2024 BYD Sealion 6 Premium - Long-term owner

Multimedia and safety technology: 9/10

The Sealion's tech is excellent. The large infotainment screen is bright and easy to use, and the digital instrument panel is easy to read, although it could be more customisable. The HUD on the Premium spec is a nice addition - I use it all the time. I'm impressed with the app, too. as I can turn on the climate control and heated/ventilated seats, lock and unlock the car, open and close the windows, and track the vehicle's location all from my phone.

Practicality: 7/10

The cabin is quite practical with a double wireless phone charging pad and a handy storage area lower in the centre console with USB-A and -C slots. Unfortunately, there's nowhere to stow larger drink bottles - both the door recesses and front cupholders are quite small. The storage bin between the front seats is quite deep, however the glovebox is on the small side. The boot offers more space than is initially evident, with the poorly located rear parcel shelf eating into the space. With the rear seats fully reclined it makes for a poorer first impression. Remove the parcel shelf, however, and incline the rear seats to a more comfortable position and the space opens up to something far more useable. Unfortunately, there are no hooks in the boot for bags.

2024 BYD Sealion 6 Premium (image: Jeremy Jones)

Driving: 8/10

The Sealion 6 is very smooth and quiet to drive. Speed bumps and imperfections in the road are handled with ease. There's no vibration when the petrol engine kicks in - just a muted noise through the cabin. They've done a great job with the drivetrain. Steering is on the light side, which makes it very easy to drive around town. However, I find you need to have the steering in Sport mode as comfort is just too light and lacking in any real feel.

Running costs: 9/10

Insurance was comparable to my ICE vehicle and so far I'm sitting at 1.4L/100km with mostly city driving. Servicing for the first five years is just over $1600. I charge at home and the vehicle is averaging 18kWh/100km.

Reliability: 9/10

I haven't had any reliability issues. I follow a couple of local BYD owner forums and in the first two months of sales, only onr member has reported a major failure (an issue with the steering column).