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In this edition of Sunday China Drive, we explore BYD's latest electric vehicle, the Sea Lion 07, featuring the advanced e-Platform 3.0 Evo. This new platform is designed to compete head-to-head with Tesla's Model Y on a global scale. We delve into the features, performance, and innovations that make the Sea Lion 07 a formidable rival in the electric vehicle market, highlighting its potential impact on the industry.
Boston Brand Media brings you the latest news - The Sea Lion 07 (view specifications) is the inaugural vehicle to utilize BYD's cutting-edge e-Platform 3.0 Evo. It boasts a 12-in-1 electric drive system that includes the world's fastest production motor, operating at 23,000 rpm. This model is the newest addition to BYD's Ocean series of electric vehicles. The SUV coupe comes in four different versions, with prices beginning at 189,800 yuan (approximately 26,250 USD).
The new car has been available in Chinese dealerships for some time, but the registration process took longer than anticipated. Our readers requested a test drive report during the launch of the Sea Lion 07. Therefore, we are making an exception to publish back-to-back reports on the same brand. Join us for this week's Sunday China Drive featuring the Sea Lion 07!
Similar to the Seal 06 DM-i we reviewed last week, the Sea Lion 07 is part of BYD's Ocean series, designed to appeal to younger buyers. This new vehicle measures 4830/1925/1620 mm with a wheelbase of 2930 mm. Compared to Tesla's Model Y, it sits 4 mm lower and is 80 mm longer, and its sloping SUV coupe roofline gives it a sporty look. While some might argue that the BYD Song L (view specifications) is the most attractive SUV coupe from BYD, I find the Sea Lion 07 to be the most visually striking.
The BYD Sea Lion 07 draws design inspiration from the Ocean-X concept car, staying true to the aesthetic language of the BYD Seal family. Its exterior is sleek and stylish, featuring distinctive headlights and retractable door handles. The rear end includes a continuous taillight, a "ducktail" spoiler, and a roof spoiler with an illuminated BYD logo at night.
Closing the Sea Lion 07 doors felt more solid compared to the Seal 06 DM-i. All the panels are perfectly aligned, and the paint has a well-finished appearance.
Upon entering the BYD Sea Lion 07, you are greeted by a premium cabin featuring finely stitched leather and ambient lighting that offers up to 128 colors. The ventilated leather seats with massage functions were a blessing on the 33°C test drive day. As with all other BYD cars we've tested, the seats provide excellent lumbar support. However, please note that the massage functions are available only in the top two trims.
Boston Brand Media also found that, the dashboard of the Sea Lion 07 features many curves reminiscent of BYD's Ocean series. This stylish SUV boasts a flat-bottomed four-spoke steering wheel and a 50-inch AR-HUD, which remains very bright even on sunny days. At the center is BYD’s signature rotating 15.6-inch central screen, running on the DiLink 100 system and powered by a 6nm chip that supports voice control. Additional 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 offers ample space for rear passengers, with the angle of the back seats being manually adjustable. The panoramic sunroof enhances the sense of spaciousness in the interior. The 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system delivers a decent audio experience, although it falls short of providing a sufficient soundstage for a vehicle of this size. Adding ATMOS speakers in the ceiling would make a significant difference.
The Sea Lion 07 features a 58-liter frunk and a 500-liter rear trunk, offering generous storage capacity.
Our test car is the Sea Lion 07 Intelligent Voyage with RWD, priced at 219,800 yuan (30,250 USD). Like with the Seal 06 DM-i last week, we drove the SUV on the same suburban roads in Zhuhai to evaluate its performance.
Although the driver's seat position is higher than I prefer, the visibility is excellent. The cabin remains quiet when traveling around the block, but wind noise from the frameless doors becomes noticeable at higher speeds, around 120 km/h on the highway. The steering is relatively quick for a car of this size and more direct than other BYD models we've tested, though it is slightly lighter than I prefer.
Thanks to BYD’s DiSus-C intelligent damping body control system, the car felt planted when turning corners and remained very stable over humps and bumps. On poorly paved roads, its adaptive suspension senses the conditions and adjusts the wheel damper rigidity accordingly.
The Sea Lion 07 achieves 0-100 km/h acceleration in 6.7 seconds, delivering a linear speed increase during rapid acceleration. The test car is equipped with a 230 kW e-motor mounted at the rear axle, producing a maximum torque of 380 N·m and reaching a top speed of 225 km/h.
Overall, the Sea Lion 07 offers a comfortable and lively driving experience, positioning itself a step above the BYD Song L, which was launched last year.
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.
The Sea Lion 07 is the first BYD vehicle to feature the DiPilot 100 "God’s Eye" ADAS, which integrates 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. Additionally, the vehicle is equipped with 11 safety airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system, and driver monitoring assistance.
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 adopted a nontraditional strategy by positioning the SU7 as a performance sedan with attractive looks and competitive pricing, filling a gap left by legacy automakers. Xiaomi is expected to continue this approach with its upcoming MX11 SUV, which will offer more space for rear passengers. The BYD Sea Lion 07, equipped with the world's highest-speed production motor (23,000 rpm), is BYD’s sportiest-looking SUV. While it has the potential to be a performance SUV, it is tuned and positioned as a family SUV focused on comfort. This positions it to compete in a crowded market segment in China, which already includes the BYD Song L, XPeng G6, IM LS6, and Tesla Model Y.
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.
For questions or comments write to writers@bostonbrandmedia.com
Source: carnewschina
