Mazda MX-5 vs BYD Sealion 5

What's the difference?

It's not often a car is elevated to 'icon' status, cars like the VW Beetle, Porsche 911, Toyota LandCruiser or Ford Mustang - but the Mazda MX-5 has quietly been the best choice for keen drivers who don't want to break the bank with a big sticker price or costly maintenance.

The ND MX-5 has been around since 2015, and while it’s been praised as a return to the original, simple formula of the NA MX-5 from the late 80s and early 90s, it’s getting close to a decade old.

So, a little refresh with some new tech and a mechanical tweak is here to make the roadster feel like a playful pup once more.

And what better place to test that out than a combination of the winding roads of the Adelaide Hills wine region, paired nicely with a main course of track driving at The Bend Motorsport Park?

This is the most affordable plug-in hybrid available in Australia – as this review is published – but it’s got a lot more going for it than just that.

The 2026 BYD Sealion 5 is a mid-size SUV wearing a BYD badge that has been thrust into the public’s awareness by the popular BYD Shark 6 – as well as by widespread criticism of brand's less popular aftersales shortcomings through much of 2025.

It’s also a plug-in hybrid that is showing up as the nation faces a fuel crisis, despite many remaining sceptical of going ‘full EV’.

The Sealion 5 has a long list of features, of course, plus a claimed four-figure driving range. Is this BYD too good to be true?

We grabbed the entry-level Essential to find out.