BMW I7 vs BYD Seal

What's the difference?

The i7 xDrive60 M Sport is close to the perfect 7 Series. From the comfort of being driven in it, to the ease of driving it, even for hours on end.

The i7's range of 625km is outstanding for an electric vehicle, but a petrol powered 740i will get you about 900km on a full tank. How many kilometres a day will you cover? Do you have time and a way to charge the i7 daily if you do cover a lot of distance?

If driving range isn't an issue, the i7 will reward you with a smooth, effortless driving experience and your passengers will have a serene journey in luxurious, high-tech surroundings. Just don't bump the door release button accidentally!

Those big auto executives have good reason to be worried, because the Seal is yet another impressive offering from China’s most formidable EV player.

It’s not perfect. In some ways it’s trying too hard to be a luxury car, and I think the software in particular could use a little work, but the Seal just does so much right I think it will be hard to be disappointed with one, particularly given its keen entry price.

In fact, if we had to pick one from the range, it would probably be this mid-spec Premium. The range and power on offer are stellar, and all for less money than an entry-level Model 3 or Polestar 2.

At 5.4m long and 2.2m wide the i7 xDrive60 M Sport is enormous and imposing  - as a 7 Series BMW should be.

What's significantly different in the look of this latest incarnation of BMW flagship limousine is its show stopping face.

That LED-lined grille has Vegas pizazz and the pretty glittering Swarovski Crystal headlights are mesmerising. I doubt the words 'pizazz' and 'pretty' have ever been used to describe any previous generation BMW 7 Series.

Fear not, though, from every other angle the i7 looks business-like and serious… and solid as though carved from a single slab of marble.

Solid is also a good word for the i7's interior. Look at the seats in the images - they're hotel lobby sized and I'm still uncertain how they managed to fit them through the i7's doorway.

Our car had the Merino Tartufo brown leather upholstery which suited the 1970s-style futuristic design of the seats with their headrests wrapped in carbon fibre and the satin aluminium trim throughout the cabin. They look like seats from the bridge of a spaceship in a sci-fi series.

The enormous 31.3-inch screen in the rear is a show-stopper as are the tablets in the rear doors to control the screen functions along with the seat heating and adjustment.

Disappointing in comparison is the smaller media and instrument displays up front. And it's not just the lesser proportions but the styling of the screens that's a let down.

Surely this was a chance for BMW to integrate a large, flowing interactive screen over the dashboard and not something which looks propped up and an afterthought to the design of the cabin.

I also find the crystal-effect plastic that trims the dashboard and extends into the doors a little over-the-top, especially when it's backlit with LEDs.

The Seal looks great. It’s about as modern a take on the traditional three-box sedan as you can get. It’s low-slung with curvy lines and a sporty overall feel.

The design touches, like the headlight and DRL surrounds, side skirts, and wheels are maximalist compared to the minimalist vibes of the Model 3 and the Polestar 2. But I don’t necessarily think that's a bad thing as it offers buyers a genuine alternative.

I also like the way the brand has executed the LED lights and particularly the tail-light fittings. There’s also an admirable restraint when it comes to badging compared to a lot of this car’s Chinese rivals. It doesn’t give off the vibe of a cut-price product at all.

Inside there are elements which are appealing, and some things which fall short. First up, I do think the Seal wears its influences throughout the industry on its sleeve a bit.

The digital dash cluster theme, for example, seems to (poorly) emulate the Mercedes-Benz software, the little plastic crystal shifter piece on the inside seems to have been overtly influenced by a similar (actual crystal) piece available in Volvos, while the centre screen and dual wireless phone chargers are pretty obviously BYD’s take on the similar bits available in the Model 3.

Maybe in this sense, it’s trying a little too hard to be a luxury car and a tech-heavy electric vehicle, with items which aren’t quite up to the same quality (particularly the software). But then, it all works well enough, and can you complain at the price?

One thing I think BYD gets right though is the level of comfort on offer in the cabin and the clever little styling bits which remind you of its namesake.

The door handle pieces and integrated speaker bits are shaped like a Seal flipper. As are the dash-mounted air vents, and if you look closely even the plastic garnish on the steering wheel looks a bit like a top-down cross section of the animal.

I like it because its subtle rather than in-your-face as some of the Atto 3's design elements are.

The quality is also up to muster, big time. There wasn’t a creak, groan, or rattle from this car’s interior in my entire time with it, including on some of Sydney's worst roads. And the seats, which are designed like absolute thrones, are clad in lovely soft leather. You sink into them. Even the two-tone Alcantara finish through the doors and centre console is thoughtfully placed.

Sure, the i7 isn't an SUV but a sedan like this needs to be roomy and comfortable, it also needs to be an ergonomic place to work for passengers in the back with laptops, and it needs to be well appointed with internet connectivity and charging outlets. A boot that can take at least two passenger's luggage is also vital.

The i7 has all of that covered with good legroom in the second row even for me at 189cm tall. I spent two hours back there writing my script for the video for this review while the i7 was charging.

As I typed away I had plenty of elbow room but I could have done with a tray table for the computer.

There's a wireless phone charger in the fold-down rear centre console, along with USB ports galore.

You'll find another wireless phone charger up front and more USB ports. The i7 also has its own internet hotspot.

The sumptuous seats in the rear are power adjustable and also heated, but lack a massaging function.

There's also rear dual-zone climate control and sun-blinds which cover the back and side windows.

Cabin storage is good with large covered areas in the front and rear centre consoles, plus there are two cupholders in the rear and another two up front, with large door pockets, as well.

The cargo capacity of the boot is a healthy 500 litres but it's quite shallow due to the electric vehicle batteries eating into the luggage space.

The automatic doors can be opened several ways from the inside.

First there's a button inside which is high on the rear door and another on the dashboard which will open them automatically while using sensors to ensure they don't hit anything.

There's another button much lower down which will pop the door open slightly for you to push it the rest of the way.

Finally there's an emergency handle which will override the electric opening.

You can open the doors from the outside automatically by pushing a button near the door handle or by using the exterior door handle normally.

Closing involves pressing the high placed button if you're inside or by tapping the exterior button on the outside door handle if you've exited the car.

We did have a door mishap twice during our week with the i7. The first was when bags placed on the front passenger seat bumped the release button and caused the door to pop open, followed quickly by me lunging across to pull it shut again. It's lucky my arms are long.

The second was when my eight-year old son bumped the door release button with his knee again popping open the door but this time at 110km/h on the motorway. He was able to close the door but it rattled both of us, understandably and I kept the child lock on for the rest of the week.

He's been in a different test vehicle every week of his life since he was born and this is the first time we've ever had a door open unintentionally like this. I've also never had a door open, just because a bag has leaned on it, either.

So, the auto door opening function might create a nice impression and make opening and closing the heavy doors easier, but I think manual doors would be more practical.

The Seal has a huge cabin, and in a lot of ways it feels like the large sedans of old. You can sit nice and low in the cabin, and there’s heaps of knee and headroom thanks to its width.

Soft-clad materials for resting your knees and elbows on go a long way towards keeping this car comfortable on longer journeys, and the presence of a digital dash and a holographic head-up display is nice to have compared to the bare-bones dash of the Tesla Model 3.

The wacky rotating central touchscreen feature makes an appearance from other BYDs, but again, it’s a bit silly and I’m not sure how much use you’ll get out of it. Even Apple CarPlay only works in landscape mode, so I didn’t find it useful.

Practicality features are abundant, with a large bottle holder in the doors, and two more in the centre console. One even has a floating floor, so you can push it down to accommodate large bottles if need be.

Dual wireless chargers are always a nice touch, and the bridge-style console has a large pass-through storage area underneath, which also hides the USB-C, USB-A, and 12V outlets. The armrest console box is nice and deep, too.

The back seat is enormous. Possibly one of the largest spaces in this segment. It comes at a cost to boot capacity, but your rear passengers won’t want for space no matter how tall they are.

At 182cm tall I had leagues of airspace behind my own driving position, and the wide cabin, accommodating seats, and flat floor mean the centre position is even useful for a full-sized adult.

Storage comes in the form of three pockets on the back of each front seat, a large bottle holder in the doors, two cupholders in the drop-down armrests, a small tray on the back of the centre console, and a small flip-out cover which reveals a USB-C and USB-A charging port for rear passengers. The rear seat even gets dual adjustable air vents, but no third climate zone.

The massive fixed glass roof looks the business and keeps the cabin airy, just like in the Model 3 and Polestar 2, but I find these big glass fittings tend to cook interiors in the Australian sun.

BYD tells us the tint is so heavy it has a ‘solar transmittance’ of just 16 per cent, but 16 per cent is still a lot in Australian summer. Thankfully, unlike its two rivals, BYD ships the Seal with a fold-out cover screen as standard.

Remember how I said the massive rear seat comes at a cost to boot space? At 400 litres the Seal’s boot is a bit compact, made worse by the fact it’s a sedan and not a liftback, so the access area is a bit narrow.

It could only fit the largest CarsGuide luggage case alongside the smallest one, but not all three including the medium case. This could be a blow to family buyers who need to fit a pram alongside other things.

Under the floor there’s an extra space great for the storage of your V2L adapter and AC charging cable, but there’s also only a tyre repair kit and no spare.

Just like its Model 3 rival, the Seal arrives in Australia in three variants - the base Dynamic, top-spec Performance, and the one we’re looking at for this review, the mid-spec Premium.

Price is, of course, BYD’s forte, with this mid-spec Premium (equipped with a long-range battery) even managing to undercut the entry-level Model 3 RWD.

Before on-road costs and state-based incentives you can have one of these from $58,798, while (at the time of writing at least) the enormously popular Model 3 RWD weighed in at $61,900. Its next closes rival, the Polestar 2 Standard Range, costs from $67,400, so value here is obvious.

The Premium’s long-range battery allows a WLTP-certified driving range of 570km between charges which is even one of the longest cruising ranges available on any electric vehicle in Australia right now.

The list of standard features is exhaustive, including 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a massive 15.6-inch multimedia touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a holographic head-up display, dual wireless phone charging bays, built-in navigation and connected services, ‘genuine’ leather seat and wheel trim (a blend of synthetic and real leather), an eight-way power-adjustable seat for the driver, ventilated and heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a fixed panoramic glass roof and keyless entry with push-start ignition.

The Seal also gets an impressive array of standard safety kit. More on this later.

The only options are premium paints and an alternate light blue theme for the interior which cost $1500 each.

This list of kit would even be impressive on a combustion car at this price, so the fact it’s also electric and offers one of the longest driving ranges on the market is a bonus.

The one area where I think it lacks a little is the stock software. It looks okay and, to be fair, functions a lot better than its Chinese contemporaries and even some other brands, but once you dig into it a little there are some clumsy menus, and it becomes painfully obvious it’s a simple Android reskin. A swing and almost a miss for something so integral to a car like this.

Why is it called the Seal? Well, in BYD’s home market of China, its range is so expansive it has split it up into two model lines, the Dynasty series (named after historical Chinese kingdoms) of which the Atto 3 is a member (it is called the Yuan Plus in China), and the Ocean series which the Seal and Dolphin belong to. The next BYD to arrive in Australia, a mid-size SUV likely to be called the Seal U, also belongs to the Ocean series.

The i7 xDrive 60 M Sport has two electric motors - one at the front one at the rear - making this large saloon all-wheel drive.

The combined output is outrageous. We're talking 400kW and 750Nm. That's enough oomph to fire this electric missile from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds.

When EVs first came out a lot of people saw the technology as lending itself to small city cars, but with the smoothness of motion is offers, the silent operation and the colossal grunt it can supply nothing suits a big limo like the 7 Series better than electric motors.

Each Seal variant gets its own drivetrain outputs, and the mid-spec Premium drives the rear wheels with a 230kW/360Nm electric motor via a reduction gear.

On paper, it’s slightly more powerful than the Model 3 RWD, with more power and less torque than the Polestar 2 Standard Range.

There are removal trucks shorter and narrower than the i7 but this limousine is possibly the easiest and most comfortable car I've driven in almost 15 years of testing vehicles from Toyotas to Bentleys.

The steering is pinky-finger light but accurate, the ride (as driver and passenger in the second row) is superbly composed and the electric powertrain add a smoothness to movement that no combustion engine on the planet can come close to.

The xDrive60 M Sport comes standard with BMW's 'Executive Drive Pro' feature which includes the 'Active Roll Stabilisation' and 'Active Roll Comfort' systems used on Rolls Royces.

The systems use motors to level the body through dips and corners, and the result has to be felt to be fully appreciated.

It's oddly amazing - you could have a bowl of molten lava in your lap and not spill any of it.

And then there are the seats. As a driver the under thigh support offered by the big, thick, wide seat base is exactly right for long distances, while the back rest is supportive without being too firm.

If I was to name any downsides to the driving experience it would be the limited forward visibility due to the narrow windscreen and thick. short A-pillars.

I found myself always having to peer around those pillars at intersections and pedestrian crossings.

Rearward visibility is completely blocked when the second row's large screen is folded down and the rear vision mirror doesn't have a camera function to get around this issue.

Sure there's a reversing camera but being able to see what's coming up behind you in traffic is important to for safe situational awareness.

I'm also not a fan of the synthesised driving sounds. It's unnecessary, especially in something like a chauffeur-operated limousine.

I think it only serves to cheapen what is such a high-end experience. Thankfully you can turn it off.

The same goes for 'Boost Mode' which provides all available grunt once a paddle behind the steering wheel is pulled and counts down like a missile launch. Seriously? Come on - this isn't a 2 Series!

I wasn’t expecting the Seal to impress me particularly. After all, it’s in this segment against tough competition, amongst recently updated versions of the Model 3 and Polestar 2, and while the previous BYDs I’ve driven have been a cut above their Chinese contemporaries, they also haven’t done a lot to stand out from the crowd.

Clearly, though, BYD has something to prove with its sporting sedan and the Seal is immediately impressive. The cabin is quiet and refined, the seating position is great it's smooth from take-off.

The steering has an artificial tinge to it removing a bit of feedback from the road, but proves at least quick and accurate at speed, and the handling is superb.

I kept pushing the Seal in my test drive, expecting gnarly characteristics to surface but they didn’t. This sedan grabs onto the road with excellent control and traction at the rear, spurred along by its long wheelbase, and improved tyre choice (Continental rather than the sub-par Chinese rubber worn by the Atto 3 and Dolphin).

While on paper it appears to have at least comparable motor output figures to the Polestar 2 and Model 3 - the Seal Premium doesn’t quite feel as rapid, its electric motor having a more relaxed vibe and responsiveness when you stomp on the go pedal.

This can be tweaked a little by dialling it up to Sport mode, and while it still doesn’t feel quite as breakneck fast as the Model 3, in particular, it’s plenty to be going on with.

The most impressive part of the Seal drive experience, though, is its ride. Ride is a constant problem for EVs as manufacturers go to lengths to tame the additional weight of batteries, but the Seal is the most impressive in its cohort, and by quite a margin.

It’s firm enough to be controlled, but has a lovely soft edge to it, so larger bumps, frequent corrugations, or sharper road imperfections don’t ruin your day.

The Model 3 and Polestar 2, even in their improved forms, are not this good. In a lot of ways the Seal’s suspension tune reminds me of the Mustang Mach-e. It has a soft edge, offset by a bit of secondary jiggle as the car settles, which is its only real blemish.

The Seal has no right being this good. It’s now not just matching its far more established rivals but doing some things significantly better.

The Seal has an extensive list of today’s active safety equipment, including auto emergency braking (front and rear), lane keeping aids, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and driver attention alert.

For the most part, these systems aren’t invasively annoying, which can’t be said for many products from rival automakers.

However, the traffic sign recognition and overspeed warning system conspire to intrude with constant beeping.

Mercifully, and unlike the equivalent system in Hyundai products, it’s a distant beep, but a consistent one nonetheless, as the traffic sign system frequently picks the wrong speed for whatever reason, and then chastises you for going over it.

Also, the adaptive cruise control system can’t hold a candle to the Model 3's. The system in the Seal amounts to the usual sort of adaptive cruise in most other cars, whereas the one in the Model 3 (regardless of how you feel about the brand’s outrageous claims) is properly next-level in its lane keeping and distance controls.

The Seal is equipped with seven airbags and was rated a maximum five ANCAP stars to the 2023 standards.

The i7 xDrive60 M Sport is covered  by BMW's five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. The battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km.

There's no regular servicing schedule but the car will identify any faults and maintenance issues and notify you. A six-year unlimited service plan is offered by BMW and is included in the purchase price of the i7.

The i7 also comes with a five-year subscription to the charge for charging network, and a home wall box charger.

The long-term ownership aspect for a BYD product is still a bit of a mystery as the current crop of cars have only just landed in Australia in the last year or two, but if it offers you any peace of mind, the Seal is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty with a separate eight-year/160,000km warranty for the battery pack.

In order to avoid having to have a traditional dealer network, BYD has partnered with MyCar to fulfil servicing. Visits to one of these locations is required once every 12 months or 20,000km whichever comes first, and pricing is fixed for the first eight years, working out to an annual average of $299.