2025 BYD Sealion 6 Essential Review

There’s been a bit of buzz around so-called super hybrids out of China lately. These pack a battery capacity that gives you more than just a semblance of engine-off driving, while they tout a touring range of over 1000km. 

BYD is keen to remind people its Sealion 6 super hybrid was here first, and in the face of new competition landing with aggressive pricing, BYD has added the Essential variant to its line-up. It’s essentially (soz) a new entry point to Sealion 6 ownership with a few less things on board.

It has the same series hybrid set-up as the Dynamic variant. Cue a 145kW/300Nm electric motor driving the fronts while the 1.5-litre engine is primarily used to run the generator which keeps the battery at a steady state of charge once you’re in hybrid mode. Under harder acceleration it can tip in some of its output to help propel the car, hence the overall hybrid system power output of 160kW, though torque is still 300Nm. With its 18.3kWh battery underneath, you in theory have enough energy to get about without firing the engine for 92km. That’s in the test lab however, while the overall consumption figure of 1.1L/100km is also an anomaly of the verification regime. 

On pick up with both energy stores full, the DTE was reading 1091km. We got 77km via the battery before the state of charge dropped to 25 per cent, where it was set to then operate in hybrid mode. We covered 249km in total, the energy monitor telling us we’d used 9.7L/100km of fuel. With the help of electricity, that meant an overall consumption of 3.9L/100km, while those miles covered in hybrid mode consumed 5.6L/100km. And those are twice taxed with RUCs and excise at the pump. So all the more reason to charge every night and maximise the battery power (and the cheap RUC rate for PHEVs), leaving hybrid mode for longer distances. 

Another new Sealion 6 offering is the Dynamic Extended with a 26kWh battery and stated 140km engine-off range, if you think you might need more of that. 

The Essential is $52,990 (although this one was $54,240 on account of it not being white, all other hues a cost option). That’s still more than the newcomers from Chery. And that long range model is $59,990 if you’re wondering.

While there are a few things missing from the Essential, you don’t miss out on much really. It looks identical with the same 19-inch alloys, while the cabin seems familiar too with its black and tan faux leather trim; it is different without being weird and wacky. And all well made; there’s a genuine sense of quality here. There’s no surround view camera or head-up display and you’ll miss the heated seats and wheel in winter. There’s no charge pad either. You can get by with the smaller central screen however; it’s still plenty big enough. We could forgo the glass roof – who really needs that? And there’s no powered tailgate either, but that too is no biggie.

You still get a rather replete spec, full of ADAS features, and thankfully very few of these annoy. The binging and bonging are only occasional. We didn’t have to repeatedly dive into the touchscreen to turn things off, which is commendable. And we prefer the regular adaptive cruise control to the intelligent setting which adds lane centring that constantly weaves about. 

The Sealion 6 is a good-sized family SUV. There’s an easy entry to the rear, where there is generous legroom while the flat floor allows three to fit with fewer squabbles for territory. And there are a couple of charge points and air vents while it’s all well finished back here. The boot isn’t so cavernous however, rated at 425L. Its floor is set high (no spare either) and it’s not particularly wide between the arches. This isn’t the hybrid to buy if you need towing, rated at just 750kg. 

But it’s one to consider for urbanites that prefer refinement and a calming progress. It has a quiet, compliant ride that matches the smoothness of the electric power. Being front drive, the delivery is muted initially to avoid unwanted wheelspin but once rolling the urge feels more than sufficient. And there’s no transmission lag, or shift shock with its single-speed set-up. The steering is perhaps overly light, almost devoid of connection. That’s okay for commuting and parking, not so much in bends. The softly-softly suspension rides well at highway speed, noise levels muted too but the Sealion 6 rolls some, and it tips into understeer earlier than desired. When in hybrid mode, the engine spins away, but under lighter loads, the noise and vibrations are minimal, which is good. It’s there to get you further afield when needed. 

Buy these super plug-ins to enjoy a useful day-to-day urban electric range (with greatly reduced RUCs), and be prepared to charge them every night. And then you can enjoy long distance roaming when you want, free of that ‘where’s the next plug’ anxiety.  

BYD Sealion 6 Essential 
$52,990  /  1.1L/100km  /  24g/km
0-100 km/h 8.5s
Engine  1.5L / IL4 DI / 72kW / 122Nm
Motor  145Kw / 300Nm
Total output  160kW / 300Nm
Transmission  single-speed auto, FWD
Weight (claimed)  1940kg