BYD Sealion 8 vs Kia EV5

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 size is right, the price is right and the drive is right – three things that make the Kia EV5 a pretty formidable foe, and the kind of vehicle that might finally be able to break through the wall of the temple of Tesla in Australia.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

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.

If you’re familiar with any of Kia’s EV designs, and specifically the EV9, you’ll already know the Kia EV5, which looks a lot like a shrunken version of the company’s biggest electric 4WD.

But this one looks a bit smaller, a bit more familiar looking, and maybe a bit more accessible than the hyper-modern EV9.

Honestly, it looks like a contemporary, mid-size SUV that could be powered by anything.

There are a couple of EV5 design elements I really like. The first is the combination of hard edges and subtle curves, which combine really well. I also love the lighting treatment up front, which gives the EV5 a bold and unique light signature, especially at night.

Inside, it’s another story of familiarity, with a clean, high-tech cabin and Kia’s common twin-screen set-up. Actually, it’s more a triple screen, with two 12.3-inch screens, and a 5.0-inch climate monitor between them.

The materials are all nice, and they look great, but they don’t exactly melt under the touch, and that gives the EV5’s cabin a hard edge I don’t love.

I do, however, love the inclusion of some physical buttons, so you’re not pawing through the screen to access every in-car function.

And one final design quirk. I know it looks like it has an old-school bench front seat, but you can’t use it as a third seat in front. Kia says it’s just a design flourish. But it is also somewhere safe to pop your phone or other small valuables to stop them sliding about when you're on the road.

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.

At 4615mm in length, 1875mm in width, 1715mm in height, and with a wheelbase of 2750mm, the Kia EV5 is roughly the same size as a Tesla Model Y, so if you’re ever sat in the back of the Tesla, you’ll have a fair idea of what to expect here.

Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I found I had a heap of knee room, more than enough headroom, and I reckon you could fit three adults across the back seat pretty easily, too.

There are a couple of design flourishes I really like, too. The pull-down divider that separates the backseat is home to two cupholders, which isn’t unusual, but what is new to me is the unique positioning of the USB charge ports, which are in the middle-back of the front seats, right above the storage pocket, so you have somewhere to pop your phone and cable when you're charging.

There is also a deep storage draw between the two front seats. It’s just for extra storage in the Air and Earth, but in the GT-Line it’s heated and cooled, which means hot pies or cold drinks when you’re on the move.

The EV5 might be an all-electric vehicle, but it’s still a mid-size SUV, which means there are certain standards it has to hit to be taken seriously, and one of those is boot space.

Up front there’s 67 litres of space in the fruit, or frunk, while the boot holds 513L with the rear seats in place – that number obviously growing as you begin folding them flat.

It is also a hugely customisable space. There’s heaps of under-floor storage below the removable panels. There’s also vehicle-to-load capability, which takes the form of a standard power point in the boot that can use the vehicle’s battery to power pretty much whatever you want.

Finally, there are adjustable luggage hooks, so you can carry bigger or smaller bags as you wish.

The cheapest EV5, the Air, arrives in two guises, Standard Range or Long Range, and the former is something of a bargain.

It’s the only EV5 to get included on-road costs, and Kia is asking $56,770, on the road. That puts it well below the Tesla Model Y. As of right now, the single-motor Tesla is $60,868, on the road, in NSW.

Next is the Air Long Range, which lists at $61,170, before on-road costs. The EV5 Earth occupies the middle rung, at $64,770, before on-roads, while the yet-to-arrive flagship, the GT-Line, is a considerable $71,770, before on-road costs.

Air models get 18-inch alloys, LED lighting all around, roof racks and power mirrors, while inside there are cloth and synthetic leather seats, with a massage function for the driver, along with a synthetic leather steering wheel and LED interior lighting.

Tech is covered by twin 12.3-inch screens, with a smaller 5.0-inch climate screen sandwiched between them, and there’s in-built nav, a six-speaker stereo and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Earth then adds 19-inch alloys, gloss black exterior design flourishes and privacy glass, while inside, the seats are now entirely synthetic leather. You also get a second V2L connection, as well as a powered tailgate.

Finally, the GT-Line gets pretty much everything Kia could throw at it, including 20-inch alloys, auto-flush door handles, a panoramic sunroof, two-tone seats which are now billed as offering "premium relaxation", wireless phone charging, fingerprint recognition, a heated steering wheel and an augmented-reality head-up display.

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 entry-level EV5 Air is available in Standard Range or Long Range guises, both powered by a single front-mounted electric motor, producing 160kW and 310Nm. 

The Standard Range will clip 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds, while the extra weight of the bigger battery slows down the sprint in the Long Range, taking around 8.9 seconds. 

The Earth is a twin-motor AWD offering, with a motor at each axle, lifting outputs to 230kW and 480Nm, dropping the sprint to a brisk-feeling 6.1 seconds. The incoming GT-Line gets the same powertrain.

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.

The Air Standard Range gets a 64.2 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, weighing in at a hefty 428kg, which delivers a claimed driving range of 400km. The Air Long Range, the Earth and the incoming GT-Line all share the same 88.1kWh battery, upping the range to 555km, 500km and 470km, respectively.

So, if driving range is at the very top of your must-have list, the Air Long Range is the car for you.

All cars can take 7.0kW home AC charging, while the dual-motor versions are set up for 11kW AC charging. Fast charging. When it comes to fast charging, all models can plug into a 350kW charger, taking them from 10 percent to 80 per cent in less than 40minutes.

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.

First things first – I spend most of my time behind the wheel of the EV5 Earth, which though it shares its dual-motor powertrain with the GT-Line, is actually the fastest of the lot owing to the extra weight of Kia's flagship.

That means zero to 100km/h in just over six seconds, and trust me when I say this, that is more than fast enough. I know you read about EVs knocking off the sprint to 100km/h in supercar-besting times, but you don't need that sort of crazy acceleration in a family-focused mid-size SUV.

Actually, forget needing, you don't want it. The EV5 feels more than punchy enough, without shaving years off your life every time you plant your foot.

Fit for purpose, then, which is exactly how I'd describe the rest of the EV5's very good drive experience. Kia's Australian ride and handling wizards have once again had their way with the EV5, and the result is an EV that handles most everything Australian road surfaces can throw it at it with ease.

Surprisingly, it's maybe not quite as dynamically sharp as the bigger EV9, but it's always comfortable, without feeling floaty or disconnected, and it will happily grip its way around tighter corners without tipping from side to side, either.

There are a couple of small quirks, though. The first is the steering, which is definitely responsive and confidence inspiring, but it also has a kind of artificial weight or heaviness at times that feels a bit disconnected from what's happening beneath the tyres. And the cabin can be a little noisy through wind, too.

But these are small beans, really. The EV5 is comfortable and capable, and without the harsh ride or too-sharp steering that can be found in some of its rivals.

We drove it for hours across all sorts of road surfaces, and in all sorts of conditions, and found very, very little to complain about.

Every EV5 gets a comprehensive safety offering, including 'Advanced AEB' that includes junction crossing, lane oncoming and lane changing alerts. There’s rear-cross-traffic alert, semi-autonomous highway cruising and a whole heap more.

If you want a blind-spot view monitor, surround-view monitor or remote park assist, you’ll need to spring for the GT-Line.

The EV5 hasn’t been crash-tested yet, but Kia will be shooting for the maximum five-star ANCAP rating.

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 EV5 is covered by Kia’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and you can prepay your servicing costs, too.

Three years will set you back $980, five years is $1535 and the full seven years will set you back $2431 ($347 per workshop visit), which is category competitive.