Why is BYD suspension parts Better?

While the suspension is very comfortable, the chassis does not feel quite as 'taut' as the Kona or Ioniq5 or Kia EV6.

BHPian shankar.balan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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I rang the BYD guys yesterday. And they were extremely responsive. They brought me a car this morning to test drive and I did so.

Here are my impressions:

In short, here is a very accomplished vehicle. Feels European. Very good quality materials. Solid switchgear inside. Pretty Responsive. Very comfortable. Glides over all these Bangalore speed breakers and bumps and uneven patches. The driving seat is really ergonomic. And the good thing is one doesn't feel uncomfortable in the back either. Outright acceleration is not as good as Kia EV6 but that is AWD and BYD is FWD.

It has the usual Normal, ECO and Sports modes. Sports is the best and most enjoyable. And one can set the steering and brake assist modes to 'Sports' too which tightens up the steering a bit and makes the brakes a bit more responsive too. However, it is not really a 'drivers' car, but more of a well appointed, excellent quality, comfy and spacious cruiser SUV Coupe for a family.

It has a 50KW Blade battery. Excellent range of 450kms on one charge - real world proven. This is truly fantastic and if this is the shape of things to come as regards range, then it is my belief that we will see a very rapid pace of adoption of EV's as alternate-fuelled vehicles. Even I, despite being a stubborn, hard-core petrol-head, am becoming more and more inclined, as I test drive more and more EV's.

The weight of the car is -kgs but it is very nimble for all that. Its got 200bhp and 310NM torque. It feels very planted at speeds. Braking is sure-stop too. Im sure the ventilated front discs help!

It is as big as or bigger than a Seltos or Creta.mm long, mm wide, mm tall, 172mm GC. Doesn't bottom out on the bumps. While the suspension is very comfortable the chassis does not feel quite as 'taut' as the Kona or Ioniq5 or Kia EV6. Those cars have a firmer suspension and are definitely much more sporty in terms of handling because their chassis tuning is much better in my opinion. But the BYD feels way superior to the MG ZS EV for sure.

Despite the great ride in the BYD, if you take an elephantine speed breaker fast, then the front will articulate and you will hear the thud on the bump stops. But the driver and passenger don get thrown about. That's a really good thing because as my wife is always at pains to point out to me, the driver has the steering wheel to hold on to at least, while buzzing around the curvy roads at speeds whereas the passengers don't.

BYD represents the Coupe SUV type of styling. Apparently it was designed by someone who was involved in Porsche design. And it is certainly a very pleasing car to look at. Good proportions. Short overhangs. Decent approach and departure angles for Indian roads. Breakover is also acceptable. We went up and down some roads which have those huge hume pipes underneath and with no problem.

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It has lots and lots of gizmos inside though I am not really a customer for all those things. A moon-roof is also there and that may be nice to use in the hills. It has a Terrain response button to handle 'gravel' etc. The central D lever is just like an Aeroplane Throttle controller. The overall car feels like one is in an Aeroplane cockpit. Its switches are very solid and tactile. The knurled metal switches feel as good as those on a Jaguar. Interiors are of high quality. Some soft touch portions and some hard plastics. Seats are 6 way adjustable and are supportive and comfortable but they don't feel quite as durable as those in the Kona because BYD seats are made of softer materials.

The central screen is big, like an iPad Pro 12.9 inch tablet. It is very 'Tesla' ish. Can be adjusted either as landscape or portrait view. Better to keep it at landscape view else it may obstruct the view through the windscreen. But all in all personally I don't like such a large screen. Also, truth be told I find all these screens and touch controls and all to be too painful. There is truly a sort of 'option overload' that one is experiencing at this moment.

The BYD boot is huge. When the rear seats are down and laid flat, it is even huger. No spare tyre. Only an inflator and tyre repair compound. The insulation from the outside world is very good. No noises come in at all.

The metal gauge is heavy. And the car overall is easily comparable to an Audi Q3 and similar. There is no doubt about the fit and finish and finesse of this vehicle. It is world class. These BYD guys appear to be far and away ahead of most others in the EV space.

You can set the regen to a higher level and it does feel palpable. But this vehicle has the range to take you more or less anywhere.

The DC battery charging capability is good. From 10% to 80% in 50min. AC overnight will take 9 hours. One can also buy a Frunk and place it in the bonnet for additional storage if one wishes.

The price is about 36 L on road Bangalore. MY vehicles are available. But the sales person hinted that they have a few vehicles too. And these could be offered at a 'discount'. He didn't say how much and I didn't push it either.

(As an aside, they also said the BYD SEAL sedan is being launched sometime in and the price is likely to be around 80 lacs.)

All in all the BYD Atto3 is a top-class, highly-accomplished car indeed.

But it is not quite my type of car, all things being considered.

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Join Date: Feb Location: - Posts: 58 Thanked: 296 Times Re: BYD Seal : A Close Look BYD Seal RWD - Test Drive Impressions :

Firstly, in general I agree with most reviews out on the web. So for everyone's sake, I didn't want to repeat on what has already been said often. A quick summary instead on the items that I agree first :

' Great design - looks just as good in person
' Solid build - no sounds or creaks and everything seems to be put together well.
' Comfortable seating
' Good power on sports mode and OK on normal
' Screen is nice and big to use with wireless android auto working just fine albeit not being the slickest.

Points that I felt needed to be said a bit more on :

' GC was not an issue surprisingly. Went over a number of decent sized speed breakers with four onboard and no problems. I remember that I wasn't able to take the 340i in the same stretch with 2 onboard without scraping. Mind you, we are after all talking about a sedan - comparison with that of a crossover or an SUV won't make sense, horses for courses and all.
' Mild regen - Forget the one pedal drive which by its own is a miss, but the regen in itself is terrible. Has only two regen settings (and that too on screen - no paddle shifters) and one is mild and the other is milder! While the Kona, XC40, EV6 (one pedal) and ZS have varying levels between them, all four have much stronger regen than the Seal. I find that a strong regen makes it easier to manoeuver in traffic and less tiring to drive, especially in the city. Very strange to see this not being incorporated as well.
' Sunshade can be covered only manually with a curtain of sorts - not very convenient. If left uncovered, our Indian summers and even just the sunlight can be a bit disconcerting.
' Nimble - the sedan form factor, along with low CG help make it a decent handler. Fortunately the steering feedback and control also is adequate making it fun to drive.
' Suspension setup is surprisingly good on the despite being stiff. Especially on speed breakers, the thud is softer compared to other stiff suspension vehicles. All-in-all, this makes the ride comfortable whilst keeping the drive fun.
' Controls being on screen can get annoying quickly especially with HVAC, Seat Ventilation, regen and the likes all in menus or submenus on a screen.

Also IMO, BYD has missed a trick by not offering the AWD for test drives in most places right off the bat. Could've really cashed in on the positive marketing - democratization of performance and what not.

No vehicle is perfect and this has it's share of shortcomings. Not having a strong regen is the biggest miss for me. But I think it is still a very good product for it's price for many who might not be as particular about some of its quirks. Keep them coming BYD. Last edited by Hume : 22nd March at 15:14. Team-BHP Support  
Join Date: Feb Location: Bombay Posts: 72,837 Thanked: 319,104 Times Re: BYD Seal : A Close Look Thanks for the review, Hume! On our homepage today.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hume Sunshade can be covered only manually with a curtain of sorts - not very convenient. If left uncovered, our Indian summers and even just the sunlight can be a bit disconcerting. Got a picture to share? I believe this is a dealer fitment, not standard?

Quote: Also IMO, BYD has missed a trick by not offering the AWD for test drives in most places right off the bat. Could've really cashed in on the positive marketing - democratization of performance and what not. 1. I don't think they have spare AWD cars. Very badly planned launch. Media drives still haven't taken place. In the automotive marketing world, one must strike the iron when it's hot and if they held media drives at the time of the launch buzz (due to the killer pricing), it would have given them eyeballs equivalent to 100 crore rupees of advertising (websites, YouTube, TV channels, newspapers, magazines etc. all bragging about this super sedan).

2. Again, BYD has goofed up this launch by not getting media drive publicity from a 100 journalists. Many people have stopped talking about the Seal. This thread too is showing signs of slowdown.

3. Another reason for not offering AWD test-drives = too fast. Customers test-driving cars around the world (and especially India ) drive the TD cars like maniacs. For some reason, people think test-driving a car means flooring the pedal 100% of the time. You would see a lot of damaged AWD Seals. This is also why, if you want to TD a performance car from a German car showroom, they will put you through some kind of formal / informal screening. BHPian  
Join Date: Feb Location: - Posts: 58 Thanked: 296 Times Re: BYD Seal : A Close Look Quote: Originally Posted by GTO Thanks for the review, Hume! On our homepage today.

Got a picture to share? I believe this is a dealer fitment, not standard? Thank you. Did not see it personally. Shared only what the salesman told me. I don't doubt it however - Do check out the youtube link below (time-stamped for convenience). It should very much be the same. Edit : 6:35 is the time stamp. Doesn't seem to be working on the link




Quote: 1. I don't think they have spare AWD cars. Very badly planned launch. Media drives still haven't taken place. In the automotive marketing world, one must strike the iron when it's hot and if they held media drives at the time of the launch buzz (due to the killer pricing), it would have given them eyeballs equivalent to 100 crore rupees of advertising (websites, YouTube, TV channels, newspapers, magazines etc. all bragging about this super sedan).

2. Again, BYD has goofed up this launch by not getting media drive publicity from a 100 journalists. Many people have stopped talking about the Seal. This thread too is showing signs of slowdown.

3. Another reason for not offering AWD test-drives = too fast. Customers test-driving cars around the world (and especially India ) drive the TD cars like maniacs. For some reason, people think test-driving a car means flooring the pedal 100% of the time. You would see a lot of damaged AWD Seals. This is also why, if you want to TD a performance car from a German car showroom, they will put you through some kind of formal / informal screening.
' Fair assessment on the potential dangers of providing TD for such a fast car to possibly not-so-refined drivers. It is a very valid point indeed and I do dread the thought of such vehicles not being handled with caution. However, I still do wish they strike some sort of a balance - perhaps having 1 or 2 AWD for every 10 cars or so. By not providing that option at all, BYD fails to showcase and thereby cash-in on it's biggest USP for the Seal - performance ("Innovation meets acceleration", "Luxury meets acceleration" are some of their own official marketing terms!).

Also, I am very aware that I am clearly in the minority in this regard. So this might not be as much of a factor for others. This is possibly another reason for BYD to primarily focus on the premium variant - most buyers would find the premium's performance all they ever need and not to mention is possibly the more VFM variant.

' WRT to the media drives, launch and publicity, sure, they could've certainly done better and seeing their overall global experience and aggression, I too expected better from them. Still, early days for BYD in India and their intent seems to be positive - case in point: the simple effort they put at the time of the 1st consignment dispatch. Great Job there! I am optimistic on their learnings. Last edited by Hume : 23rd March at 14:45. BHPian  
Join Date: Feb Location: Mumbai Posts: 188 Thanked: 450 Times Re: BYD Seal : A Close Look Quote: Originally Posted by DeKay 1. No matter what inbuilt navigation system any vehicle uses, Google Maps will be superior 10/10 times; rendering it useless. The Seal has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so that shouldn't be a problem. I don't remember the last time anyone I know used a car's built in navigation. Using the car's inbuilt navigation (it has to be user friendly - mine is!) has inherent advantages of saving on battery or not having to plug it into a car charging all the time(especially for people like me who don't like wires criss-crossing in a car!).
Plus the saved routes are a great help.
Also Google maps have this irritating ability to re-route moment you miss a turn which is handled way better on my car navigator. So I guess there are a few of us who will not ignore a feature offered in a car . I also feel a while driving is best placed in a slot or pocket out of sight of driver, to avoid distractions of other notifications. Carplay/ Auto etc are ok for those into it, for others the car usually provides BHPian  
Join Date: Oct Location: Coimbatore Posts: 108 Thanked: 1,224 Times Re: BYD Seal : A Close Look Quote: Originally Posted by StarrySky I have driven the AWD version with the claimed 3.8s 0-100km/h time. The car may do that when someone mashes the A-pedal and launches the car, but I felt the performance to be muted in everyday situations. There really is no urgency when you tap the A-pedal, like in a traffic situation, even in Sport mode. Quote: Originally Posted by GTO I have driven EVs from almost all the brands. NOTHING touches a Tesla EV drivetrain in terms of throttle response, sheer pull & fun-to-drive nature. I recently drove the Seal Premium and BYD has done their throttle and powertrain tuning very differently to most other EV brands.

The problem is not in the throttle response, which is quite responsive in Sport mode but the power delivery is not instant like other EVs. Instead of delivering 100% of the power and torque the moment you put your foot down, it ramps up the power linearly like a turbocharged ICE car.

While in other EVs, you feel a strong jolt for a second or two which then subsides, the feeling of acceleration lasts longer on the Seal. The second you floor it, you feel the powertrain respond with the power building up linearly and you feel the torque push you back more and more as you accelerate similar to a BMW 530d.

This can arguably be more satisfying to drive and seasoned ICE drivers may prefer this to one dimensional acceleration of other EVs. Other EV drivers who are used to the sudden shove might not like it.

I hope the AWD version is a good combination of both where you can enjoy the ramp up in the power for longer as well as a much more aggressive push-back in the seat.