away from entering a racing championship, I find that rather refreshing.

81km of electric range makes the hybrid part matter

The 18.3kWh Blade Battery provides 81km of WLTP electric range, which is enough to make the plug-in side of the SEALION 5 genuinely useful. For many daily routines, that’s enough for commuting, school runs, shopping and the usual collection of short trips. Charge regularly and electricity can handle a meaningful chunk of everyday driving, leaving the petrol engine to step in when it’s actually needed.

Then there’s the 791km combined driving range, and that’s where the SEALION 5’s dual personality really works. Once the electric range is used up, there’s no battery-percentage anxiety or sudden need to plan a charging stop. The petrol engine simply keeps you moving, giving you much of the everyday appeal of an EV without sacrificing long-distance flexibility.

There is one obvious condition: you actually need to plug it in. Driving around without charging means carrying an 18.3kWh battery without exploiting one of the car’s biggest advantages. That’s like buying a gaming PC with a monster GPU and using it exclusively for email. It works, but somewhere an engineer feels a disturbance in the Force.

Thankfully, the SEALION 5 Premium supports 6.6kW AC charging, which works well with a battery of this size. Plug it in while you’re parked for a few hours and you can put a useful amount of energy back into the battery. Make charging part of your routine and the petrol engine can spend much more time waiting backstage.

There’s also Vehicle-to-Load functionality, which I absolutely love. V2L lets the battery power compatible external equipment, essentially turning the SEALION 5 into a giant mobile power bank with five seats, climate control and a 210hp drivetrain attached. Peak geek? Quite possibly.

Technology that earns its place

Modern cars have become computers with suspension, and the SEALION 5 Premium embraces that reality without going completely overboard. Between the touchscreen, digital instruments, wireless smartphone integration, wireless charging, cameras and driver-assistance systems, there’s a considerable amount of technology working around you.

The important thing for me is whether that technology makes the car easier to use rather than simply giving the marketing department another page of features. The 360-degree camera is genuinely useful. Adaptive cruise control makes longer journeys easier. Blind-spot monitoring adds another layer of awareness, while front and rear parking sensors reduce the chances of an embarrassing conversation involving a bumper and an immovable object.

As with any driver-assistance system, I treat the technology as exactly that: assistance. These features work best when they’re quietly supporting the driver rather than behaving like an overenthusiastic passenger who’s just discovered danger exists.

The Premium specification gets the balance right. Most of its additional technology serves an obvious purpose, and that’s much more valuable to me than novelty features designed primarily for a showroom demonstration.

Everyday usability is where it wins me over

What ultimately makes the SEALION 5 Premium work for me isn’t any individual specification. It’s the way everything comes together. The cabin is spacious enough for genuine family duties, the 463-litre boot is useful, the technology feels contemporary and the DM-i powertrain makes the transition towards electric driving remarkably easy.

You don’t need to become obsessed with charging curves or calculate every longer journey with the precision of a NASA flight controller. Plug it in regularly and use electricity whenever possible. When your journey extends beyond the battery’s useful range, the petrol engine is there.

That flexibility makes the SEALION 5 very easy to understand. There’s sophisticated engineering happening underneath, but the driver doesn’t need an engineering degree to exploit it. That’s something I increasingly appreciate about good technology.

The best consumer technology eventually disappears into your routine. You stop thinking about processors every time you unlock your phone, and you shouldn’t need to deliver a TED Talk about hybrid architecture every time you drive to work. The SEALION 5’s cleverness is most successful when you stop thinking about how clever it is.

Verdict

The BYD SEALION 5 Premium doesn’t ask me to choose between petrol and electricity, and after spending time with it, I think that’s exactly why it works. Its DM-i Super Hybrid system makes electric driving a meaningful part of the experience rather than treating the battery as an efficiency accessory, while the 1.5-litre petrol engine remains available whenever the journey extends beyond what electricity alone can comfortably handle.

The fundamentals are strong. There’s an 18.3kWh Blade Battery, 81km of WLTP electric range, 791km of combined range, 210hp and 6.6kW AC charging. The 463-litre boot and five-seat cabin give it genuine family practicality, while the Premium specification adds the equipment I would actually want: a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, powered driver’s seat, electrically folding mirrors, front and rear parking sensors and an electric tailgate.

It’s essentially an EV for people who still have petrol trust issues.

And after spending time with it, I can understand exactly why that combination works.