BYD Sealion 5 PHEV: Makes perfect sense

0 0 April 27, 2026 Edit this post

by Alistair Kennedy

What is it?

In what is a major milestone, monthly sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show that in February, China became Australia’s largest source of new vehicles, overtaking Japan for the first time since 1998.

The data also shows four Chinese brands now sit in the top 10 positions led by BYD, now the sixth biggest seller, ahead of GWM (7th), Chery (9th) and MG (10th).

Almost half of BYD sales are its four-model Sealion SUV range, with either fully electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrains.

The most recent arrival and subject of our review here is the BYD Sealion 5.

What’s it cost?

The Sealion 5 PHEV comes in two variants.

The headline act is the entry-level Essential.

With a price of $33,990 plus on-roads, it is currently the cheapest plug-in hybrid vehicle on the Australian market.

The other variant, Premium, which comes with a larger battery and extra features is priced at $37,990 plus on-roads.

At 4.7 metres it’s around the same size as Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson -- but unlike them it’s a plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Marginally larger than the Sealion 5 is the Sealion 6, also a five-seat PHEV, but with the option of a second motor and therefore AWD.

The Sealion 7 is slightly larger again, still with five seats but EV only with single or dual motors.

Top of the range is the Sealion 8, a seven-seat premium PHEV people mover.

Design of the Sealion 5 is relatively conservative in comparison to other recent BYD offerings.

It’s a relatively old-style boxy wagon with a mildly sloping roofline.

The front features what BYD calls a ‘Dragon Face’ design dominated by a wide bold grille flanked by recessed three-beam LED headlights and daytime running lights.

Above the grille is a full-width satin metallic bar with an integrated BYD logo.

The rear features a full-width LED taillight strip and an integrated roof spoiler.

Both variants get 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.

Sealion 5 Premium adds a panoramic sunroof, roof rails, one-touch powered tailgate, heated and powered folding side mirrors and auto-dimming interior mirror.

There are four colour options: Aurora White, Cosmos Black, Atlantis Grey and Harbour Grey.

Premier gets a nine-speaker HD sound system compared to the six-speaker system in the Premium.

Other shared features include satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice controls, front and rear USB-A and USB-C ports, DAB+ digital radio and 4G cloud services.

The BYD app provides a range of connected services including pre-setting climate control, unlocking and locking the doors, opening the sunroof, monitoring of charge levels and system functions, checking tyre pressures and Over The Air (OTA) updates.

Sealion 5 has yet to undergo ANCAP testing but has a similar range of safety features as the Sealion 6 and 7 models which have both gained five-star safety ratings, so it should achieve the same.

Active safety features include front and rear collision warning, electronic brake force distribution, lane-keep assist and lane-change warning, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and an intelligent high beam system.

What’s it go like?

Synthetic leather seats with orange stitching are standard.

The chunky steering wheel also gets the same finish.

Driver and front passenger both get powered seats, with the driver’s seat also adding heating and cooling.

Both models get an 8.8-inch digital instrument panel. Essential has a 10.1-inch infotainment screen compared to the 12.8-inch screen in Premium.

The resolution is sharp and clear on both screens but they are let down by a very small typeface.

A cylindrical gear selector is located in the centre console. It is piano black with gear selection difficult to read in bright sunlight.

The start/stop button start sits below it with a number of physical buttons either side.

There’s a large storage box as well as some extra space below the console.

Premium adds a wireless phone charger.

The 2.7-metre wheelbase together with the underfloor battery location provides excellent rear seat space.

There are large, easily adjustable air vents both at the front and rear.

Boot space is 463 litres with the rear sea backs in place, 1410 litres with them folded.

There’s some partitioned storage space beneath the boot floor but no spare wheel, just the rarely reliable puncture repair kit.

Both Sealion 5 variants combine a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with a choice of two BYD Blade Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Essential has a 12.9 kWh capacity battery capacity and a claimed 71km electric only range.

Premium’s 18.3 kWh battery extends that range to 100km.

However, these numbers are under the outdated NEDC testing method. Using the more real world WLTP system range drops to about 62km and 86km respectively.

Power and torque from the engine are a modest 72kW and 122Nm.

During low-to-medium speed driving and when a surge of acceleration is required, both the engine and battery combine to the drive motor in parallel mode.

Transmission is through BYD’s DM-I Super Hybrid system where the engine charges the battery and, most of the time, the motor powers the vehicle.

Sealion 5 has a towing capacity of 750kg, both braked and unbraked.

Fellow Boomers often find getting into and out of vehicles challenging so we were delighted to be able to slide into the front seat of the Sealion 5 with minimal effort.

External visibility is excellent all round with a large windscreen and side windows.

Likewise, the rear windscreen is large with low-slung headrests. Kids will appreciate the low sills on the rear windows.

Sealion 5 is a relatively heavy family SUV so, while it has the usual sharp acceleration that we expect from a battery powered vehicle -- it’s more sedate than pure EVs.

Once underway the Super Hybrid drivetrain provides a smooth and comfortable driving experience.

The transition from electric to hybrid and back is barely noticeable and can be operated manually through a small switch on the centre console.

We were able to take the Sealion 5 over a couple of our favourite rural drives including plenty of hills, hollows and bends.

As with most mid-sized SUV’s it doesn’t have any sporting pretensions but handling is safe with little body roll.

Suspension is relatively firm but not at the expense of comfort.

While there are the latest safety and convenience features that are now commonplace in the latest vehicles, many use physical controls rather than through the screens.

Those that do are easy to locate, and rather than the usual beeps and bongs most of the alerts are by voice and we found that the only feature we bothered turning off was lane correction.

BYD claims a combined driving range of 1001km for Essential and 1030km for the Premium.

Like the claimed electric only ranges quoted earlier, these figures are based on the older NEDC test method.

On the more realistic WLTP method these drop to around 800km.

Both variants come only with an AC charging port, with the Essential grade able to achieve maximum battery charge in around four hours. Premium with its larger capacity battery is nearer six hours.

A Vehicle to Load (V2L) function is standard enabling the onboard battery able to be used as a power source for external appliances, lighting or camping.

Plug-in hybrids make a lot of sense, combining the economy of an EV without the stress of being stranded away from a charging point.

Regular readers can skip the next bit because each time we review a PHEV we need to explain how the manufacturers come up with extremely low fuel consumption numbers.

In the case of the Sealion 5 Premium that we tested it is around 1.3L/100km.

Such a number can only be achieved by starting with a fully-charged battery and driving until, the battery drops below 25 percent. Then the vehicle switches to hybrid mode for the remainder of the 100km trip.

To continue to achieve that 1.3L/100km it will be necessary to stop and fully re-charge the battery.

Without DC charging this isn’t an option, so re-charging on long distance trips will typically be restricted to overnight stays.

To its credit BYD does quote the fuel consumption after the battery drops out at 4.5L/100km -- a perfectly respectable figure for a typical hybrid SUV of similar size.

What we like?

Easy entry and exit
Excellent rear legroom
External visibility excellent
Kid-friendly low rear window sills
Low fuel consumption

What we don’t like?

Conservative styling
Tyre repair kit
No safety rating (yet)
AC charging only
Electronic screens let down by small typeface
WLTP range figures please

The bottom line?

Plug-in hybrid vehicles are still relatively rare in Australia.

Indeed, during our week-long test of the Sealion 5, we often found ourselves having to explain the technology to fellow road users.

While its combination of EV economy without the risk of being stranded makes perfect sense, the price surcharge of previous PHEVs above conventional petrol and hybrids kept budget-conscious buyers away.

That barrier disappears with the price of Sealion 5 sitting around and even below those of well-established mid-sized non-PHEV SUVs.

The lack of DC, or even fast AC, charging is disappointing, but owners will no doubt build their routines around these limitations.

BYD looks to be on a real winner here.