BYD Sealion 8 vs Ford Everest

What's the difference?

There’s no denying the value the BYD Sealion 8 Premium offers as it packs a lot in for the price. Its efficiency and inoffensive looks add up to a good package and reflect what it does well. That said, the underwhelming driving experience and clunky media system are noticeable. Whether they're deal breakers is up to you.

The Ford Everest has always been an impressive 4WD wagon, with useful day-to-day driveability and real off-road capability.

As standard, it has a lot going for it. It’s quiet and refined on-road, very capable off-road and it’s packed with features.

The 2.0-litre single-turbo Active is a solid entry-point into the Everest line-up and, though it lacks the polish of its higher-spec stablemates and doesn’t yield the kind of improvement in fuel economy you might have hoped for, it makes a strong case as a touring vehicle with plenty of aftermarket-build potential.

The Sealion 8 is a big unit, and its design leans more towards soft and rounded than sharp. There’s a sense of restraint with its pillowy panels, smooth curves and flush door handles all contributing to a clean, almost clinical look.

The 21-inch wheels add a bit of presence, as does the full-width LED light bar with its braided design. But overall, it doesn’t try too hard to stand out. It’s inoffensive - clean and easy on the eye, but it stops short of having any sense of identity.

Inside, the cabin carries that same restrained approach. There’s black leather upholstery, some interesting geometric detailing through the panels and speaker grilles and a generous use of soft-touch materials throughout.

The large displays and panoramic sunroof help lift the space, giving it a premium feel, but more importantly, it’s just a comfortable, easy place to spend time. Which, for a family SUV, arguably matters more than anything else.

In terms of design, the Everest’s exterior and interior remain largely unchanged although some minor trim elements have been made darker in colour, and there are some new alloy wheel designs and exterior paint options on higher-spec variants.

Otherwise the Everest retains its chunky presence and recognisable profile. At 4914mm long (without the tow receiver installed), 2207mm wide (with its wing mirrors out), and 1876mm high, the Everest is not an insubstantial 4WD wagon but it manages to avoid being showy about it.

The cabin is a clear, well-laid out space and in design terms it errs more towards function than fashion – more about that soon.

Inside and out, the Everest is familiar in a good way and outshines many of its rivals.

Up front, storage and general usability are well thought out. There’s a handy shelf tucked underneath the centre console with two USB-C ports, while a tray above houses the fast wireless charging pad. You also get a sunglasses holder, two cupholders and decent-sized bottle holders in the doors, so it’s easy to keep things organised.

Seat comfort is a highlight, and the overall layout is clean and easy to live with, but the same can’t be said for the multimedia system. While the graphics are sharp and the touchscreen is responsive, functionality isn’t always its strong suit. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, but CarPlay required reconnecting on every drive during testing and the digital radio and phone calls experienced noticeable signal dropouts. It’s the kind of friction that chips away at the day-to-day experience and starts to feel out of step with how polished the rest of the cabin is.

There’s also a heavy reliance on the screen for core functions. Climate control is integrated, which is fairly standard, but so too are things like headlight controls. It might suit those who are used to navigating everything through a screen, but needing to dig through menus to adjust something like auto high beam on the move feels like a step too far. Bring back buttons.

The second row is where the Sealion 8 really leans into its family-friendly brief. Space is generous, with enough width to comfortably accommodate three adults and the flat floor helps here too. There are three top tether points and two ISOFIX mounts, while charging is covered by a USB-A and USB-C port.

Amenities are a standout. The outboard seats mirror the front with heating, ventilation and massage functions, which quickly become a favourite, alongside dedicated climate controls, roof-mounted air vents and multiple cupholders. A set of sunshades would round things out nicely, but it’s otherwise a very accommodating space.

Access to the third row is less impressive. The manual slide and tilt mechanism feels a little heavy and fiddly to operate and the space itself is best reserved for kids. In practice, that means younger passengers will likely take the path of least resistance, as mine did and simply climb over the second row instead.

Amenities are fairly basic, with directional air vents and cupholders, but there’s no charging provision back there. You do, however, get two top tether points and ISOFIX mounts, which will be a plus for larger families.

Around the back, the boot is a practical, usable space with a wide opening and flat loading floor. With all three rows in place, there’s 270L on offer, which is enough for a few school bags or a grocery run, expanding to 960L with the third row folded. There’s no spare tyre, just a repair kit, which may be a consideration for regional drivers. A 12-volt socket and powered tailgate round things out in this grade.

The Active, being the entry-level Everest, has a well-laid out cabin and, as mentioned earlier, it errs more towards function than fashion.

If you’ve spent any time in an Everest cabin you’ll know.

Being the base variant the Active misses out on leather everything – though the seats are 'leather accented' – and most other things I would consider frippery are absent, but you do get all the things you actually need in a car.

Of note here is the fact the Active is a five-seater as standard but can be optioned up with seven seats; our test vehicle having the extra two-seat option.

There are plenty of storage spaces throughout the cabin (cupholders everywhere you’d expect, as well as map pockets and bottle holders in the doors) and charging points (USB-A, USB-C and 12-volt ports) and everything is easy to find, access and use.

The large portrait-style touchscreen takes pride of place upfront and can be used to control pretty much everything onboard, except your obnoxious teenagers.

All seats are comfortable, with that level of comfort – as well as space – dropping marginally as you move from the front seats to the second row and on to the less-spacious back row.

All rows have adjustable air vents. The second row has ISOFIX child-seat anchors in the two outboard seats, and three top-tether points. The third row has two top-tether points.

In terms of cargo space, with all seven seats in use, there is a claimed 259 litres. With the third row stowed away, there is 898 litres, and with the second and third row stowed away, there is a listed 1823L of room for your luggage.

Payload is 855kg in the Active and that’s the MY2026.50 Everest line-up’s biggest payload.

The Ford Everest Active is available with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine or a V6 turbo-diesel.

The 2.0-litre version, as per our test vehicle (125kW/405Nm, part-time 4x4), has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $58,990, before on-road costs, while the 3.0-litre V6 Active (184kW/600Nm, full-time 4WD) has a MSRP of $66,990, before on-roads.

Standard features in the Active include a 12.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system (now standard across the range), leather-accented seats, tinted rear windows, tyre-pressure monitoring and six drive modes (not for the four-wheel drive system).

All Everests now have LED headlights, power mirrors, roof rails, a powered driver’s seat, dual-zone climate-control and an electronic park-brake.

The standard wheel-and-tyre package is an 18-inch alloys and all-season tyre combination, but our test vehicle has a stack of extras onboard including a towing pack ($2000), third-row seating ($1350), 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/65 Goodyear All Terrain tyres and matching spare ($750) and prestige paint ($750).

Exterior paint choices include the no-cost Arctic White, or the extra-cost prestige shades - Meteor Grey, Aluminium (aka silver) or Shadow Black.

This base-spec Everest ranks well in the value-for-money stakes against its rivals, such as the GWM Tank 500, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota LandCruiser Prado.

The BYD Sealion 8 Premium is all-wheel drive and pairs a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine with two electric motors, one on each axle. Combined outputs sit at a hefty 359kW and 675Nm, which comfortably out-muscles its key rivals.

Those figures do drop back to a more modest 110kW and 220Nm when running on the petrol engine alone.

Performance is strong for a large family SUV, with a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.9 seconds. You can toggle between pure EV and hybrid modes depending on the drive, which adds a layer of flexibility that suits short daily trips and longer highway runs.

The big news here is that the single-turbo has replaced the twin-turbo and power and torque figures are down as a result.

The new engine – developed to improve fuel economy – produces 125kW at 3500rpm and 405Nm at 1750-2500rpm, compared to the 154kW and 500Nm that the outgoing Ford 'Bi-Turbo' engine produces.

There’s no discernible difference in the two engines in general daily driving, although there is some lag under foot with initial acceleration.

The 10-speed automatic transmission is now standard across the Everest range.

The Active’s 4WD system offers 2WD, 4WD high-range, and 4WD low-range – it does not have '4Auto', which means you can’t drive this vehicle in 4WD on high-traction surfaces, as you can in some higher-spec variants.

Selectable Drive Modes – including Normal, Eco, Tow / Haul, Slippery, Mud / Ruts, and Sand – all adjust engine outputs, throttle, transmission, braking, traction and stability controls to best suit the driving conditions.

The Active misses out on the Rock/Crawl drive mode that the higher-grade Tremor V6 gets, but it does have a rear diff lock.

Charging is handled via a Type 2 CCS port, with support for up to 11kW on AC and up to 74kW on a DC fast charger. BYD claims a 30 to 80 per cent recharge can be done in as little as 20 minutes under ideal conditions.

The 35.6kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery is a standout, delivering a claimed electric-only driving range of 152km on the NEDC cycle. That figure is on the optimistic side compared to WLTP testing, but even with that in mind, it remains an impressive number for a plug-in hybrid of this size.

With a full battery, the combined fuel consumption is rated at just 1.0L/100km, translating to a theoretical driving range of over 1000km. Real-world results will vary depending on how often you’re able to charge and the type of driving you’re doing, but after a week that included a fair stretch of highway driving, my trip computer was showing 6.3L/100km. Overall, it’s a solid result, particularly for something with this level of performance.

Official fuel consumption for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 7.1L/100km and our fuel consumption on this test was 8.9L/100km.

The Everest has an 80-litre fuel tank so, going by those figures, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 900km out of a full tank.

Worth noting this Everest will need an AdBlue top-up (18.5-litre tank) every few thousand kilometres.

On-road performance is where things become a bit of a mixed bag. There’s no denying the Sealion 8 Premium is quick and it leans more heavily into its EV character than many large plug-in hybrids. It’s quiet in hybrid mode and responsive off the mark, which makes it easy to keep pace in traffic and overtake when needed. For something of its size, it also does a good job of masking its weight on the move.

Regenerative braking is offered in two levels, but even the stronger setting feels fairly mild. The upside is smoother low-speed driving, with none of the abruptness you sometimes get in hybrids, and it does still recover a decent amount of energy, particularly on longer descents.

Where it falls short is in its overall dynamics. The steering and suspension are tuned for comfort, which results in a soft, slightly floaty feel on the road. It’s not unpleasant and around town it actually suits the car’s brief, but there’s a noticeable lack of feedback and control if you’re expecting something more composed.

Visibility and driver positioning also take some getting used to. The forward view is decent, but the pillars are quite thick and it can be difficult to find a driving position that doesn’t feel a little enclosed.

Judging the edges of the car isn’t always intuitive, and while the 360-degree camera is clear, its perspective can feel slightly off. Objects tend to appear much farther away than they are, which isn’t the most reassuring combination when you’re trying to manoeuvre in tighter spaces.

The Everest hasn't lost a step on road. It’s still very refined and very comfortable.

It is a large 4WD wagon, but never feels too cumbersome to manoeuvre, mostly due to its well-weighted steering.

The front seats are manually adjustable, as is the reach- and rake-adjustable steering wheel, so as a driver you can precisely dial-in your preferred position.

Though the engine loses out on some power and torque, you don't notice that during general driving, although there is a bit of lag under the right foot from pressure down to take off, but it's merely noticeable at times, not terrible.

Otherwise, this single-turbo engine is as capable as its twin-turbo predecessor of delivering smooth and sustained power and torque at low and high speeds.

Good news is the 10-speed auto works well here. And in even more good news the Active gets a proper auto shifter not Ford's 'e-Shifter', which is kind of an overgrown toggle switch.

As mentioned, the Everest offers a smooth and refined drive for myriad reasons, other than the engine and auto.

The suspension set-up, including coil springs all-round, helps smooth out road- or track-surface bumps, resulting in sure-footed ride and handling.

And well managed NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels mean it’s quiet in the cabin, with the intrusion of few noises other than low-level wind-rush around the sizeable wing mirrors.

There is one crucial difference between the Everest Active and some higher-spec variants. This base-spec vehicle misses out on 4Auto, which allows vehicles equipped with it to be driven in what is essentially 4H even on sealed surfaces without any risk of transmission wind-up. And that affords vehicle occupants a little more safety and security in, for example, the rain when the road or track surface may be slippery.

As for 4WDing, well… the Everest has always had ample potential as an off-road touring platform and, in Active spec, it loses none of the range’s efficacy on rough terrain, but does away with some of the frills and keeps the functionality.

The Everest has always been an impressive off-roader, whether it's been powered by a 2.0-litre twin-turbo or a V6 – and this 2.0-litre single-turbo engine is perfectly adequate. It gives you the ability to truck along through light to moderate off-roading and even on the fringe of more difficult 4WDing.

There is plenty of low-down torque on tap here, and the driver-assist tech and 4WD mechanicals are an effective combination.

The Active’s off-road- and touring-related drive modes – including Tow/Haul and Slippery – tweak throttle response, transmission, and traction controls to match the task and the prevailing driving conditions. It has a locking rear differential for when the terrain requires it.

The Everest has a listed length of 4914mm (with a 2900mm wheelbase), a width of 2015mm, and a height of 1876mm. It has a turning circle of 11.8m and an official kerb weight is 2245kg.

So, while it feels highly manoeuvrable, even on narrow overgrown tracks, it still requires the driver’s full and sustained attention.

Approach angle is 30.4 degrees, departure angle is 25.3 degrees, and ramp break-over is 22.2 degrees. The Everest has a long wheelbase so its undercarriage is vulnerable to hitting the ground on more severe terrain, so to avoid belly-scraping and sidestep run-ins with rocks, tree stumps or exposed tree roots, keep that in mind. Ford has put solid steel underbody protection on all 4×4 variants, so the vehicle is able to cop a knock or two.

The standard Active gets bush-suitable 18-inch alloys and all-season tyres, although 18-inchers on Goodyear Wrangler Territory (255/65R18) all-terrain tyres are an option, as per our test vehicle.

Off-road angles could be boosted with a mild lift and, while the tyres are good enough, you could always opt for more aggressive light-truck construction all-terrains with gnarlier tread and shoulder block bite.

The Everest is rated to tow a 750kg unbraked trailer, and 3500kg braked. Gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3100kg and GCM (gross combined mass) is 6250kg.

The Everest has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on assessment of the closely-related Ranger ute in 2022.

As standard, it has nine airbags and a full suite of driver-assist tech including AEB (Auto Emergency Braking), front and rear parking sensors and a tyre pressure monitoring system. The Active does get adaptive cruise control but not a 360-degree camera view.

BYD offers the Sealion 8 with a six-year/150,000km warranty and an eight-year or up to 160,000km battery warranty. Both terms are competitive for its class.

Service is recommended every 12 months/20,000km with each workshop visit averaging a solid $596 for the first five years (year four is $1360). Accessing a BYD service centre is fairly easy as there are around 70 centres nationwide now.

BYD recommends premium unleaded petrol (95RON) to be used for the Sealion 8.

The Everest is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and comes with 12 months of roadside assistance, which is extended every time your Everest is serviced at a Ford dealership for up to seven years.

Service is scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km and costs a reasonable $399 per workshop visit.

Ford Australia has more than 180 dealerships around the country.