The Sea Lion 07 (see specs) is the first car to use BYD’s latest e-Platform 3.0 Evo. It features a 12-in-1 electric drive system supporting the world’s highest-speed production motor at 23,000 rpm. This is the latest EV added to BYD’s Ocean series. The SUV coupe is available in four variants, starting at 189,800 yuan (26,250 USD).

The new car arrived in Chinese dealerships for a while. However, registrations took longer than expected. Our readers requested a test drive report during the Sea Lion 07’s launch. So, we will make an exception to publish car reports on the same brand back to back. Join us for this week’s Sunday China Drive with the Sea Lion 07!

First Impressions

Like the Seal 06 DM-i we reviewed last week, the Sea Lion 07 belongs to BYD’s Ocean series, which targets younger buyers. The new car measures 4830/ 1925/ 1620 mm and has a wheelbase of 2930 mm. Compared to Tesla’s Model Y, it seats 4mm lower and 80mm longer, with its SUV coupe sloping roofline giving the car a sporty appearance. While some may argue that the BYD Song L (see specs) is the best-looking SUV coupe from BYD, I find the Sea Lion 07 most visually striking.  

The BYD Sea Lion 07 takes design cues from the Ocean-X concept car, maintaining the BYD Seal family’s aesthetic language. Its exterior is sleek and stylish, featuring headlights and retractable door handles. The rear has a continuous taillight, a “ducktail” spoiler, and a roof spoiler with a BYD logo that illuminates at night.

Closing the Seal Lion 07 doors sounded more solid than closing the doors of the Seal 06 DM-i. All the panels are aligned, and the paint looks well-finished.

The Interior

As you enter the BYD Sea Lion 07, you will find yourself inside a premium cabin with nicely stitched leather and ambient lights that emit up to 128 colors. The ventilated leather seats with massage functions were a gift on the 33 °C test drive day. Like all other BYD cars we tested, the seat provides good lumbar support. Please note: massage functions are only available in the top two trims.

Many curves around the dashboard are reminiscent of BYD’s Ocean series. The stylish SUV has a flat-bottomed four-spoke steering wheel and a 50-inch AR-HUD, which was very bright even on a sunny day. At the center lays BYD’s signature rotating central screen measuring 15.6 inches. It runs on the DiLink 100 system, powered by a 6nm chip supporting voice control. Other features include a crystal gear selector, physical buttons for essential controls, a 220V power supply for your laptop, a karaoke system, and NFC keyless entry.

The car provides ample space for the rear passengers. The angle of the back seats is manually adjustable. The panoramic sunroof adds to the interior’s spaciousness. The car’s 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system provided a decent audio experience. Yet, it did not give enough soundstage for a vehicle this size. Having additional ATMOS speakers in the ceiling will make a difference.

Storage

The Sea Lion 07 features a 58-liter frunk and a 558-liter rear trunk, offering generous storage capacity.

Behind the Wheel

Our test car is the Sea Lion 07 Intelligent Voyage with RWD, which costs 219,800 yuan (30,250 USD). As we did with the Seal 06 DM-i last week, we took the SUV on the same suburban roads in Zhuhai to see how it performed. 

Although the driver’s seat position is higher than I prefer, visibility is excellent. The cabin was quiet when traveling around the block. However, wind noise from the frameless doors became noticeable during higher speeds of around 120 km/ h on the highway. The steering is relatively quick for a car this size and is more direct than other BYD models we tested. However, it is slightly lighter than I like.

Thanks to BYD’s DiSus-C intelligent damping body control system, the car felt planted when turning corners and very stable when driving over hums and bumps. On poorly paved roads, its adaptive suspension senses the conditions and reacts to adjust wheel damper rigidity.

This Sea Lion 07’s 0-100 acceleration time is 6.7 seconds, which provides a linear speed increase over rapid acceleration. The test car has an e-motor with 230 kW mounted at the rear axle, a maximum torque of 380 N·m, and a 225 km/h top speed.

Overall, the Sea Lion 07 is a comfortable ride and lively to drive. It is one step above the BYD Song L, launched last year.

Battery Range

This single-motor model offers 610 km CLTC in range with a battery capacity of 80.64 kWh. The BYD Sea Lion 07 can charge 10 – 80% in 25 minutes.

Safety Features

The Sea Lion 07 is the first BYD vehicle to feature the DiPilot 100 “God’s Eye” ADAS integrated with 12 ultrasonic radars, five mm-wave radars, and 11 cameras. It offers advanced L2 driver assistance, including lane-keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, lane departure assistance, traffic sign recognition, and intelligent speed control. The vehicle has 11 safety airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system, and driver monitoring assistance.

Conclusion

BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 is now three years old, and it’s nice to see the new e-Platform 3.0 Evo coming to the market. The Sea Lion 07 has looks and personality. Yet I felt moderately disappointed as I walked away from the test drive.

Xiaomi took a nonconventional approach and filled a void left by legacy automakers by positioning SU7 as a performance sedan with good looks and aggressive pricing. Xiaomi will likely continue its strategy with its upcoming MX11 SUV, adding more space for rear passengers. The BYD Sea Lion 07 has the world’s highest-speed production motor (23,000 rpm) and is BYD’s most sporty-looking SUV. Sea Lion 07 has the elements to be a performance SUV. Instead, it is tuned and positioned as a family SUV for comfort to compete in an overcrowded market segment in China, where BYD Song L, XPeng G6, IM LS6, and Telsa Model Y already exist.

This model will join BYD’s EVs Dolphin, Atto 3, and Seal and will be available in overseas markets like Europe, the UK, and Australia as early as next year. Like the BYD Seal, we suspect this model will primarily target the overseas market rather than the domestic market, taking on the Tesla Model Y and the Volkswagen ID.4.

Stay tuned for next week’s Sunday China Drive at Car News China, where you can get more evaluations of Chinese EVs from a first-person perspective.

Update 01/07/2024