2025 BYD Sealion 7 Review: Chinese giant unleashes its alternative to the Tesla Model Y Juniper in Australia
When you think EVs in Australia, you’re really thinking two brands, at least at the moment — Tesla, which started the movement here and maintains a healthy sales lead. And BYD, the massive global player from China that has Musk’s mob firmly in its sights.
So with Tesla confirming the long-awaited refresh of its Model Y (Australia’s best-selling EV, by the way), it was only a matter of time before BYD returned serve, with the brand now launching an all-electric vehicle into our most popular vehicle segment — the mid-size SUV space.
That vehicle is the Sealion 7. So, can it dethrone the Model Y?
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2025 BYD Sealion 7 price and equipment
Price has become such an important factor in the EV story, and BYD has Tesla beat, at least on advertised sticker prices.
The Sealion 7 touches down in two trim levels, with the range kicking off with the single-motor (230kW, 380Nm, RWD) Premium listing at $54,990. The closest Model Y Juniper equivalent is the entry-level Rear-Wheel Drive, which is currently $63,400 on Tesla’s site.
Next up in BYD land is the Sealion 7 Performance, a twin-motor (390kW, 690Nm, AWD) model that will clip 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, and which wears a $63,990 sticker price. Again, we look to the Tesla website, where its dual-motor model, the Long Range AWD, is asking $73,400.
Now discounting will no doubt occur, possibly from both brands, but as it stands right now, that’s the tale of the tape.
The key difference between the two BYD models is the powertrain, with the spec list otherwise very similar between the Premium and the Performance.
The entry-level car nabs all-LED lighting, 19-inch alloys, a glass roof with a shade and a powered boot. In the cabin, you’ll find leather seats that are heated and ventilated, a typically massive 15.6-inch rotating central screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a second 10.25-inch driver display, sitting below the head-up display that’s beamed onto the windscreen in front of you, and a 12-speaker stereo.
Spring for the Performance model and you’ll get the extra grunt, of course, but also bigger 20-inch alloys, a heated steering wheel and heating for the backseat.
Both share the same 82.56kW battery (and both get Vehicle to Load so you can use it to power your devices) which delivers a driving range of 482kms in the Premium, and 456km in the Performance. The Sealion 7 can draw up to 11kW AC charging, or 150kW DC fast charging.
The Sealion 7 is just over 4.8m long, 1.9m wide and 1.6m tall, and it rides on a near three-metre wheelbase. That, combined with a flat-floor EV layout, means tons of space for rear riders. I’m 175cm tall, and could very comfortably sit in any of the back three seats, included the dreaded middle. At the boot, there’s 500 litres of luggage space with the rear seats in place, and you can adjust the floor height to make carrying taller items easier.
There’s no official ANCAP score, but it has been crash tested, and BYD says it’s banking on a five-star result. All the active safety stuff is present, and there’s nine airbags.
Finally, BYD offers a six-year, 150,000km warranty, but there are some caveats, so pay close attention to the fine print. The battery is backed for eight years or 160,000kms.
2025 BYD Sealion 7: What we think
For reasons known only to BYD, our Sealion 7 preview took in mostly urban roads in Adelaide, spanned about 40mins, and felt like it was over before it began. It’s the kind of light-on launch drive that can suggest there’s something to hide — which is makes it all the stranger, because I really don’t think that’s the case here.
While not as world-changing as the brand might suggest, BYD’s Sealion 7 performed really well on the short drive, with a supple, comfortable ride – even over broken road surfaces and up and over the one gravel hill we encountered – plus the cabin is seriously refined from a sound-deadening perspective, largely stopping the noise of the outside world (and the tyres and wind) from interrupting the cabin ambience.
We only drove the dual-motor performance, and the power is predictably plentiful, with a smooth and constant flow of grunt attached to your right foot. Alarmingly, the power doesn’t feel like it cuts off again the moment you lift off the accelerator, with the Sealion 7 feeling as though it’s still surging forward for a beat or two. It takes some getting used to.
And while the grunt is ample, the Sealion 7 Performance doesn’t otherwise feel quite ready to make the most of it. The grip is actually pretty good, and the side-to-side movement is kept to a minimum, but it feels heavy, and the tyres can occasionally cry out in pain when you ask too much of them. A lithe and athletic performance car this ain’t.
But does it need to be, given its core duty is as a family friendly SUV, albeit it one with a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde personalty shift going on the you stamp on the accelerator? I would argue that is doesn’t, which is why – with the massive caveat that I haven’t driven it yet – I suspect the Premium will be the better buy in the Sealion 7 family. It’s cheaper, travels further between charges, gets most of the same kit, and while not as fast, it’s hardly a slow-poke, at least on paper.
BYD Sealion 7: Verdict
On first impressions, the BYD Sealion 7 impresses on price, packaging, equipment and the comfortable, compliant nature of the drive experience. That said, we’re yet to put BYD’s latest EV through anything particularly strenuous, so we’ll have to wait until we get it through the EV Central office before making a concrete call on its road manners.
SCORE: 3.7/5
2025 BYD Sealion 7 specifications
Price: From $54,990 (MSRP)
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, medium SUV, RWD or AWD
Range: 456km-482km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 82.56kW lithium-ion
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Motors: 1 rear permanent magnet synchronous, 230kW/380Nm. Twin-motor AWD, 390kW/690Nm
AC charging: Up to 11kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 150kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 4.5 seconds (Performance)
