BYD Sealion 6 vs Jeep Avenger

What's the difference?

So, should Toyota, Tesla, Hyundai and others be worried about the arrival of the Sealion 6 and BYD’s new DMi powertrains? Yes, but not because it represents any major breakthrough in technology or dynamic prowess. 

Instead, the strength of the Sealion 6 is how average it is. It may not be the obvious class-leader in any particular area, but it does a good job in almost every measurable aspect and doesn’t possess any major flaws.

Yes, there are still questions about the long-term dependability of BYDs but that’s a risk any new owner will need to accept. But the very sharp pricing should tempt plenty of buyers to take that chance and continue BYD’s steady upwards trajectory in the Australian market.

The Jeep Avenger is a strong move for the brand as a city-focused offering, and particularly as its first EV.

The styling and easy driving experience should be a draw, but its price in an increasingly competitive small SUV (and electric car) market could be a turn-off for some - even if it is only few thousand dollars more expensive than the slightly larger Compass.

Despite a couple of small flaws and a lacklustre safety rating overseas, the Avenger is ultimately one of the best-driving cars the brand has put out in years, and deserves a look if you’re keen on a practical but stylish EV.

This is one area where BYD has a mixed record. Not to be unkind or create an international incident, but the Chinese car industry has a history of not being totally original with all of its automotive designs.

However, things are improving and the Sealion 6 is a good example of the Chinese industry learning to develop its own style. While there are some subtle hints from European models, overall it’s a smart-looking mid-size SUV with some character to it - rather than being a bland imitation of something else.

One area where the Sealion is a cut above its competition is its size, being longer than and wider than the RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail.

One of the Avenger's biggest draws for me is its style.

Those who like the Jeep brand for its rugged off-road vibes, but don’t actually want or need to go off-road might enjoy that it still looks very Jeep.

We’re told that the decisions made in this car’s design are all for a purpose, and some of them are very clear.

For a start there’s a deliberate plastic barrier wrapped around the full 360 degrees of Avenger to protect the paintwork and body panels in low-speed collisions that can be just as likely off-road as in a carpark.

There’s also the sunken headlights, which sit far enough back that they’re less likely to be damaged in an impact, being one of the most expensive and breakable parts at the front of a car.

But there’s also a series of little hidden ‘easter eggs’ that the Avenger’s head designer Daniele Calonaci left up to us to find for ourselves.

For a start, the tail-lights feature an ‘X’ shape that’s inspired by the jerry cans used to carry spare fuel and liquids in World War 2.

The ‘X’ theme continues in other places on the Avenger,  though there are some more cutesy design features like a series of seven-slot grille motifs around the car in places like the wheels, tail-light, and even a small one under the front grille.

There’s a 3D ladybug in the roof rail up top, too. But perhaps the most ‘aww’-inspiring is the silhouette of a child looking through a telescope in the lower passenger side of the windshield, up at some stars in the upper driver’s side. The child? That’s Calonaci’s son.

That external size translates to a roomy cabin, which also has some flair to the design but thankfully a bit more restrained than the smaller Atto 3 - which is a bit over-the-top in this reviewer’s opinion. 

The element that sticks out immediately is the large central touchscreen which, like other models in the range, can rotate either vertical or horizontal, depending on your preference.

I don’t understand the point of this, because when rotated vertically it impacts your forward vision and can interfere with the air conditioning vents; and I can’t even see it with my polarised sunglasses.

It simply makes more sense horizontally, but I guess all carmakers are looking for catchy gimmicks these days. But while it may seem like a cool party trick it remains somewhat confusing to me, like one more thing to go wrong. But maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy.

What I do like and think is a great idea is double smartphone charging pads in the centre console. And overall the design of the cabin feels well thought out and has plenty of useful storage areas.

The seats are fine, a little flat and the fixed headrests are irritating, but overall they’re soft and supportive enough.

The key in the second row seating is the amount of space, with the extra length of the Sealion 6 compared to its rivals showing up with more knee room in the back for families with growing teenagers or those who need to carry their adult friends.

There’s also a pair of USB ports in the back too, so everyone can keep their electronics charged.

The boot is a good size, measuring 425 litres on paper, and has a nice long and wide floor. But some of that space is thanks to the lack of a spare - so that counts against it in my book.

The outside of the Avenger is plenty of fun, but the inside is a fairly sensible place.

That’s not to say it’s boring, but the use of space for a car of this size is impressive, and there are plenty of places to store things.

There’s a well thought out phone charging pad in a relatively deep storage compartment in the centre of the Avenger, as well as the cupholders in front of the centre armrest and another storage bin underneath, plus a ‘shelf’ along the dash.

The amount of storage is impressive given the Avenger’s interior is a nice, tidy design that still manages to incorporate some useful elements some cars forgo - buttons for the climate controls, for example, are something that are increasingly (and frustratingly) rare.

Anyone who has used a Uconnect system in a Jeep or Fiat in the past might like to know that this one (accessible via a 10.25-inch touchscreen) is a step-up from predecessors.

It’s not perfect, some elements of the menu and feature placement seem a little random at first, but it doesn’t lag, is easy to connect to wirelessly, and has a fairly helpful voice control system.

Functionality is most of the way there generally, but a few missing things like dual-zone climate control or electric adjustment for the passenger seat feel like let-downs, plus the heating on the front seats seemed to be quite weak for a long time before eventually warming.

Behind those seats, the second row is lacking just about any amenities besides a USB port, but it’s not too cramped for a light SUV. Adults might find it suitable for relatively short trips, but kids should be fine for a while.

The sunroof (when featured) doesn’t extend very far back, so the second row also feels a little dark.

Behind that, an impressive 355 litres of boot space expands to 1250 litres when the seats are folded down, plus a plastic lining on the boot lip means you don’t scratch the car when loading or unloading.

Before the Avenger had even landed, Jeep announced a $3000 reduction to the original pricing. While it might seem like this move stems from an increasingly competitive small-SUV market, Jeep says production costs dropped after the pricing was initially set, and the decision was made to pass it along to customers.

In any case, the Avenger now starts from $49,990 before on-road costs for the entry-level Longitude, with a mid-spec Limited costing $54,990 and the appropriately named Summit set at $60,990.

This puts the Avenger among the most expensive offerings in the 'Light SUV' category along with the electric Mini Aceman (from $55,990) and hybrid Lexus LBX (from $47,550), but around the same price as the slightly larger Hyundai Kona Electric (from $54,000) and Renault Megane E-Tech (from $54,990).

It also looks like brilliant value compared to the much smaller and lower-ranged Fiat 500e (from $52,500). Style comes at a cost.

For the Avenger, there’s a bunch of kit that’s standard across the range, plus only one cost-option - premium paint at $990.

Each Avenger gets dual 10.25-inch screens inside, one for the driver instrument display and the other a touchscreen for the multimedia controls, centred on the dash so it can be reached by both front occupants.

Satellite navigation, keyless start, adaptive cruise control and Jeep’s Selec-terrain drive mode system are all also standard features.

The Limited adds partial synthetic leather trim to the seats, keyless entry, more safety features like blind-spot assist and parking sensors, plus a height-adjustable boot floor and more powerful AC charger, with an 11kW version replacing the 7kW of the Longitude. The Limited also has optional two-tone roof paint in black for $495.

Climbing to the Summit means you get the two-tone roof as standard, plus LED projector headlights and LED tail-lights, 18-inch alloys, leather accented heated seats with power adjustment and lumbar massage for the driver, plus it also gets a sunroof over the front occupants.

While BYD has made its name in Australia as an all-electric brand it has always referred to itself as a 'new energy' company, and the Sealion 6 (and upcoming Shark ute) are why.

That’s because these feature BYD’s new 'Dual-Mode Intelligence' (DMi) powetrain - a hybrid system to you and me.

As mentioned above, the biggest difference between the Dynamic and Premium models is the powertrain, with two reasonably different systems.

The Dynamic is powered by a 78kW/135Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, paired with a 145kW/300Nm electric motor - making for a combined system output of 160kW/300Nm. Notably, this powertrain only drives the front wheels.

In contrast, the Premium has an all-wheel drive set-up, combining a turbocharged version of the petrol engine (good for 96kW/220Nm) with a pair of electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear to produce a combined output of 238kW and 550Nm.

Both models get the same 18.3kWh ‘Blade’ battery, which is BYD’s proprietary technology underpinning all of its models and is attracting attention from other brands.

For reference, the Outlander PHEV has a 20kWh battery, Nissan’s X-Trail e-Power has a 2.1kWh battery, while the more conventional RAV4 Hybrid has just a 6.5Ah battery.

The Avenger has one drivetrain for now, a front-wheel drive electric motor, though it sounds like we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of other petrol hybrid drivetrains in the future.

The EV Avenger we’ve got is built on a 400-volt electric architecture, with a single motor delivering 115kW of power and 260Nm of torque.

It’s got a a mode that increases the regenerative braking, though isn’t quite a one-pedal driving experience.

Jeep says it’ll hit 100km/h in 9.0-seconds, but apparently tops out at 150km/h.

There are multiple modes to drive it in, including electric only, with the Dynamic able to go up to 92km on a single charge, while the Premium manages a claimed 81km.

However, it's important to note these are the NEDC standards and not the more real-world like WLTP,  so you may not achieve those in practice.

The claimed fuel consumption is an impressive 1.1L/100km for the Dynamic and 1.4L/100km for the Premium although again achieving those in the real world will take some effort.

With a 60-litre fuel tank BYD claims the Dynamic has a driving range of just over 1000km, while the Premium can manage around 960km.

It's also worth noting the Sealion 6 comes equipped with vehicle-to-load charging which means you can draw power from the batteries to run small electronic devices if you need to.

It’s a bonus feature that may or may not be of use, but is one of those things that may come in handy one day to get you through a camping trip or a BBQ at the park.

The Avenger has a reasonably sized 54kWh lithium-ion battery for a light SUV, which it says allows for a driving range of up to 396km, or 390km in the top-of-the-range Summit, due to the specification.

Under WLTP testing, Jeep says the Avenger is rated at 15.4kWh/100km (15.8kWh/100km for the Summit) for efficiency, and it comes with a Type 2 CCS combo charging socket for either DC fast charging up to 100kW, or AC charging up to 7kW in base Longitude and 11kW in higher variants.

On DC charging at its max 100kW rate, the Avenger should take about 24 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 per cent, while slower AC charging at 11kW takes five hours and 34 minutes.

On the launch drive route, we were seeing between 14.8 and 16.4kWh/100km on the trip computer, so Jeep’s claims seem accurate.

We drove the Sealion 6 Dynamic and despite having the less powerful powertrain it feels good on the road. The DMi system offers good performance, with quiet acceleration off the mark and a good integration between the petrol engine and electric motors. We haven’t driven the Premium yet, so we can’t make any comment on how different it feels.

It’s hard to make a definitive call on the Sealion PHEV powertrain because, like every plug-in hybrid, its greatest strength relies on how the owner operates it.

If you don’t charge the battery every day or so, you’ll just end up lugging around a battery and electric motor for little benefit. However, if you do keep the battery topped up, you can do most of your urban commuting without needing to turn the petrol engine on, which should result in some very low fuel consumption figures.

The company clearly knows this, which is why BYD Australia is offering a complimentary home charger to the first 3000 customers who order a Sealion 6.

Not only will that encourage sales but it will also help owners become evangelists for PHEVs in the future, because they’ll have the best possible experience.

So, a large part of its strength or weakness rests on the owner’s behaviour and that’s something we can’t assess.

As for the rest of the driving experience, the ride comfort is fine. It can’t match the class-leaders for compliance or dynamics, but the Sealion feels pleasant to drive around the urban environment and on the freeway at speed.

Biggest criticism is the steering is very, very light. While that makes parking easier, it feels so light you get very little feedback from the front wheels so it can feel vague at times.

Overall the driving experience is best described as fine. It doesn’t have any major vices but neither does it set any new benchmarks. 

The mix of a fun exterior and practical interior for the Jeep seem to blend into the Avenger’s driving experience. It doesn’t feel too much like an EV, but it is still playful and capable on the road.

Jeep wanted the Avenger to come across like a normal car that just happens to be electric, and the relatively calm take-off (rather than the usual immediate torque push electric cars are capable of) seems to prove that.

Though 115kW doesn’t sound like much on paper, it feels brisk enough for what the little Jeep is built for, and its delivery means even on a wet day like what we copped during the launch drive, wheelspin and torque steer were minimal.

Once up to speed, the Avenger feels pretty light for an EV, and it’s playful enough in corners without feeling like it’s becoming unstuck or hard to handle.

The suspension and steering are clearly aiming for comfortable driving more than sporty performance, and so while both feel well-sorted, neither are particularly communicative. But the steering is accurate and feels nice and light, making the Avenger easy to point into a corner and you can trust it to hold on.

Perhaps the biggest downside is the brake pedal, which is soft and doesn’t grab as quickly or progressively as you’d expect. It takes a few presses to work out how much pressure you need to stop the car.

But a drive mode that adds a bit of regenerative braking helps out there, even if it’s not proper single-pedal driving.

At higher speeds, the Avenger settles well over big bumps and undulations, feels comfy on most surfaces, and despite a bit of road noise and a small rattle in the dash on one of our test cars, it feels pretty easy and confidence-inspiring.

Jeep says the Avenger is built to handle some light off-road driving but I imagine its front-wheel-drive setup would be limiting in some circumstances, especially in the rainy, muddy weather we faced. Despite that, some unsealed mud and gravel driving proved the Avenger capable of gentle inclines at low speeds without risk of sliding.

For reference, ground clearance is 200mm, while the approach and departure angles are 20 and 32 degrees, respectively.

The Jeep Avenger hasn’t been tested by ANCAP, but comes with a disappointing three-star score from Euro NCAP.

Jeep Australia says it’s currently working with ANCAP regarding a potential local score, but wouldn’t detail what that could mean. A small SUV’s score dropping below four stars might concern some young family-type buyers, though most of its poor scoring comes in the categories of Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrians and cyclists) and Safety Assist (active tech).

In terms of what the Avenger offers as standard, there’s auto emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, driver monitoring, a reversing camera and six airbags (no front-centre bag, though).

It’s notably missing rear-cross traffic alert, and the base Longitude makes do with regular adaptive cruise control and parking sensors at the rear only, while higher variants get blind-spot assist, surround parking sensors, and intelligent cruise control.

BYD is a small company but has partnered with mycar service centres to make maintaining your Sealion 6 easier. The Sealion is covered by BYD's six-year/150,000km warranty as well as its 10-year capped price servicing plan.

Service intervals are every 12 months/20,000km and prices range from $265 up to $1184 for the major eight year/160,000km tune up. Over the first five years, in keeping with most of its rivals, you’ll be paying $1648.

As I’ve written in previous BYD reviews, the biggest question mark hanging over the brand is arguably its long-term prospects. Quite simply, the brand is still too new to know how well it will perform on the used car market.

We also can’t tell you how it will hold up from a reliability point-of-view. We’re not suggesting there’s any doubt over its quality, but each car brand must prove itself reliable and dependable over time, and BYD hasn’t had that time yet.

Jeep offers a five-year/100,000km warranty, which is starting to be overtaken by other brands increasingly offering seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranties or longer.

The high-voltage battery system of the Avenger is, however, covered for eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first.

Jeep also offers capped-price servicing for the five-year warranty, with scheduled visits costing just $250 and spaced out at 12,500km or 12-month intervals.

There’s also the brand’s lifetime roadside assist, but only when you service your car with Jeep.