Test-Driving The 2025 BYD Seal: Is It Dog Friendly?
Matthew MacConnell
Rather than potter around in this week's press car, a BYD Sealion 7, I thought I'd pit it against my two extra-furry dogs who emit litres of saliva, require the chilliest of environments, and need acres to get comfortable. They're not the biggest dogs, but they could be amongst the pickiest.
Before diving into the dog tests, the Sealion 7 is Chinese manufacturer BYD's Coupe SUV. Buyers can choose from three trim levels: Comfort, Design AWD, and Excellence AWD, the latter being my loaner. Power ranges from 308 to 522bhp while range is between 283-312 miles depending on trim.
It's packed with standard tech like heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera, a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system, electric front seats and much more. Think of the BYD Sealion 7 as a Tesla Model Y competitor.
As the 522bhp suggests - it's fast. The 4.5 second 0-to-62mph time, as the rear badge indicates, is believable. Still, it's a biggish, tall SUV weighing 2267kg - you won't lose any Porsches through the bends, but it is a family car, after all.
Drive modes include: normal, eco, sport and snow. But the BYD Sealion 7 is best left in normal or eco mode, returning a 3.0mi/kWh average while going to and from various dog parks.
BYD Sealion 7
BYD
The rotating 15.6-inch touchscreen is vibrant and quick, while buttons on the centre console give quick access to climate controls. Visibility isn't great, but we'll come to that later. And finally, the build quality is excellent. You'd need to dig deep to find any scratchy plastics.
Up first is two-year-old 27kg Shepkita, Chloe. My wife and I rescued this precious soul when she was just eight months old. She came from a bad background and fears sudden movements, loud noises and vans.
She's incredibly cheeky, alarmingly chomps through snacks and enjoys the odd TV remote. Similarly, she adores other dogs and is learning to love people.
Chloe the Shepkita and Freya the Siberian Husky
Matthew MacConnell
Dog two is two-year-old 20kg Siberian Husky, Freya. Like her sister, Freya was adopted from a shelter. We don't know much about her past, but like most huskies, she enjoys arguing. She's deeply affectionate towards humans and screams when she spots other dogs. She's a sucker for cucumber, loves being carried around, and enjoys intensely staring at people with her blue eyes.
Both dogs enjoy walkies, but did they like the BYD Sealion 7?
Being a coupe, the BYD Sealion 7 won't match a Kia EV9 or a BMW iX on dog friendliness. Still, the 520-litre boot was big enough for both dogs, but not together.
If your dog is large and is confident with cars, they should have no issue scaling the BYD Sealion 7's boot lip. Ours struggled and had to be lifted, but luckily, the BYD has a double-height boot floor, which is ideal for giving bigger pups more room.
Chloe the Shepkita in the BYD Sealion 7's boot
Matthew MacConnell
Once inside, our Shepkita had enough room to manoeuvre and get comfortable. Our Siberian Husky is happy sleeping almost anywhere, so felt instantly at home in the BYD's boot. However, larger dogs will struggle for headroom because of the BYD Sealion 7's rakish roofline.
The BYD also features adjustable rear seatbacks; these tilt forward to give Max the Great Dane more space. This eats into rear occupancy comfort, but dog comfort is more important.
Two anchor points allow humans to secure harnesses, while the back seat gets ISOFIX points.
Because the BYD isn't a seven-seater, there are no vents in the boot, which can be worrying in hotter temperatures. But there are vents in the second row, and because we often get cold, despite the outside temperature being circa 20 degrees, we'd shut the front vents, which channel more air to the rear, cooling both our dogs.
If you are like us, you'll probably carry various dog toys, chews, bowls and leashes. Therefore, you'll be happy to see a storage net and a deep underfloor cubby. Similarly, there's a 'frunk', so your dog won't need to fend off the electric snake (charging cable) whenever a sharp corner arrives.
Accompanying your woofer is a subwoofer and two rear speakers. We wafted from park to park while listening to low-volume classic music. Soon enough, both dogs would drift off to sleep. Aiding this was the Sealion 7's superb noise insulation. At 62mph, my sound device recorded a 64db average, putting it on par with a BMW i5 M60. The nifty foot wave sensor under the rear bumper meant I could hold one dog's leash without looking for the boot release switch.
It's good. But it's not the best electric SUV coupe available. Remember, this is a new-to-market SUV and BYD will make improvements as the Sealion 7's life continues. It's not the most efficient, and the screen is a little confusing at first, but not many electric coupe SUVs cater for two medium dogs.
The Excellence has heaps of straight-line punch, and although the 311-mile range figure is somewhat impressive, it'll return between 260-280 miles in reality.
BYD Sealion 7
Matthew MacConnell
I drove the BYD a lot during my loan week. It turned many heads, conjured conversations, was fun to drive and comfortable, and most importantly, my picky dogs were happy being chauffeured in it.
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