BYD became the biggest EV seller in the world last year, overtaking Tesla in a major coup for the Chinese seller once derided by Elon Musk.

The Chinese car maker arrived in Britain in March 2023 with its Atto 3 SUV. 

Since then, it has gone on to balloon in popularity and sales – brand awareness rose from 1 per cent in 2023 to 31 per cent in 2024 with BYD becoming the most familiar Chinese car brand in the UK.

The ‘Tesla-killer’ became the biggest seller of ‘electrified’ cars in the UK last year, shifting 51,442 new plug-in hybrids and EVs. 

Its Seal U DM-i SUV was Britain’s most popular hybrid. Globally in 2025, BYD sold 4.6 million electrified cars. Not bad for a relatively new brand, right?

And now BYD has launched its third plug-in hybrid model – its ninth total model in total the UK: the Sealion 5 DM-i. 

The plug-in hybrid has targeted cheap family appeal with a starting price of £29,995. 

But is it any good? We decided to drive it from Shropshire to Wales and back to find out.

We tried BYD third plug-in hybrid model, the Sealion 5 DM-i which is billed as a family car – but does the price do enough to make it appealing?

BYD Sealion 5 DM-i looks – is it nice on the eye?

We don’t tend to give too much judgement on exterior looks, because at the end of the day it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

But you can’t buy a car without having an opinion on its exterior, right? 

So, this brief synopsis of the Sealion 5 DM-i’s design can be summed up in a statement made by one of my media colleagues: ‘It looks like it’s already 10 years old.’

It does – much more in person than in pictures. I also nudged one of my fellow This is Money workers to gauge their opinion. ‘It looks like it’s from 2015,’ they said.

BYD claims it has ‘an unmistakable body shape’. But I’d dare the average driver to pick it out of a line-up of affordable SUVs parked side-by-side in a car park. 

There’s very little to distinguish at a glance between a past-generation MG ZS SUV or a Chery Tiggo 7.

If you’re buying for price and an SUV body shape, then fine. But if you do want a stylish car, this isn’t going to be top of the shopping list.

We can’t pretend it’s a good looking car because it isn’t. It’s forgettable at best and dated at worst…

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Practicality and comfort – will it cater for the whole family?

The Sealion 5 DM-i can hold its head high when it comes to spaciousness. 

Legroom in the front and back is more than enough for adults above six feet, thanks mainly to the flat floor.

The headroom in the rear is also very generous and won’t cramp those in the tall category of life.

The driver can adjust their seat six way electronically and the passenger has four settings. In the Design trim we drove, both are heated, and all seats are made from ‘eco-friendly’ vegan leather.

The seats aren’t especially comfortable, though. The headrests in particular being overly firm, but they’ll do the job. 

The Sealion 5 DM-i has a 463-litre boot which increases to 1,410 litres when you fold the rear seats down. It’s flat so easy to pack and the seats split 40:60

BYD’s tech is good and the Sealion 5 DM-i has a easy to use, easy to connect to, fast processing 12.8-inch touchscreen and a 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster

The boot provides 463 litres of space – larger than the MG ZS Hybrid’s 443 litres – and with all three seats down this increases to 1,410 litres. 

The rear seats split 40:60. And the boot floor is flat which makes packing much easier.

Is the quality inside the best a cheap Chinese car can deliver? No. It’s a but plasticky. But it’s acceptable for the price point. 

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Technology – how much kit do you get?

The 5 DM-i’s 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster is clear and information such as vehicle speed, battery level and range is easy to read at a glance.

This is paired with a 12.8-inch touchscreen. 

It was very easy to connect my iPhone for Apple CarPlay and I found the system, for the most part, intuitive and the processing speed is rapid.

As with any new car entering the market in 2025, BYD is mandated to install a host of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features.

While undeniably improving safety and mitigating crash scenarios, the systems have become a major frustration for drivers forced to endure incessant beeping and bonging. 

By law, manufacturers have to ensure these features are active each time the vehicle starts up, so motorists have to switch it off before every journey. Most of the time, this can be an infuriating journey through the entire infotainment suite.

When it comes to ADAS in the Sealion DM-i, it’s sadly the typical story of recurring bonging that takes over willy nilly.

It’s not a sporty SUV but it’s placement isn’t bad and it’s fine over bumps. However its steering is disconnected and the brakes need some refining. It will get you from A to B fine, but won’t do much more

What’s it like to drive?

I’d like to say I ‘thrashed’ the Sealion 5 DM-i over the border from England (Shrewsbury) to Wales (Lake Vyrnwy) and I gave it as good a go as possible, but this is no sporty SUV. 

While it’s lacking some areas, it does remain well-planted and relatively smooth, glossing over Welsh potholes enough to make for a comfortable ride and there’s enough power from the Comfort’s 209 bhp (the model I drove) to get on and off roundabouts or pull out of sharp junctions quickly.

The steering is a bit odd, though.

There is a heavy sensation at the centre point and then an extremely light feeling as you rotate through a turn. And the front axle of the car seems disconnected, making sharp cornering a bit unsettling.

The brakes had a lag to them, too, then grabbing suddenly at slow speeds. The problem appears to iron itself out at higher speeds, thankfully.

I enjoyed the chunky centre gear selector rather than having it on the steering wheel like most new cars these days, and found it easy to set up the chair and steering wheel in the perfect position for my [lack of] height (5’3). 

I was also pleasantly surprised by how good visibility was over the bonnet – often I find it’s difficult to get a good sense of front wheel placement when SUVs have long, high bonnets.

The Comfort does 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds while it takes the Design 8.8 seconds. EV-only range is just 38.5 miles if you buy the Comfort trim, but that goes up to 53.4 miles if you pay slightly more and get the Design trim

It’s pretty quiet in the cabin too.

There’s not too much road or wind noise coming in, which makes it a relaxing space for passengers in particular.

Both models sold in the UK deliver 209bhp. The Comfort can accelerate from zero to 62mph in 7.7 seconds while it takes the Design a full second longer (8.8 seconds). 

EV-only range is just 38.5 miles for the Comfort trim, but that goes up to 53.4 miles if you pay slightly more and for the Design model. 

Combined with a full tank of petrol, you can get a total of 616 miles or 631 miles (on paper) out of the 5 DM-i’s respective versions.

For reference, the Jaecoo 7 SHS can do 56 miles on EV-only but the MG HS Plug-in Hybrid, which costs from £32,245, can cover 75 miles on a single charge – a decent chunk more.

There are just two trims which keeps things easy: The Comfort costs £29,995 and Design costs £32,995

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Trims and pricing – what do you get for the price?

We like a simple trim set-up here, and so are thankful to BYD for only launching just the two trims: Comfort and Design.

Comfort costs £29,995 and Design costs £32,995. Design adds an extra 18.3kWh to the battery, an electric tailgate, heated front seats and smartphone wireless charging.

You also get a 360-degree camera, front parking sensors and dynamic welcome lights.

Standard features for both trims include (amongst others) rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rain-sensing wipers, and vehicle-to-load (where the car can power external devices). 

The Sealion 5 DM-i gives you a practical PHEV SUV that will help keep running costs down and save you a chunk of cash on more premium models. It’s a pragmatic buy essentially

Cars & Motoring Verdict: Is the Sealion 5 DM-i an enticing buy?

Enticing isn’t the word I’d use. A pragmatic buy would be a better way of putting it.

This is a car for people who want a brand new family SUV but want to pay slightly less than they would for an equivalently specced Nissan Qashqai or Kia Sportage. It certainly isn’t a car for people for people who want their dream SUV. 

And that’s fine because it is affordable: the Volkswagen Tiguan PHEV in contrast will set you back almost £44,000 straight out the gate.  

A lot of people are turning to PHEVs currently, with the tech seen as a stepping stone to EV ownership. They also offer some of the biggest ranges from a brimmed fuel tank and fully charged battery, and the Sealion 5 will give you that as well as comfort features and smart tech.

What it lacks in finesse and performance it makes up for in value for money – and relatively inexpensive monthly finance payments, which is the one ‘enticing’ feature of the BYD range. 

If you do want a Sealion 5 DM-i, we urged that you opt for the Design trim with the best EV-only range.