Hyundai There’s No Place Like Home

NOWHYDERABAD

March 24, 2025

The BYD company’s innovations are at a different level. And I think the world has changed so much in the last 4-5 years and will change even more in the next 5, all in favour of the Eastern World

Bhpian shankar.balan recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I have been curious about the BYD Sealion 7 – I visited PPS BYD in Mahadevapura.

Being a Sunday morning there was no traffic. I test drove the BYD Sealion 7 and spent a good 40 minutes with it.

All I can say is ‘what a car!’.

The AWD provides phenomenal traction to all four wheels. It grips the road with a reptilian stickiness. There is a Tsunami by way of power when one steps on the pedal. And the delivery is as smooth as silk.
For the Premium variant they have given 255/45/19 size Conti Contact tyres at the rear and 235/50/19 size tyres in front. (57 odd lacs on road Bangalore)
For the Performance (AWD) variant it has 245/45/20 sized Michelin tyres both in front and rear. (64 odd lacs on road Bangalore)
It is a seriously, eye-peelingly, blisteringly, blazingly fast car. I tried it in Eco Mode and Normal mode. I did not bother with Sports mode or any other mode. Honestly with such power, Eco itself is perfectly fine.
The braking too, is phenomenally confidence inspiring.
The car takes bad roads perfectly. I drove it up and down the outer ring road with all its imperfections and then went on the winding road behind HAL and back on to Marathahalli and back onto the ORR.
Truth be told I did not spare the whip.
There is no loss of composure. No rocking and swaying and bumping about. Extremely well tuned suspension.
The comfort inside is like that of a Club chair – lovely seats with fantastic lumbar support and thigh support. Massive headroom too, even for a tall person. In my case, I found the rear seat behind the driving seat comfortable, even with the front drivers seat adjusted for my driving position. The long wheelbase is what ensures it all.
This can be the perfect chauffeur driven office commute car. And when the mood strikes, then one can enjoy taking the wheel one’s self too!
In todays drive the only negative was that one particular big bad vertical speed breaker caused the under body to lightly touch.
Yet I do think that despite the bad Bangalore roads, the 164mm Ground Clearance should be sufficient by and large.
Today it was only me and the Dealer Executive in the car and there was no luggage. I am sure it will sit down much more when loaded and being a long wheel base (2930mm) we have to be watchful of speeds when on roads filled with mountainous speed breakers.
The music through the Dynaudio 12 speaker system sounds brilliant. Just the right levels of bass and treble and mid range. Good sound separation and the overall feel of a home cinema theatre.
The panoramic moon roof is sealed by glass so that moronic humans cannot stick their heads out of it!
The window glass has a sandwich layer of sound insulation. And it works!
The internal fit, finish and finesse of this vehicle is way above all the equivalent vehicles and even those of a segment or three above.
This car is designed so much better than the earlier BYD vehicles like the Atto3 and all. This one is not at all over the top the way the earlier ones were. It just reeks of quality all the way.
I don’t think that any of the Europeans can or will even come close. It really is way better than anything BMW or Mercedes or Audi is dishing out.
Range? No problem. 560kms they say, on a full charge. Im sure even if one drives all the way on sports mode without being judicious on the accelerator, one will reach Ooty via Sigur Ghats from Bangalore in one single charge and with plenty to spare as well.
It’s a big car. Great for families. The Cavernous boot will swallow up lots of luggage. Superb highway touring vehicle. For the city, yes, it is a bit large but it is surprisingly nimble because of its responsive steering.
Luxury car fit, finish, features and finesse and Supercar performance delivered, at a fraction of the price.
My plain verdict is that if one is searching for the right SUV in that bracket at the present moment, then the 64 lacs on the Road Bangalore is well worth it for the BYD Sealion7 performance variant.
BYD – Build Your Dreams – Yes I do think they really are fulfilling many dreams for us, quite unlike the traditional Western Automakers.
Leave aside the jingoism and faux patriotism and all for a moment. Evaluate this objectively as a Product. It will always come up trumps even when pitted against anything else the world has to offer.

Our Indian manufacturers are definitely trying very hard. But I think honestly that they still have a really long way to go, to get to BYD’s level. They may never quite catch up either!

The BYD company’s innovations are at a different level. And I think the world has changed so much in the last 4-5 years and will change even more in the next 5, all in favour of the Eastern World, that the West will be left far far behind.

The West can play at rattling sabres by raising tariffs and they will then have to promptly back down again, because by keeping up all that noise, they are just going to be blocking themselves out from all the innovation of the East if they do!