It’s secure to say that BYD has set the nation alight with the Seal, an electrical sedan that goes toe-to-toe with the ever-popular Tesla Mannequin 3. The Chinese language firm has been fairly aggressive with its newest mannequin, notably by way of pricing.
Likely, there will likely be these of you who will likely be questioning how the BYD compares towards the Tesla by way of value, dimension and naked numbers. Right here, we’re taking a more in-depth take a look at how the Seal stacks up towards its fiercest rival.
Pricing: Seal undercuts Mannequin 3 significantly
We’ve been eagerly awaiting pricing for the Seal because it was confirmed it could be coming to Malaysia, and now that it’s right here, it’s clear that BYD isn’t messing about. Costs are as follows:
- BYD Seal Premium RWD – RM180,430 on-the-road with out insurance coverage
- BYD Seal Efficiency AWD – RM200,430 on-the-road with out insurance coverage
As such, the Seal Premium RWD undercuts the Mannequin 3 RWD (RM190,700) by greater than RM10,000, and don’t neglect, you continue to want so as to add on-the-road registration prices to Tesla’s costs. In the meantime, the Efficiency AWD is over RM19,000 cheaper than the Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary AWD (RM219,700), and also you get extra efficiency besides.
Dimensions: Mannequin 3 is smaller however extra sensible
On condition that the Seal has been designed to compete with the Mannequin 3, it’s no shock they’re largely the identical dimension. Nevertheless, the Chinese language automobile edges out its Chinese language-built American rival ever so barely, being 80 mm longer and 19 mm taller; the Tesla counters by being 42 mm wider.
This benefit ought to give the BYD higher inside room in comparison with the Tesla, though the Mannequin 3 is in no way cramped inside. But when baggage area is what you’re in search of, then the Mannequin 3 is the automobile for you, each by way of the rear boot (425 litres vs 400) and particularly the entrance (88 litres versus 40). The actual fact the Seal even has a entrance boot, nonetheless, is noteworthy, particularly because the Atto 3 and Dolphin don’t have one.
Efficiency and vary: Seal is quicker, Mannequin 3 can drive additional
Tesla is thought for offering a staggering quantity of efficiency on your cash, but it surely’s been upstaged by BYD right here. The Seal Premium RWD makes 313 PS and 360 Nm of torque and is ready to dash from zero to 100 km/h in a claimed 5.9 seconds – two tenths of a second quicker than the Mannequin 3 RWD.
In the meantime, the Efficiency AWD variant churns out 530 PS and 670 Nm from its twin motors, enabling it to finish the century dash in simply 3.8 seconds. That’s six tenths of a second faster than the Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary AWD. To be truthful, the Seal Efficiency AWD is extra of a competitor for the Mannequin 3 Efficiency, which in its newest Highland guise isn’t out but. However we’d anticipate the latter to be considerably dearer.
The Tesla hits again relating to vary. The comparability between the 2 sedans is sophisticated by the truth that the most affordable Seal is the one which has probably the most vary (because the 82.5 kWh LFP battery comes normal), whereas with the Mannequin 3, the Lengthy Vary mannequin prices further. Even so, the Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary comfortably beats the Seal Premium RWD with a variety of 629 km, versus 570 km for the BYD (each figures are WLTP) – regardless of the very fact it has all-wheel drive.
Charging: Benefit Tesla
Charging instances are inconclusive as Tesla doesn’t present any figures for the Mannequin 3 (solely that its 250 kW DC Superchargers are in a position to present as much as 282 km of extra vary in quarter-hour). However the automobile can settle for a better quantity of DC quick charging energy than the Seal (170 kW vs 150 kW), the latter taking 37 minutes to cost from 10 to 80%.
The Mannequin 3 may even cost faster when plugged as much as an AC charger, as it could possibly help as much as 11 kW, in comparison with simply 7 kW for the Seal. The latter takes a staggering 15.2 hours for a full cost.
And that’s with the suitable 7 kW single-phase charger. Should you use an 11 kW or 22 kW three-phase charger pondering it’ll be quicker, the Seal’s onboard charger will step right down to between 3.5 and three.7 kW, which means that it’ll take twice as lengthy (greater than a full day) in comparison with a technically slower 7 kW charger. Electrical autos with a three-phase 11 kW (just like the Tesla) or 22 kW OBC don’t endure from this subject.
It additionally goes with out saying that solely the Mannequin 3 can use Tesla’s Supercharger community in addition to its Vacation spot Chargers.
What else?
Should you’re in search of the automobile with probably the most worth for cash, the Seal trumps the Mannequin 3 palms down. The package listing is mainly an identical throughout each variants, together with full-LED lighting, large 19-inch alloy wheels, flush pop-out door handles, a ten.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a novel rotating 15.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, powered leather-based seats, a glass roof, a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system and a 360-degree digicam system.
You additionally get a full suite of driver assists, similar to autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise management and lane centring help, plus 9 airbags that embrace rear facet and driver’s centre airbags.
In contrast, you could have a whole lot of possibility containers to tick with the Tesla, similar to alloy wheels (lowly 18s as normal), colors (solely white is free) and even the selection of Autopilot (regular, Enhanced or the doubtful Full Self Driving). On the plus facet, even the usual Autopilot is without doubt one of the greatest within the enterprise, as are the usual 15.4-inch entrance and eight-inch rear touchscreens. No stalks, nonetheless, so there’s that.
Itching to learn how these two automobiles drive? Try Hafriz’s video evaluate of the Tesla Mannequin 3 and Anthony’s first drive impressions of the BYD Seal.
GALLERY: 2024 BYD Seal Premium RWD in Malaysia
GALLERY: 2024 Tesla Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary AWD in Malaysia
Seeking to promote your automobile? Promote it with myTukar.
