Item: 2026 BYD Sealion 5
Rating: 7.9
Author: David Morley

BYD Sealion 5 Premium 2026 review: snapshot

The two-variant Sealion 5 range is topped by the Premium version which costs $37,990 plus on-road costs. For that, you get the basic Sealion 5's plug-in hybrid driveline, a mid-sized SUV layout, seats for five and some extra gear such as a panoramic sunroof, improved stereo, powered front seats and a powered tailgate.

You also get a larger EV battery which takes the potential EV range to a claimed 100km and can be charged on a household socket in less than six hours.

The rest of the driveline is the same as the Essential model, including the single electric motor driving the front wheels through a one-speed transmission and a 1.5-litre petrol engine whose main job is the charge the battery-pack. Power is a handy 165kW and torque is 300Nm.

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Explore the 2026 BYD Sealion 5 Range

BYD Sealion 5 Premium 2026 review: snapshot

BYD Sealion 5 Essential 2026 review: snapshot

Safety gear runs to seven airbags including a front-centre airbag, and the full range of driver aids including autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, rear-cross traffic alert and active cruise-control. There's also an on-board tyre pressure monitoring system. The Sealion 5 has not yet been crash tested by ANCAP.

The Sealion 5 carries BYD's six-year/150,000km warranty with an eight-year/160,000km on the EV battery.