BYD will offer the Seal 6 in three trims: Boost, Comfort Lite and Comfort.
The Boost has a smaller, 10.1kWh battery and just 181bhp. That gives it just 31 miles of electric range and the resulting 60g/km of CO2 output means it doesn’t qualify for particularly cheap company car tax.
I drove the Comfort Lite, which gets the bigger, 19.0kWh battery and extra power. That gives it 62 miles of electric range, so it should attract just 9% company car tax. The Superb PHEV gets 10 miles more out of a similarly sized battery, though.
I’d need to spend more time in it to get an accurate idea of real-world range and electric efficiency. With the battery depleted, around 50mpg seems realistic, which is very good.
The Comfort is the same as the Comfort Lite except that it gets a bigger, 15.6in touchscreen.
UK prices haven’t been confirmed yet, since first deliveries aren’t until January, but the saloon range should start at £33,000 and top out at £35,000, with a £2000-3000 premium for the estate.
Since it sounds like the versions with the big battery won’t be much more expensive than the entry-level car, you might as well go for the top trims.