Going the distance in a BYD plug-in hybrid

With its electric models that have marine animal-inspired names like Seal and Sea-lion selling so well in Singapore, Chinese company BYD is now bringing in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

- Abel Ang

KUANTAN - With its electric models that have marine animal-inspired names like Seal and Sea-lion selling so well in Singapore, Chinese company BYD is now bringing in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

The Sealion 6 DM-i is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) equipped with a petrol engine and an electric motor. Its batteries get charged when the car is on the move or when it is plugged into a wall charger.

The SUV decides how to use the two sources of propulsion - petrol engine or electric motor alone, or a mix of both.

Combined, the Sealion 6 can travel 1,100km on a full tank of fuel and a fully charged battery.

Ahead of its official launch on July 16, The Straits Times had a chance to find out how it performed, during a four-day, three-night Singapore-Malaysia round-trip drive organised by BYD.

For this first-time PHEV driver, the EV-to-engine transition felt seamless.

The car is a great companion for long road trips with the family. It offers cabin comfort for passengers, space for suitcases and tech features to keep everyone plugged in and occupied on long drives exploring Malaysia, without anyone worrying about where the next charging station is.

REAL-WORLD CONDITIONS

The road trip was conducted under real-world conditions in a convoy of Sealion 6 DM-is.

Drivers were told to drive normally. Each car was loaded with four adults and their bags, and the air-conditioning was set to full blast to beat the heat.

The route through Malaysia included congested cities, hill climbs, highways and winding coastal roads.

By the third day of hard driving, the low-fuel warning light in the test cars came on, after clocking between 761.6km and 803.1km, and using up around 50 litres of petrol.

The difference in the range could have been due to how each car was driven. It seemed they performed best when the accelerator was feathered gently.