7 seater

Thanks to regulatory filings in China, we have what might be our first look at an updated version of BYD’s Sealion 8 three-row hybrid SUV. Known as the Tang and Tang L in China, the new version of the car filed with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology adopts similar styling to BYD’s flagship Great Tang SUV, which debuted earlier this year. This means a refreshed light profile in the front with a single light bar panel, a smoother profile across the body, tweaked rear light bar designs, more subtle logo work and an overall more premium feel. It also scores either 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels in fresh designs, and replaces the electronic pop-out doorhandles, now banned in China, with flush-set handles. For now, the new version of the car has only been filed in fully electric form equipped with a 300kW single electric motor, while the Sealion 8 version we get in Australia is only a plug-in hybrid. At over five meters long, the Tang has grown slightly over the outgoing model. Its interior is yet to be revealed, but is likely to include at least some of the cabin styling and features from the Great Tang flagship luxury SUV. It features a new steering wheel design, passenger-side entertainment screen, plaid leather seat trim, with an evolution of the geometric dash features which the Sealion 8 originally brought to the Australian market. It is likely it could be some time before such upgrades make it to our market, as BYD’s model strategy continues to diverge between its Chinese domestic line-up and its export market models. For example, Australia won’t receive the major updates to the BYD Atto 3 seen in the Chinese market. Instead, we’ll be getting the ‘Evo’ facelifted version, which has already debuted in Europe. Meanwhile the existing Sealion 8 has had a fairly robust year in Australia, having moved nearly five and a half thousand units in the first half of the year.  This number was significantly boosted by a ship arrival, which accounted for 1961 units in June alone, but even without this boost the Sealion 8 has racked up more registrations than popular rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe (3089 units), Kia Sorento (2752 units) and the ageing Toyota Kluger (2475 units) so far in 2026. In its current form in Australia, the BYD Sealion 8 is priced from $56,990 before on-roads for the entry level front-wheel drive Dynamic, to $70,990 before on-roads for the AWD Premium. It produces either 205kW/315 in base FWD form, or 359kW/679Nm in AWD form as combined figures generated from its 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and either single or dual electric motor set-ups. BYD has shot to second position in the Australian new-car sales charts in the first half of the year, off the back of a massive model range expansion as well as dedicated ship deliveries to our market. It is already 10,000 units ahead of the previously second-placed Ford, having jumped 124.1 per cent year-on-year. It is second only to Toyota, although it appears to be closing the gap with Toyota down 21.4 per cent thanks to delays in the arrival of the new RAV4. Expect to learn more about the BYD Sealion 8 shortly as the official Chinese reveal nears.

BYD’s latest luxury hybrid SUV could have one trick up its sleeve its rivals don’t. The incoming FangChengBao Titanium 9, or BYD Ti9 as it is likely to be known in export markets, is a three-row plug-in hybrid SUV that is a size-up on family favourites like the Toyota Kluger. It is 5300mm long and has a wheelbase of 3120mm, so it will be a shape up in the increasingly popular large SUV segment in China. It will be similarly sized to the Zeekr 9X which is due in Australia in the next 18 months,. AutoHome has reported the Ti9 will boast a driving range of more than 2300km, substantially more than most cars on the market. There is no news on how big the fuel tank and battery will be to achieve this, but expect it to be a cut above many of its rivals.  Chinese media has been suggesting it will be powered by a dual electric motor plug-in hybrid set-up, with power and torque figures still to be revealed, but possibly shared with other recent BYD models.  Its smaller Ti7 sibling has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and two electric motors, producing 358 kW and 630 Nm. This could provide an indication for what powers the Ti9.  It will be available in six-seat and seven-seat configurations, and is designed for urban and light off-roading environments. The large SUV is likely to be be unveiled in the second half of this year, and go on sale early next year. There is potential for this model to come to Australia, with its smaller Titanium 7 (or Ti7) sibling going on sale in the United Kingdom soon. FangChengBao, or Formula Leopard, is one of BYD’s off-roading sub-brands, but its models do not fall under that name overseas. The Ti7 in the UK will have a BYD badge on it, as might be the case in Australia, while its larger Leopard 5 is sold locally as the Denza B5. There is no official news on whether models like the Ti7 and Ti9 will launch Down Under. The UK launch means they are being built in right-hand drive, so there is a good chance they will eventually make their way over here, as almost every BYD product available in the UK has come to Australia. BYD Australia has previously told CarsGuide the Ti7 is not on its radar, but the brand has demonstrated previously that plans can change quickly. 

The Skoda Peaq has just been announced as Europe’s latest electric family SUV rival. The big seven-seat electric SUV is expected to land in Australia in 2027, where it would complement the mid-size Enyaq and compact Elroq electric SUVs in Skoda's expanding EV range in Australia.  It would pose a challenge to other electric three-row SUVs, the Hyundai Ioniq 9 ($119,750, before on-road costs) and Kia EV9 ($97,000). There is no news on how much the Skoda Peaq will cost in Australia, but Skoda has confirmed it will have a starting price of below 50,000 euros in Europe (about $80,000).  Cars from Europe usually carry a sizeable premium when put on sale in Australia, so expect it to sit above that $80,000 mark. The car will be available with a single rear electric motor, producing 150kW and 350Nm, while a dual motor all-wheel drive wheel layout boosts power up to 220kW and 545Nm.  The Peaq will be fitted with either a 63kWh battery offering a driving range of 459km (WLTP), or a 91kWh unit offers 647km or 613km, depending on it being RWD or AWD.  The car has both AC and DC charging capabilities, with a 10-80 per cent charge at 160kW, taking 27 minutes for the smaller battery, while the larger battery takes 28 minutes at 199kW.  The car has a sleek overall presence, measuring at 4874mm long, which makes it shorter than the EV9 and Ioniq 9.  It will also be the first Skoda model to feature flush door handles.  On the inside, there is a 13.6-inch vertical central touchscreen using a Google Android software system, along with a digital driver display.  There is also a 16-speaker audio system, pumping out 755W.  The car has a large panoramic sunroof spanning most of the roof space. The Peaq will launch with a Sportline variant that gives the car a sharper look, along with optional two-tone paint.

Subaru is considering exporting its largest car from the USA, according to reports. The Ascent, which is the brand’s three-row SUV a size-up from the Forester and Outback, is also built on the same SGP platform as the rest of the brand’s offerings, but is yet to be offered outside of North America. According to Nikkei Asia, Subaru is now considering exporting the car to Japan as part of a wider automotive push to balance imports and exports to the US as manufacturers aim to avoid the ire of US regulators and potential further tariffs. Other brands, including Nissan with its US-built Murano, Toyota with its Tundra, Camry and Highlander (Kluger) and Honda with its Ridgeline ute and Pilot SUV, are considering similar plans. To make this so-called ‘reverse-importing’ process easier, Japanese regulators announced they would set up a simplified certification system for cars built in the US to make it faster for them to be able to be sold into the Japanese market. Subaru Australia has frequently expressed its interest in the Ascent, as it has not had a large three-row SUV since the Tribeca was discontinued in 2013, but the news does not necessarily mean the SUV will be built in right-hand drive to be made available in Australia. The models being ‘reverse-imported’ for ease-of-access to the Japanese market will be sold in left-hand drive, as regulations allow for left-hand drive vehicles to be sold alongside the domestically-built right-hand drive cars. Cars sold in left-hand drive in Australia are heavily regulated, and are generally only conditionally registrable. The new boss of Subaru Australia Scott Lawrence told CarsGuide there was “a really live conversation with the Subaru Corporation” on how a seven-seat SUV could come to life from the brand locally. He said the Ascent wasn’t the only option the company was looking at, but hinted that a badge-sharing arrangement with its Toyota partner was not “one of the priorities” when it came to a seven-seat offering. “I'll leave it there, but there are some really exciting Subaru plans in that space,” he said. What could come to Australia in the future is a next-generation Ascent, as the current model is due for a full overhaul following on from new-generation versions of the Outback and Forester. This could open the door for more global production and new audiences for Subaru.

Geely Australia CEO Alex Gu confirmed the brand is working on bringing a three-row SUV to our market in 2027. “This model, we’ll bring next year,” said Gu, when asked if something like the brand's M9 six-seat hybrid SUV was on the cards. “We’re already in the process, it will be a little bit different from M9. The M9 is a six-seater, but we’ll have a more traditional seven-seater.” Gu hinted the M9 (or something like it) will maintain its plug-in hybrid set-up, which it is sold with in China. “I have noticed other Chinese brands right now rely on ICE [internal combustion engine] but we know that the Australian market is an emissions-sensitive market, so Geely doesn’t have any plans to do ICE, but I’m sure you’ve also heard about our plans to do i-HEV," said Gu. “So actually, we benchmarked Toyota for this,” he said. “It’s very friendly for emissions. It around 2.22L/100km, so this is very good.” Gu was confident this incoming plugless hybrid system, which Geely debuted at the Beijing Motor Show, had low enough emissions that it could be kept for the long-term, even as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) begin to make it difficult for existing plugless systems by 2028. The M9 could form part of a slowly-but-surely new model roll-out for Geely in Australia, as it takes its time observing the strategy of rivals, according to Gu. The three-row SUV, which is sold under Geely’s Galaxy marque in China and was displayed at this year’s Melbourne Motor Show, measures over five meters long with an enormous 3030mm wheelbase. It rides on Geely’s latest space-maximising GEA Evo platform, and pairs a 1.5-litre petrol turbo four-cylinder engine (163kW/255Nm) with an electric motor in the front transaxle for the FWD models (180kW/350Nm), adding dual electric motors on the rear axle in AWD models (170kW/280Nm x2). There is no mechanical connection between the engine and rear axle for the all-wheel drive system, with the maximum system output for FWD models being 300kW/605Nm and the maximum output of the AWD models being 640/1165Nm. The M9 for the Chinese market is offered with two battery packs, either an 18.4kWh or 41.46kWh pack, which are good for 85km and 185km electric only driving range respectively. Combined driving range, also to WLTC testing, is 1140km for the small battery or 1255km for the long range battery. All batteries are sourced from CATL and use an Lithium-Ferro-Phostphate (LFP) chemistry. DC charging speed allows a 30 - 80 per cent charge in 20 minutes for the standard range, or 15 minutes for the long range battery. Even when the battery is at the reserve level, the M9 consumes 5.7L/100km to WLTC testing, and all versions come equipped with 6kW vehicle-to-load. Expect high-end features like every Chinese car, with the M9 having a 15.4-inch multimedia screen, a 12.66-inch digital instrument cluster, with a 32-inch head-up display and 30-inch roof-mounted entertainment screen for rear passengers on high-grade cars. It even offers 328 litres of boot space, even with the third row up, or 1025 litres with the third row down. As for price, the base M9 for the Chinese market starts from around the equivalent of A$40,000, with the top-spec AWD car topping-out around $55,000. With Chinese cars usually attracting a 15 - 20 per cent premium by the time they land in Australia, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see pricing from $50,000 - $75,000, putting it in direct competition with the Hyundai Palisade (plugless hybrid-only - $76,500 - $89,900) and BYD Sealion 8 ($56,990 - $70,990). A plugless hybrid version, which is effectively a scaled-down version of the plug-in system on the Chinese-market car, would be even more affordable again, without the need for the large CATL-sourced battery. Watch this space.

What are all the seven-seater cars on the market that don’t look long or bulky?

For many families a three-row, seven-seat SUV is the ideal transport solution. Add an efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain, sharp price and high standard specification and the equation just gets better. But as much as the BYD Sealion 8 has going for it, there are some areas we think could be improved. Check out our family-focused review to see if it ticks all your new car boxes.

The third-generation Mitsubishi Outlander mid-size SUV was popular in Australia for good reason, with it offering buyers the choice of five or seven seats, and plug-in hybrid, petrol or diesel powertrains. As a result, it can also make for a good used car.

Subaru is seeking to re-enter the three-row SUV segment in Australia in the near future, after more than a dozen years away from the scene.

The Sealion 8 Premium is the flagship variant in BYD's seven-seat plug-in-hybrid SUV line-up.