BYD Sealion 5 vs LDV G10

What's the difference?

Cars that don’t always appeal to enthusiast buyers are often seen by manufacturers as a way of not bothering with the dynamics. Good enough is, apparently, good enough. Thankfully, BYD hasn’t taken that path here and the local suspension tweaks have turned what could have been a me-too product into a bit of a dynamic class leader. And even if buyers can’t verbalise the benefits of that, they will still be subliminally enjoying them with every kilometre.

The other stand-out feature is the price-tag which represents an awful lot of car for the money. And, in such a price-sensitive market as this one, that will get the BYD over the line for a lot of families. That it also offers a vastly better driving experience simply makes the value equation – and the purchasing proposition – even stronger.

The LDV G10 is a solid option for those buyers who just want a van that gets the job done. It was decent with weight on board, but is probably better suited to parcel carriers rather than pallet shifters.

Safety levels are the biggest concern, as it is falling behind in the class when it comes to active safety tech, and its weak crash test score could be enough to rule it out for some customers. 

The interior of the Sealion 5 feels pretty well-made and there are soft-touch surfaces on most of the touch-points. The steering wheel, too, is thick and chunky and nice to hang on to. But there’s a lot going on in terms of different colours, textures and surfaces, and it can all look a bit busy, despite the high-tech boardroom overall flavour. It’s also worth mentioning the trim material is synthetic but does a great job of looking and feeling like real leather.

Externally, there’s not a lot to grab the eye. Sure, it’s not an unpleasant looking vehicle, but neither does it stand out from the mid-size SUV pack. At least BYD decided against those cheap-looking plastic tack-ons on each wheel-arch.

The more you see LDV G10 vans, the more regular they look. Familiarity breeds ignorance, I guess, but I still think the G10 looks smart. 

It isn’t quite as boxy as some, with its sleeker front-end styling and almost sedan-like tail-lights helping it stand out from the ‘box-on-wheels’ stigma. It gets 16-inch alloy wheels as standard, and has halogen headlights and misses out on daytime running lights.

But it still is a box on wheels, measuring 5168mm long (on a 3198mm wheelbase), 1980mm wide and 1928mm tall. That makes it a darn sight smaller than the new HiAce, which stepped up significantly in size, and about on par with a Renault Trafic SWB or Ford Transit Custom 300S SWB. 

The perceived build quality is mostly okay, though our test car had a few loose plastics on the outside and a seemingly mis-fit windshield rubber.

Here’s the other big shock relative to the price-tag of the Sealion 5: This is not a small car. Based on the price, you might have been thinking the vehicle would be a compact SUV. And you’d have been wrong. This is a proper mid-sized SUV with room for five and luggage and an overall length of 4.7 metres and change. And to put that into some kind of perspective, that’s just 30mm shorter than the Sealion 6 which costs about $9000 more at its starting point.

The wheelbase is long, too, and the 2712mm between the axles helps make the interior even more spacious. That means there’s lots of stretching room in the front, but also that a grown adult can comfortably sit in the back seat behind another grown adult at the wheel and still have enough room in every direction. The window sills are commendably low in the rear seat, too, ensuring even littlies can see out.

The biggest problem in the back is that the seat cushion is a bit flat, but, like the front chairs, it’s still pretty plush.

With all five seats in place, the Sealion 5 boasts 463 litres of luggage space and the cargo area is well done with storage pockets at each side, a light and an under-floor tray designed to transport charging cables and a tyre repair kit. Yep, that’s right, there’s no spare tyre of any sort here. No surprise, really.

Fold the rear seat down and you’re suddenly looking at 1410 litres of cargo space and your SUV is now a panel van.

As well as the dual-zone climate control, the Sealion 5 also offers a single USB -C and a USB-A charging port in the front and rear compartments.

The Sealion 5 also offers a V2L (Vehicle to Load) function, meaning it can power camping or on-site work equipment and even act as your home’s battery.

Those dimensions translate to a cargo space of 5.2 cubic metres, with a load space spanning 2500mm long, 1590mm wide (1270mm between the arches) and 1270mm tall. That mightn’t be big enough for you, and that’s too bad - there is no high roof version, nor a long-wheelbase model; but you could get an LDV V80 if you really need to step up in size… but we wouldn’t suggest you do that.

The payload for this model is 1010kg, which is decent but not benchmark-setting. It has a gross vehicle mass of 3000kg, meaning a kerb weight of 1990kg. The gross combination mass depends on the model: the GCM for diesel models is 5000kg for a braked trailer, while petrol models have a GCM of 4750kg for a braked trailer (auto) and 4500kg (manual). All models have a GCM of 3750kg for unbraked trailers.

The petrol versions have 1093kg of payload, if you prefer that fuel type. Interestingly, the manual versions have leaf spring rear suspension, while the auto models have coil springs as part of a five-link suspension architecture.

The load area has a six floor-mounted and four wall-mounted tie-down hooks, and the floor is lined with a vinyl covering while up to half-height the inner walls are lined, too. There are four lights mounted on the walls, which is handy for after-hours work.

And every LDV G10 comes with dual sliding side doors (some brands charge thousands more for this convenience), while the back door is a tailgate as standard, with the option of barn doors for diesel models.

For those who need to fork loads in, the barn doors are a no brainer, because the side door apertures (at 820mm wide) aren’t broad enough to load in using a lift. The tailgate also makes it very difficult to load weight in, as we found on test, as our mates at Crown Lifts had to use long tines to fork in our 750kg ballast.

When it comes to creature comforts up front, there is a pair of low-mounted pop-out cupholders, and an open storage area between the seats. There isn’t much covered storage, so if you often carry valuables, you may need to keep that in mind. 

The seats are comfortable and offer good adjustment, and they’ve been changed since the diesel auto model launched. They’re no longer a cheap-feeling fabric, but rather a faux-leather accented, mesh-lined set of seats, and both have armrests. Nice.

The presentation is okay, but the ergonomics could be better. The touchscreen is mounted down lower than most, and means you may need to take your eyes away from the road because the controls are down even lower. And the USB? Near the floor.

That screen is still a 7.0-inch display, but now has the same software system as the newer models in the LDV range. That means a nice crisp colourful display with the added advantage of Apple CarPlay… if you can get it to work. We had a few issues when reconnecting a phone without re-starting the car. 

If you’re buying an LDV G10, it’s because of the price. The cost of the diesel automatic model we’ve got is usually $32,490 drive-away for ABN holders, but there are promotions running listing it at $29,990 drive-away for ABN holders at the time of writing. If you’re not an ABN holder, just get one, because you’ll save heaps (the G10 diesel auto is $34,147 drive-away for non-ABN holders).

You can get other vans for around this money - the Renault Trafic Trader Life manual, with its gutless 66kW turbo-diesel engine, is $30,990 d/a. But you won’t find a diesel Hyundai iLoad, Peugeot Partner or Toyota HiAce within $10,000 of the LDV.

As for standard spec, you get 16-inch alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, climate control air-conditioning, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with USB connectivity, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, CD player and AM/FM radio, a digital speedometer, two part fake-leather seats with arm-rests (driver’s side with height adjust), carpet flooring up front, and vinyl floor protective liner in the rear, and a reversing camera. 

Standard body fit out is dual sliding side doors and a lift tailgate, though you can get barn doors fitted on diesel models. Unlike some competitors, there is no option for glazing in the rear doors or side panels. 

There are also no auto headlights, no auto wipers, push-button start, keyless entry, leather-lined steering wheel, reach adjustment for the steering, and there’s quite a bit missing in the safety section of this review - see below.

Both variants of the Sealion 5 have the same driveline – mostly. They each use a 1.5-litre petrol engine teamed with a single electric motor, both driving the front wheels. Unlike the bigger Sealions, there’s no all-wheel drive version. Power peaks at 156kW and torque at 300Nm.

Why a non-turbocharged engine? BYD tells us the non-turbo engine helps keep cost out of the vehicle and, since the engine really only runs to power the electric motor and charge the batteries, it does so at a relatively constant engine speed, negating the need for a wide spread of petrol power.

The only major difference is that the Essential version has a 12.9kWh battery-pack, while the Premium gets a bigger, 18.3kWh pack for longer range, but precisely the same output and, therefore, performance.

A single-speed transmission is part of the BYD driveline package, also made possible by the fact that the vast majority of the driving of wheels is done by the electric motor.

Under the bonnet of the diesel G10 is a 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 106kW of power and 350Nm of torque. There’s the choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, and the G10 is rear-wheel drive. It has a diesel particulate filter, but not stop-start or AdBlue.

Prefer petrol? There’s a 2.4-litre five-speed manual model (105kW/200Nm) or a 2.0-litre turbocharged six-speed auto (165kW/330Nm). Those models are cheaper - $25,990 for the manual for ABN holders, while the turbo-petrol auto is $30,990 d/a. 

The Premium’s bigger battery claims to up the official NEDC range from the Essential’s 71km to 100km. BYD reckons with the 52-litre fuel tank brimmed and the car operating at its claimed 1.2 litres per 100km efficiency, the range of either version is just on 1000km. In the real world, that’s likely to be closer to 800km (especially with some highway running thrown in) but it’s still one heck of a solution to range anxiety.

There’s no DC charging function for the Sealion 5, so forget about commercial fast chargers. But on a 3.3kW AC power outlet, the maker claims the Essential can reach full charge in under four hours, while the Premium’s bigger battery will take under six hours to fully charge. A Type 1 charge cable is included.

The combined cycle fuel use claim for the LDV G10 diesel auto is 8.6 litres per 100 kilometres. The manual version uses 8.3L/100km according to the brand.

On test we saw a fuel use return of 9.7L/100km at the pump, across a mix of urban, highway and freeway driving, with and without a load. 

Petrol models use a claimed 11.5L (manual) and 11.7L (auto) per hundred.

You don’t have to drive very far to realise that the local input into the Sealion 5’s suspension and steering have been worth the effort. BYD Australia has a local engineering team on call these days, and it shows here.

Actually, the steering is not the highlight; it has some weight but not a whole lot of feel, or, indeed, feedback for the driver. The ride and handling combination is what stars. Obviously well-damped, the suspension allows for a ride that is both complaint and quiet, without causing the car to wallow around like some jacked-up designs can with their higher centre of gravity.

In fact, the BYD is athletic to the point where keener drivers will find it an entertaining drive; hardly something that can be said for the majority of medium SUVs.

Performance is strong without being overwhelming and even though the Sealion 5 has that signature electric-drive feeling of effortlessness, the accelerator pedal has been calibrated to avoid the neck-snapping surge of grunt off the line. As such, it emerges with a fairly flat acceleration curve, and no hint that the petrol motor is cutting in or out.

Until, that is, you bury the throttle all the way at which point the petrol engine takes a few second to join in. And when it does, it’s pretty vocal – shrill, almost – as it catches up with the rest of the car and starts directly driving the wheels. To be fair, though, this is not going to be a common occurrence in everyday life thanks to the flexibility of the petrol-electric system for 99 per cent of circumstances.

On the move, the cabin is perhaps most notable for its soft, plush seats that are a nice change from the church pews of some manufacturers. And although the driving position is about right, taller drivers might prefer a steering column that extends out another few millimetres.

The driver display screen is another source of annoyance. It’s pretty small and contains lots and lots of information, to the point where the typeface is too small to be read on the run by anybody who relies on reading glasses.

You probably wouldn’t choose an LDV G10 as a daily driver if you didn’t intend to use the cargo zone at least 80 per cent of the time.

But if - for whatever reason - you really want to use a van like this on a day-to-day basis, you won’t hate it. 

The G10 drives pretty nicely for this type of vehicle. It isn’t as bouncy when unladen as some of the other vans out there, with the suspension proving very quick to settle and mostly very compliant across mixed surfaces. 

The steering wheel can jostle a bit over sharp edges, but it steers well, with decent (not too heavy) weighting and predictable response at all speeds. 

Without weight on board the engine feels reasonably urgent in its response, which is a bit of a surprise because it’s not a powerhouse based on its outputs. It revs smoothly and pulls with good strength, with little turbo lag to contend with. While it is a bit of a grumbly engine at times, the response is better than adequate.

Plus the transmission is well sorted, with smooth shifts that are predictable.

The braking response is definitely better without weight on board, with a decent progression to the pedal and decent bite when you press hard on the anchors.

If safety matters to you, this could be your reason not to buy an LDV G10.

The van scored a mediocre three-star ANCAP crash test safety score - which would be more acceptable if that was under the current, strictest criteria, but it was actually tested in 2015. Which means it would be even lower if tested today.

One of the reasons is the safety equipment - there’s not a lot of it. You get dual front airbags, but no side airbags or curtains. There is no advanced tech like auto emergency braking (AEB), no lane keeping assistance or lane departure warning, no blind spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert… But you do get a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

Like other BYDs, the Sealion 5 comes with a six-year/150,000km warranty. Some of the competition have unlimited kilometre warranties, but to be honest, 150,000km in six years is going to be beyond the need and aspirations of most owners.

The EV battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty, and let’s not forget, BYD was a battery manufacturer before it started making whole cars. Certainly, the company is very bullish about the quality and safety of its 'Blade' battery technology, claiming it easily passes the technically-daunting 'nail-puncture' test.

BYD plans to have capped-price servicing for the Sealion 5, but no pricing announcements have been made yet.

Servicing also falls into line with other BYD models, so that means 12 months or 20,000km intervals.

LDV isn’t close to the leaders in the segment for ownership, with a behind-the-times three-year/100,000km warranty (admittedly with the same cover for roadside assist), and no capped price servicing plan. 

Service intervals are every 12 months/10,000km, which is short, and you need to get an initial service done at 5000km, too. 

If you’re worried about long-term longevity, you can check out our LDV G10 problems page.