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We seem to be at a critical point of this moment when neither electric vehicles (EVs) nor plug-in hybrids (PHEV), are not priced at an expensive price, so they can be sold to the masses.
And BYD is leading the charge (pun unfortunately intended). Last year, the Chinese automaker released the Atto 1 – the cheapest electric car on sale in Australia, priced from around $24,000 before on-road costs – and now it’s launching the cheapest PHEV.
The BYD Sealion 5 mid-size SUV is available from $33,990 before on-roads, which is a good chunk less than the next most affordable plug-in hybrid available on the market.
But don’t think this is some tiny SUV with no space. Think Mitsubishi Outlander or Nissan X-Trail, but with just five seats. If you want seven seats, look at the BYD Sealion 8.
But if the price is – the Sealion 5 doesn’t suck, well, spank my patoot and call me Charlie because – somehow. Rather, spoiler alert It’s actually bloody good.
In the West, BYD arguably became known for its prominence as the Chinese car company that Warren Buffett, Oracle of Omaha, invested in very early on. His company, Berkshire Hathaway (BYD) sold its stake of BYM in September 2025 after making $10 billion over 17 years.
The brand hasn’t had the easiest of starts in Australia, but it seems to be finding its feet after launching the very popular Shark 6 dual-cab in 2024 – Australia’s first plug-in hybrid ute – and moving from a third-party importer/distributor to being self-managed.
And that’s the roll of a and it’s on. The Australians who like the idea of switching to electric but don’t want to lose the safety blanket of a petrol car for long drives across our country are increasingly choosing plug-in hybrids – BYD is pushing dozens of affordable PHEVs with its EV.
But besides the name of Oddball models, it is leading the Australian market for New Energy Vehicles – The catch-all names on electric and PHEVs ‘The Sealion 5’ could be a tipping point for many buyers.
So, where better to start than with the entry-level variant, the BYD Sealion 5 Essential?
How much does the BYD Sealion 5 cost?
BYD Sealion 5 Essential (2016 version) – $37,990 plus ORCs for the Premium. The lineup at this stage is made up of just two variants, a nickname for .
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
| — | — |
| 2026 BYD Sealion 5 Essential | $33,990 |
| 2026 BYD Sealion 5 Premium | $37,990 |
That sucks the Geely Starray EM-i Complete – which was once the cheapest PHEV in the world by $3500, and yet another mid-size SUV in Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid by $6000.
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What is the BYD Sealion 5 like on the inside?
If you hear that something is the cheapest thing in the segment, it’s easy to assume there are some hacks for getting the price. The Sealion 5 isn’t the case with .
In fact, just remember this is also the base trim, the Essential version and doesn’t feel like a warehouse special. anything but .
So I had to double-check with the people at BYD that it wasn’t the Premium. This was, in fact, the Sealion 5 Essential. Probably I got it wrong,’ I thought.
The Sealion 5 is a generation older in design, as it looks like the larger Sea Lion 8. Possibly not as innovative, but also less from those horrendous whale-inspired interiors that are found in some Atto models.
The brushed aluminium is a little 2005, but it works well in this case and brightens up the area; contrast stitching gives streaks of colour to break down the blacks and greys.
Sealion 5 Premium
buttons more, there are buttons for . A shifter! And stalks behind the steering wheel that you think they do what he says (I’ll even forgive the small play in the stalk) ) It’s a car you can drive without specialist training and – with. lab assistant, the driver of which is not required to be trained in an area or region.
And that is better than , but it gets better.” They are really good materials, and with its quiet cabin – no rattles even on rough roads – gives people the kind of premium you would expect from a car three times the price for Sealion 5.
The infotainment screen has a large slab of’silk-like panel below the infotabler’ panel, which looks like an odd design choice but is less offensive when it comes with soft-touch trim. My BYD is a different model, so I think the bones of the dashboard may have been borrowed from another BNYD.
It’s the shape of the Dash, which is our main gripe with interior – if you’re sitting closer to the steering wheel – means your left knee is pulled in and sits up against hard plastic. a half or two behind the wheel, which may be an issue and could have been something wrong with s but that might also mean one hour or more. If you sit further back and it won’t be a problem, but there isn’s no reach in the steering column for me to make that work.
Also I saw that the dash was aligned and the door cards were not uniform from left to right. Among the things most people will not notice or care about, such as this is one of those nitpicking, car-reviewer things that many people don’t think fitment and quality control are questions to be answered.
I could look like the long lost brother of Ghostbusters’ Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, but in the wrong light it was a little bit on the tight side. a bit huggy, not like’sports seat seat’ but just as awkwardly with.
Perhaps more worrying was what I felt like a support bar under the bottom cushion. a few thousand times and jump in and out of the car,’ could be an issue.
In the second row, there’s a decent room for adult passengers; in the boot it has 463 litres of luggage space – which rises to 1410L with the back seat down.
| Dimensions | BYD Sealion 5 |
| — | — |
| Length | 4738mm |
| Width | 1860mm |
| Height | 1710mm |
| Wheelbase | 2712mm |
| Cargo capacity | 463L (rear seats up) 1410L (rear seats folded) |
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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What’s under the bonnet?
The BYD Sealion 5 is an 1-year-old . A 5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine in marriage with an electric motor to power the front wheels of a 4-liter car is .
| Specifications | Sealion 5 Essential | Sealion 5 Premium |
| — | — | — |
| Engine | 1.5L four-cylinder petrol PHEV | 1.5L four-cylinder petrol PHEV |
| Engine outputs | 72kW / 122Nm | 72kW / 122Nm |
| Peak electric motor outputs | 145kW / 300Nm (front) | 145kW / 300Nm (front) |
| Peak system power | 156kW | 156kW |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive | Front-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Single-speed reduction (e-CVT) | Single-speed reduction (e-CVT) |
| Battery chemistry | Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) | Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) |
| Battery capacity | 12.9kWh | 18.3kWh |
| Kerb weight | 1724kg | 1785kg |
| EV range (NEDC) | 71km | 100km |
| 0–100km/h (claimed) | 7.7 seconds | 8.1 seconds |
| Fuel economy 100-25% SoC (claimed) | 1.2L/100km | 1.3L/100km |
| Fuel economy <25% SoC (claimed) | 4.5L/100km | 4.6L/100km |
| Fuel tank capacity | 52L | 52L |
| AC charge rate | 3.3kW | 3.3kW |
| DC charge rate | N/A | N/A |
The engine itself produces anaemic 72kW of power and 122Nm of torque, but they’re not the numbers that matter. The driver is given 156kW under his right foot when he mixes with the 145kW/300Nm electric motor.
Curiously, BYD doesn’t quote a combined torque figure, but it’s probably 300Nm (or in that ballpark).
a 12 , and an e-CVT sends that power to the front wheels while another 12-year-old. In the base Essential, the electric motor is fed into 9kWh ‘Blade’ battery which feeds the power.
A Sealion 5 Essential has an electric-only driving range of 71km, BYD says, and a combined driving speed of 1001km. But both of those are based on the stricter NEDC test protocols, so more than a pinch of salt should be used in this case.
The Sealion 5 Essential – 7 0-100km/h time claimed by . It is nearly half a second faster than its more expensive brother, the Sealion 5 Premium, which has been s for 7 seconds. It’s nearly always that, and that’s almost never the case with .
Similarly, BYD says fuel economy is 1 if the car has more than 25 per cent battery charge. 1L/100km – 4L/4, to 2L? If the battery drops below 25 per cent, 5L/100km is considered a reasonable option for . We didn’t have time to confirm these numbers, but we’ll get the car back soon to get some more accurate day-to-day fuel-efficiency figures.
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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How does the BYD Sealion 5 drive?
The BYD Sealion 5 is certainly one of the most impressive plug-in hybrids I’ve driven in recent memory.
But it’s obvious that this car offers pretty much the best ride comfort. But the more I drove it, the harder my fault was with . So we’re talking big dips at [definitely responsible] speeds that would have bottomed out most cars, and this just ate it up like a gummy bear.
Usually, when something is so comfortable, there’s a compromise but I’ll be darned if I could know what that was here. It has a lot of feedback, and the Sealion 5 is still very well handled.”
Do you drive it like a fool, and understeer and wheelspin will hit you. But just step back and you can drive this thing through corners at a pretty good knot rate, dare I even make the joke? – it’s actually fun.
I don’t think this is about stealing the crown from the Mazda MX-5, but on a winding road the Sealion 5 will pay if an inspired driver to ‘degree that shocked me.
The brakes are also great. Nicely responsive and firm, with pedal response right in the sweet spot.
It’s worth mentioning that my colleague James Wong was driving the Sealion 5 on a skid pan in late 2025, and found the car to be’soft and wallowy during the tight tests of it’– saying ‘The handling wasn’t engaging. The flowing country backroads I spent most of my time with the BYD may have been the sweet spot for car, according to . Nevertheless, he was also in the Premium (a little heavier and slower overall) which is a bit more complex.
But even though I am a little bit of fun behind the wheel, it’s not perfect. Although the chassis gives good feedback, steering is a little lifeless and power (though enough) doesn’t mind blowing. Most of the time, most people do a lot of things.’ Not slow, not quick but enough for s to do everything.
When Sports mode is on, it feels like there’s a little more power than the car can feel when it’d be switched into Eco mode and that makes an obvious relaxation.
But I had to remind myself that a plug-in hybrid SUV, which will be mostly for families – and is just as good. job? This is a shockingly quiet, beautiful and nice torque for everyday driving with minimal petrol.
My boyfriend and I like a bit of squirt on the quiet backroad when you dropped the kids off for. sleepover, but worse options out there are between you and me?
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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What do you get?
While the Sealion 5 Essential has a good list of standard features, it is also worth adding some extra goodies for the extra money.
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2026 BYD Sealion 5 Essential equipment highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels with Hankook 225/60 R18 tyres
- Automatic LED headlights
- Automatic high-beam
- Keyless entry and start with key fob, NFC card, BYD digital key
- 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Satellite navigation
- 6-speaker sound system
- 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
- Dual-zone climate control with rear air vents
- Leatherette upholstery
- 60:40-split/folding rear seats
- Rear centre armrest with cupholders
Sealion 5 Premium adds:
- Power tailgate
- Roof rails
- Panoramic sunroof
- Heated, power-folding exterior mirrors
- Heated and ventilated driver’s seat
- 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen
- 9-speaker sound system
- Wireless phone charger
- 6-way power driver’s seat
- 4-way power passenger seat
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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Is the BYD Sealion 5 safe?
While writing, ANCAP and its international affiliates have yet to test the BYD Sealion 5 (as such) as this has been not tested at the time of writing.
Standard safety equipment highlights:
- 7 airbags, incl:
- Front
- Front-side
- Curtain
- Front-centre
- Adaptive cruise control
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver attention monitoring
- Emergency lane-keep assist
- Intelligent speed-limiter
- Lane-keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Rear parking sensors
- Reversing camera
- Safe exit warning
- Traffic sign recognition
- Tyre pressure monitoring
The Premium adds front parking sensors and a surround-view camera.
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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How much does the BYD Sealion 5 cost to run?
The company’s six-year, 150,000km vehicle warranty is granted to Sealion 5 (along with the rest of the BYD range) and its own eight- year,160,000km warranty for the battery.
| Servicing and Warranty | BYD Sealion 5 |
| — | — |
| Vehicle warranty | 6 years or 150,000km – vehicle |
| High-voltage battery warranty | 8 years or 160,000km – battery |
| Roadside assistance | 12 months, then service-activated |
| Service intervals | TBC |
| Capped-price servicing | TBC |
| Total capped-price service cost | TBC |
BYD has not yet published the service schedule or service costs for the Sealion 5 PHEV.
To see how the BYD Sealion 5 stacks up against its rivals, use our
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childcareman.xyz’s Take on the BYD Sealion 5 Essential
The joy of finding out what the cheapest plug-in hybrid SUV is probably one of the best quickly turned into fear and insecurity will anyone really believe me? Do I even think that am I missing it?
It was shorter than we would have been to be with the BYD Sealion 5 and meant that it was only a few people in our world had tried the car. I don’t like this much, but there is a lot here that’s promising and very little to me.
While it’s not a perfect , the fact that its low cost means I am far more likely to forgive my shortfalls (especially when there is such strength) strong.
Sealion 5 was late for us, we got the Sea Lion 5. When it was first released in its native market of China back in 2019, I wonder if BYD’s engineers have had time to tune and refine the car over the years so that it is as good as it today.
No one knows what a parodyr I’m going to be. But I know that the Sealion 5 is a lovely car, which drives and handles better than some Honda and Toyota SUVs but more value than ‘A pallet of olives from Costco’.
BYD execs have said they are actively looking for more fleet sales, and the Sealion 5 could be the best place for companies looking to find a plug-in hybrid that is easy to drive, cheap to run and inexpensive.
That’s a great solution for those who want to make the switch without spending big money, but given how many Australian families are adopting PHEVs.
It’s the Sealion 5 for a commuter car with family-duty capabilities, an electric-only driving range that is healthy and good on-road dynamics that BYD drives up the sales charts of this vehicle.
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