BYD Sealion 5 vs Mercedes-Benz X350

What's the difference?

This is the most affordable plug-in hybrid available in Australia – as this review is published – but it’s got a lot more going for it than just that.

The 2026 BYD Sealion 5 is a mid-size SUV wearing a BYD badge that has been thrust into the public’s awareness by the popular BYD Shark 6 – as well as by widespread criticism of brand's less popular aftersales shortcomings through much of 2025.

It’s also a plug-in hybrid that is showing up as the nation faces a fuel crisis, despite many remaining sceptical of going ‘full EV’.

The Sealion 5 has a long list of features, of course, plus a claimed four-figure driving range. Is this BYD too good to be true?

We grabbed the entry-level Essential to find out.

The V6 X-Class is big, bold and bloody expensive – and it has segment-topping safety tech– but its price-tag swiftly climbs above more than $80,000 when you start adding one of the many optional extras and is it really worth that much beyond the cache of the badge? Really?

Sure, the bigger engine is what most potential X-Class buyers were pushing for after the launch of the four-cylinder-powered utes as part of the first-gen X-Class wave, but is there room – or even actual demand – for such a high-priced supposedly luxury ute?

Read on.