BYD Sealion 7 vs Mercedes-Benz GLB

What's the difference?

The BYD Sealion 7 Performance is well-priced and well-equipped. It more than holds its own against its mid-size electric SUV rivals. It has great motor outputs and it handles comfortably on the road. There's a lot to like here but some of the technology needs to be tweaked.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB is an oddball. While it isn’t my definition of beauty, it's a surprisingly capable and spacious small-to-medium SUV.

The entry-level GLB200, while comfortable, feels a bit underdone in the engine department. Therefore the mid-spec GLB250 with the more-powerful 2.0-litre turbo and mild-hybrid assistance plus all-wheel drive grip is the better pick.

It may be named after a sea lion but it doesn’t resemble the blubbery cuteness of the creature itself. However, its sleek dynamic styling and performance outputs do call forth some of the creature's water prowess. 

This prowess is hinted at by the 20-inch alloys which are fitted with Michelin tyres and red brake calipers. There’s some Porsche-like design notes in the wide swoopy nose and LED headlights. The rear is also quite handsome with its long LED band strip and narrow window giving it a sporty silhouette.

Head inside and the Performance showcases the best BYD cabin I've sampled. There are no strange accents or panelling like there are in the Atto 3. This proves that BYD can do premium well.

The quilted leather upholstery feels supple underhand and the sports seats with integrated headrests reminds you what it can achieve in a sprint.

The swoopy design is carried over inside with the door panels. The dashboard is simply styled but headlined by an enormous 15.6-inch display that can rotate between landscape or portrait mode. Some may liken it to an iPad but it works.

The panoramic sunroof keeps things bright and cheerful but there are some simplistic elements that are hard to ignore. Like the lack of buttons, minimalist mirror cover design on the sunvisors and a rather plain-looking centre console.

Everything else flows and my favourite feature inside is surprisingly the lever door handles! They're functional but cute.

This isn’t the prettiest car ever. It has the Mazda CX-8 or CX-80 effect where you can tell a smaller car has been stretched and extended to create more interior space. It just looks a little awkward as a result.

The rear section of the GLB in particular is much higher and boxier than the GLA which makes it look rather back-heavy. Thankfully roof rails are standard which toughens the look somewhat.

The facelift that was introduced in 2023 brought an updated front bumper, as well as tweaked LED headlight and tail-light signatures. The changes aren’t wildly different from the original car that launched in 2019 but it’s still fresh enough.

Inside is where this car is starting to look its age. While Mercedes-Benz was one of the first to introduce a wraparound screen set-up combining the digital instrument cluster and touchscreen multimedia system into a single unit, many have copied this and it no longer looks unique.

It doesn’t help that the dual 10.25-inch screens are small now in comparison to newer rivals. It’s standard for a digital instrument cluster to be closer to 12.3-inches in diameter now.

A main interior change with this facelift included the removal of the touchpad controller on the centre console. In its place is now a shallow storage area which doesn’t really serve a purpose.

There’s also a new AMG-style steering wheel as standard which has fiddly gloss black touch sliders that get grimy upon use.

While the changes are welcome, the ageing roots are still present. You can’t escape the blingy touches that just end up looking cheap and tacky.

A key example of this are the air vents which have obnoxious interior ambient lighting in them to try and make the cabin look cool.

I’m also not a huge fan of the star pattern trim on the dashboard and the swathes of stainless steel-looking inlays.

The cabin has space, space and then more space. Passenger comfort is all but guaranteed with the available leg- and headroom in each row.

The functions for the electric front seats means it's easy to find a comfortable position. Door apertures are wide for each row and despite a relatively low 140mm ground clearance, it's still an easy SUV to slide in and out of.

Technology looks great and the large 15.6-inch multimedia display is what catches your eye first. Graphics are sharply rendered and the touchscreen responsive. There's a lot of information and menus embedded into the display which means it's a system that will take you a beat to get used to.

It's not unique but the in-built voice assistant rarely works as it should and needs some work. Also, because of the lack of buttons and dials, all functions are accessed via the screen. I don't like this because it tends to draw your eyes from the road far more often than it should and some functions - like the heat and ventilation for the front seats - are buried in a few menus.

There is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but there are some gremlins that need to be ironed out. The connectivity is easy enough but the steering wheel mounted phone control didn't access Apple CarPlay. So, I couldn't hang up my phone call properly, it would instead access the Bluetooth phone menu and dial my last call. I had a few 'butt' dials this week because of it.

Storage is on par with the Performance rivals and up front the burden falls across the large glovebox and middle console but there is also a shelf underneath the centre console for bigger items, like a handbag. There are two phone cradles, although only one offers wireless charging, and two height-adjustable cupholders two drink bottle holders and small storage bins.

In the rear, you get two device pockets and a map pocket on the back of each front seat. There is a fold-down armrest with retractable cupholders and a small storage pocket (think Kindle-size) and there are storage bins in each door.

The boot capacity is a decent 500L and the floor can be adjusted to two heights, one offering a level loading space. There is also a frunk storage of 58L for any cables or random bits you don't use often. Under the boot floor there is also enough room for cables and the tyre repair kit. The powered tailgate can be access via your keyfob as well.

For a flagship grade, I would have expected a few extra amenities in the rear, like climate control and sunshades but it does have directional air vents, reading lights and a USB-A and C port.

Up front the driver’s seat is comfortable, offering electric adjustability and lumbar support, extendable thigh support and heating. Some extra bolstering on the seat base would be nice though as it’s a little flat for my liking.

While the glossy piano black touch sliders on the steering wheel aren’t the most intuitive, I love holding this leather-wrapped wheel as it straddles the line of being thick enough but not too thick. BMW should take note…

The thin stalks behind the steering wheel are a joy to use and have a nice thwack to them. I appreciate the column-mounted gear selector as this frees up more space on the centre console, though it could be utilised better. More on this in a bit.

The digital instrument cluster offers a range of different themes to select from, though the standard version looks the nicest and offers the most customisation. It’s nice being able to put a full-width map display on the instrument cluster.

The touchscreen multimedia system offers a clean and intuitive interface that’s hard to get lost in. For the most part, however, I ended up using smartphone mirroring. Thankfully this update brought wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It’s nice having the row of physical climate control switchgear within easy reach especially as carmakers are now integrating these into the touchscreen interface. Even Mercedes-Benz is guilty of this in its newer cars.

There isn’t a tonne of general storage on the centre console beyond the deep central box which has a split-opening lid. The wireless charger barely fits my iPhone 15 Pro Max, the cupholders are on the small side and the aforementioned storage section where the touch slider once was is useless from a storage standpoint.

Moving to the second row, it’s rather spacious for a small-ish SUV. At a leggy 182cm tall, I have plenty of leg and headroom behind my own driving position.

You’re able to slide and recline each individual seat in the second row to prioritise second-row comfort or allow more space for third-row passengers. It’s needed because third-row space is tight!

Second-row amenities include air vents mounted on the back of the centre console, various storage spaces, two USB-C ports, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders. Also if you stare at the back of the centre console it looks very much like a screaming face.

As already mentioned, the third row isn’t the most spacious ever, although this is a small-ish SUV so best not to expect palatial levels of room. It’s likely more for occasional use by children and it’s good to note there is airbag coverage back there.

Amenities are few and far between in the third row, limited to just a few storage spots and a USB-C port on both sides. Unfortunately there are no air vents.

At the back there’s a handsfree power tailgate which is handy if you’ve got your hands full. It opens swiftly, though with all three rows of seating upright there isn’t much room at all. Mercedes-Benz doesn’t even quote a boot capacity figure, but it’s only enough for a bag or two.

Thankfully if you’re not using the third row the benefit of this car is there’s much more boot space than the GLA. Mercedes-Benz claims there’s a generous 565L of boot space, which can further expand to 1800L with the second row folded.

Unfortunately there is no spare wheel in the GLB200 as it has run-flat tyres as standard, though regular tyres with a tyre repair kit is a no-cost option.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB200 is currently priced at $67,600 before on-road costs.

There aren’t many premium seven-seat SUVs that are this compact out there. The closest rivals would be the mid-size Volkswagen Tayron and related Skoda Kodiaq.

But for this price you can easily get something larger like a Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe or Mazda CX-80. You do have to ditch the premo badge though.

For your money you do get a generous amount of standard equipment. This includes 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, dual 10.25-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, interior ambient lighting, as well as heated front seats with electric adjustment.

However our tester was optioned with a panoramic glass sunroof ($1900) and black leather upholstery ($1539), bringing the as-tested price to $71,039 before on-road costs. This is still around $18,000 off the cheapest GLC.

A nifty reason for opting for this car over the GLA is because there’s a third row of seating. It's not the most spacious row, but when folded there is more boot space. More on this later.

The Performance is all-wheel drive and is fully electric with dual motors, a squirrel cage induction motor located at the front and a permanent magnet synchronous motor at the rear. Together they produce up to 390kW of power and 690Nm of torque.

This gives the flagship grade a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.5 seconds. There’s obviously ample power to be had here which will delight EV fans who like that tummy-falling sensation when accelerating.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB200 is powered by a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine which produces 120kW and 270Nm.

This engine also features in ‘200’ versions of the A-Class, CLA and GLA, plus versions of it also feature in the Renault Arkana, Captur, Duster, and Kangoo, as well as the Nissan Qashqai and now the new Mitsubishi ASX.

It’s mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with drive sent to the front wheels only.

Unlike the more powerful GLB250 and AMG GLB35 all-wheel drive trims, the GLB200 is the only model to go without 48V mild-hybrid assistance in Australia. It was originally promised when this facelifted model was announced in 2023.

Mercedes-Benz claims the GLB200 can do the 0-100km/h sprint in 9.3 seconds and top speed is 207km/h.

The Sealion 7 Performance has a blade battery with a large 82.56kWh capacity which supports a 456km WLTP driving range. This isn’t terrible for city drivers but a regional driver will likely want a longer range. BYD includes a portable charging cable with the model.

Charging is sorted via a Type 2 CCS charging port which accepts up to 11kW on an AC charger and up to 150kW on a DC charger. On a 150kW DC charger, you can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 32 minutes and that increases to more than eight hours on an 11kW AC charger. All of the figures are quite good and help with the general day-to-day convenience.

The official energy consumption figure is 20.4 kWh per 100km but after doing a healthy mix of open-road driving and city stuff, my average has popped out at 19.1kWh. I reckon it's a solid result for a ‘performance’ grade but I didn’t find the regenerative braking to be particularly strong on this model.

Mercedes-Benz claims the GLB200 has a combined fuel consumption of 7.5L/100km.

During our urban and metropolitan-based testing, however, we saw an average of 9.0L/100km according to the trip computer which isn’t great but also not the worst I’ve seen. Expect this figure to balloon out further if you load more people onboard as the engine will have to work harder.

There is a 52L fuel tank which requires a minimum of 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.

Using my as-tested fuel consumption figure, this means the GLB200 has a theoretical range of up to 578km.

The Performance grade offers plenty of power that is delivered wickedly quick without feeling overwhelming when you have to accelerate. You still feel in control, which is very important when you have outputs like this does.

The steering is responsive and light enough for quick lane changes. The general on-road handling is quite refined but there is more roll in corners than you’d expect and this is the only time the power can make the handling feel a tad wobbly.

Surprisingly, there isn't a one-pedal function and the regen braking isn’t particularly strong. It’s difficult to ‘creep’ forward in this in stop/start traffic where it can feel a bit jerky at times, so it handles best on the open road.

Visibility is mostly good but the rear window is narrow and a digital rear-view mirror would have been welcomed in this model. Suspension is sports-firm but forgiving over bigger bumps. 

The 360-degree view camera and surrounding sensors makes this super easy to park and honestly, you shouldn’t have any trouble manoeuvring the Sealion 7.

While this 1.3-litre turbo engine may be sufficient in the smaller A-Class and GLA, it barely scrapes by in the GLB200.

Even with one person onboard the engine has to rev out the first few gears to around 3000rpm to keep up with traffic from the lights. It doesn't have the nicest engine note either.

It doesn’t help that the dual-clutch automatic can be a little vague from a standstill, taking a beat to kick into action. This is most noticeable when doing low-speed manoeuvres or reversing.

Although initial acceleration can be on the thrashy side, rolling acceleration while at speed is a lot more linear and calm thanks to peak torque coming on tap from 2000rpm. This means the car will only downshift when it needs to.

There are a few different drive modes you can select from, but the default ‘Comfort’ mode feels the most natural. ‘Eco’ does quell some of the rev flares during initial acceleration, though the engine feels much more tardy in general.

Linked with these drive modes are the adaptive dampers. This is a very comfortable car, especially on the standard smaller 19-inch alloy wheels as there’s plenty of tyre sidewall to absorb bigger bumps.

Coupled with this is sporty steering that’s direct and makes the car feel nimble despite its 1.7-tonne kerb weight.

It really is the best of both worlds because you get the fun and sporty characteristics from the steering, plus the comfort and supple feeling from the suspension. It’s hard to fault this set-up.

In terms of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), if you look beyond the sometimes shouty engine, this car is quiet and refined. There’s some tyre roar at higher speeds, but many European vehicles have this trait.

It’s also a benefit that this car is a little older as there aren’t many safety system-related bings and bongs that distract from the cabin ambience.

The Mercedes-Benz GLB received a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on Euro NCAP testing conducted in 2019.

It received 92 per cent in Adult Occupant Protection, 88 per cent in Child Occupant Protection, 78 per cent in Vulnerable Road User Protection and 76 per cent in Safety Assist.

As standard there are nine airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround-view camera.

A nifty safety feature is the Pre-Safe system which tightens the seatbelts and plays a tone when it detects an imminent crash.

There are ISOFIX child seat anchor points on the outboard second-row seats, as well as on the two third-row seats. All three second-row seats, plus the two third-row seats also have top-tether points.

The Sealion 7 is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty which is good for the class. The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty which is a normal term.

The Sealion 7 gets a 10-year capped price servicing but it’s expensive compared to some of its peers at $4157.

Servicing intervals are spaced at every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first.

The GLB200 is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, like the rest of the Mercedes-Benz line-up.

Logbook servicing is every 12 months or 25,000km, whichever comes first, which is good if you do a lot of driving.

You can purchase a three-, four- or five-year service package which costs $3495, $4650 and $6185, respectively. With the latter this equals $1237 per service, which is expensive, although it is cheaper than the slightly larger GLC.