It’s safe to say that BYD has set the country alight with the Seal, an electric sedan that goes toe-to-toe with the ever-popular Tesla Model 3. The Chinese company has been quite aggressive with its latest model, particularly in terms of pricing.
Doubtless, there will be those of you who will be wondering how the BYD compares against the Tesla in terms of price, size and bare numbers. Here, we’re taking a closer look at how the Seal stacks up against its fiercest rival.
Pricing: Seal undercuts Model 3 considerably
We’ve been eagerly awaiting pricing for the Seal since it was confirmed it would be coming to Malaysia, and now that it’s here, it’s clear that BYD isn’t messing about. Prices are as follows:
- BYD Seal Premium RWD – RM180,430 on-the-road without insurance
- BYD Seal Performance AWD – RM200,430 on-the-road without insurance
As such, the Seal Premium RWD undercuts the Model 3 LR (RM190,700). Meanwhile, no Model 3 Performance competitor for the Seal Performance AWD has been launched, yet the Seal Performance AWD is over RM19,000 cheaper than the Model 3 Long Range AWD (RM219,700), and you get more performance to boot.
Dimensions: Model 3 is smaller but more practical
Given that the Seal has been designed to compete with the Model 3, it’s no surprise they are largely the same size. However, the Chinese car edges out its Chinese-built American rival ever so slightly, being 80 mm longer and 19 mm taller; the Tesla counters by being 42 mm wider.
This advantage should give the BYD greater interior room compared to the Tesla, although the Model 3 is by no means cramped inside. But if luggage space is what you’re looking for, then the Model 3 has a slight edge, both in terms of the rear boot (425 litres vs 400) and especially the front (88 litres versus 40). The fact the Seal even has a front boot, however, is noteworthy, especially as the Atto 3 and Dolphin don’t have one.
Performance and range: Seal is faster, Model 3 can drive further
Tesla is known for providing a staggering amount of performance for your money, but it’s been upstaged by BYD here. The Seal Premium RWD makes 313 PS and 360 Nm of torque and is able to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in a claimed 5.9 seconds.
Meanwhile, the Performance AWD variant churns out 530 PS and 670 Nm from its dual motors, enabling it to complete the century sprint in just 3.8 seconds. That’s six tenths of a second quicker than the Model 3 Long Range AWD. To be fair, the Seal Performance AWD is more of a competitor for the Model 3 Performance, which in its latest Highland guise isn’t out yet. We’d expect the latter to be significantly more expensive.
The cheapest Seal is the one that has the most range (as the 82.5 kWh LFP battery comes standard). Even so, the Model 3 Long Range comfortably beats the Seal Premium RWD with a range of 629 km, versus 570 km for the BYD (both figures are WLTP) – despite the fact it has all-wheel drive.
Charging: Advantage Tesla
Charging times are inconclusive as Tesla doesn’t provide any figures for the Model 3 (only that its 250 kW DC Superchargers are able to provide up to 282 km of additional range in 15 minutes). But the car can accept a higher amount of DC fast charging power than the Seal (170 kW vs 150 kW), the latter taking 37 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%.
The Model 3 will also charge quicker when plugged up to an AC charger, as it can support up to 11 kW, compared to just 7 kW for the Seal. The latter takes a staggering 15.2 hours for a full charge.
And that’s with the right 7 kW single-phase or 22kW three-phase charger. If you use an 11 kW three-phase charger thinking it’ll be faster, the Seal’s onboard charger will step down to between 3.5 and 3.7 kW, meaning that it will take twice as long (more than a full day) compared to a technically slower 7 kW charger. Electric vehicles with a three-phase OBC aren’t affected by this issue.
It also goes without saying that only the Model 3 can use Tesla’s Supercharger network as well as its Destination Chargers.
Maintenance: Less servicing with Model 3, but shorter warranty
It’s here where you really see the difference between Tesla’s unconventional attitude to maintenance and BYD’s more traditional approach. The former hardly has a service schedule at all, simply recommending you to replace your cabin air filter every two years and an air-con desiccant bag replacement and brake fluid check every four years.
Tesla does not provide any pricing details on its Malaysian website, nor the cost of a replacement cabin air filter, which is user-serviceable. However, the Tesla Shop in the US lists the latter at US$17 (RM81) at the time of writing. We assume all these maintenance jobs (along with tyre rotations, recommended every 10,000 km) can be done by third-party workshops, although Tesla warns this may affect warranty coverage.
By contrast, BYD will sell you various service packages to keep you in its after-sales network. The Standard package includes tyre alignment, single-speed transmission oil service, air-con filter replacement and refrigerant service, brake fluid service, motor coolant service. This is priced at RM2,688 for three years, RM6,288 for six years and RM8,288 for eight years (add RM200 each for the Performance AWD model).
BYD Seal service packages
Alternatively, you can purchase a Plus package that throws in replacements for wipers, washer fluid, remote control and 12V batteries, and brake pads and discs. This is very expensive, weighing in RM11,488 for six years and RM17,488 for eight years. As yet, BYD has not released a schedule for these replacements, nor has it confirmed if servicing your car at its service centres is required to maintain warranty coverage.
Speaking of which, Tesla’s more lenient maintenance schedule means you get less warranty coverage – just four years or 80,000 km for the vehicle, compared to six years or 150,000 km for the BYD. The Model 3’s battery and drive motor warranty is at least competitive with the BYD, with the same eight-year/160,000 km coverage (the BYD’s warranty for the drive motor is only up to 150,000 km).
What else?
BYD Seal (left), Tesla Model 3 (right)
If you’re looking for the car with the most value for money, the Seal trumps the Model 3 hands down. The kit list is basically identical across both variants, including full-LED lighting, massive 19-inch alloy wheels, flush pop-out door handles, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a novel rotating 15.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, powered leather seats, a glass roof, a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system and a 360-degree camera system.
You also get a full suite of driver assists, such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane centring assist, plus nine airbags that include rear side and driver’s centre airbags.
By contrast, you have a lot of option boxes to tick with the Tesla, such as alloy wheels (lowly 18s as standard), colours (only white is free) and even the choice of Autopilot (normal, Enhanced or the dubious Full Self Driving). On the plus side, even the standard Autopilot is one of the best in the business, as are the standard 15.4-inch front and eight-inch rear touchscreens. No stalks, however, so there’s that.
Itching to find out how these two cars drive? Check out Hafriz’s video review of the Tesla Model 3 and Anthony’s first drive impressions of the BYD Seal.
GALLERY: 2024 BYD Seal Premium RWD in Malaysia
GALLERY: 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD in Malaysia
