BYD Cars Philippines touted that its new plug-in hybrid, the Sealion 6 DM-i makes range anxiety a thing of the past. With its Super DM-i powertrain, the carmaker promised that it can go more than 1,000 kilometers on a single tank (check out the full specs here, video impressions here).
Now, that bladder busting number was just certified by the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) as the compact SUV went almost double that to 1,608 kilometers with some electric range to spare.
Days before its launch, two Sealion 6 DM-i compact SUVs took off from Bonifacio Global City driven by long-distance driving experts and former race car drivers Georges and Louis Ramirez. The goal was to drive from Metro Manila to Tuguegarao, to Ilocos, then La Union, and finally back to BGC on one full charge and full tank of its range extender.
Driven during the daytime and normally (air conditioning on, etc), the duo traversed a variety of road and traffic conditions. At one point, they were stuck in standstill traffic for about 50 minutes.
Three days of driving later, the Sealion 6 DM-i completed the agreed upon route. After 1,297.6 kilometers, the PHEV SUV still showed a battery charge good for 30 more kilometers of driving, while the fuel tank still had 247 kilometers left. So, in an impromptu decision, the team decided to divert to Subic Bay just to determine the total distance it can go.
After eight more hours of driving under heavy rain, the two Sealion 6 DM-i SUVs were able to make it back to BGC using battery power under EV Mode. With the range extender spent as early as the San Fernando exit of NLEX, the team was still able to cover a total distance of up to 1,608 kilometers driving under battery power alone; this includes the 48-kilometer extended battery range left as the electric SUVs arrived in BGC.
The whole four-day exercise was observed by the AAP ensuring the whole drive was documented and run in a safe and legal manner. The AAP observers’ presence reassures the public that the run can be replicated by anyone with a BYD Sealion 6 DM-i.
This article alone is enough for a would be buyers to seriously consider this car! You go to a more expensive from another "known" brands and you get nothing but EGO! reliability my *ss! Would love to read your full review on this car sir uly!
ReplyDeleteHow different and similar is it with the ePower tech of Nissan? Kicks epower has 1.3L right? While this one has 1.5L engine.
ReplyDeleteIn principle they're the same, but execution is different.
DeleteIn both cases, the gas engine acts mostly as a generator to charge the battery which powers the EV motor. However, in the case of the BYD, the combustion engine is still connected to the drive wheels (hence why the spec sheet would have an electric motor + combined outputs).
Though the BYD uses the electric motor and battery as its primary power source, the 1.5-liter engine can also be forced to switch on (there's a detent in the accelerator) to assist the Sealion.
I think you forgot that Nissan Kicks cannot be plugged in and also, it only has a 2kw battery compared to the 18kw battery on the BYD.
DeleteThat's why other outlets are mentioning this is an "all-in-one" approach. Thanks Uly!
DeleteI really wanted to buy Hybrid vehicle because of Fuel efficiency. but I'm contemplating of the durability, reliability and after sales service of the Car brand. Just imagine after Battery warranty expired and if it's depleted it cost you 800k!!! So it means before battery warranty expired you have to sell the car to avoid problematic issues. So no benefits and no peace of mind. Better stick to vehicles with ICE.
ReplyDeleteP800k for a hybrid car battery? Is it that expensive? And I know hybrid car can behave like an ICE if the hybrid battery is not working anymore.
DeleteToyota has already perfected the hybrid system
DeleteNope Toyota is now behind BYD
DeleteAno 10:09am your dreaming...😴😴😴. 2023 toyota sold 11.2M a third of it were hybrids. Byd dumping here its products bcoz it wont sell well in other countries due to heavy tarrifs as it was already proven that it was heavily subsidized by CCP.
Deletelooking forward on your review Sir Uly
ReplyDeleteMr. Uly if the ICE of the Sealion can be "forced" to be used does that mean the car will work perfectly fine without the phev battery like when the car is old and the owner choose not to replace the phev batt, opting to just keep on using the ICE motor of the car?
ReplyDeleteBasically, the Sealion has two modes--EV and Hybrid. By default, Hybrid is engaged. Although most of the time, it will run on EV mode, there are some circumstances where the ICE will engage--for example to charge the battery when it falls below a certain percentage to protect battery health.
DeleteThe driver can also override it and engage EV mode. In this case, the Sealion 6 will almost deplete its battery down before the gas engines' engaged automatically to charge it.
We don't know which mode's the more economical of the two, but I'm wagering that for short urban trips, switching to EV mode will be the most economical while using Hybrid mode will prove to be the best action when going long distance.
Now, to answer your second question...yes the car will work fine even as the battery gets old. You will find that the car becomes less economical, however. It's the same reason why Toyota considers its hybrid battery to be "lifetime." You can opt to replace the battery to improve its mileage, but that will be costly.
This is unlike a BEV (surprisingly, Kicks included) which depends on the life of the high-voltage battery. Kicks owners have begun experiencing issues on their cars and that's why Nissan PH retroactively bumped up the warranty of the Kicks' battery.
Kick so complicated, toyotas' straight forward hybrids pròven reliable and durable, easy to maintain, fuel saver.
DeleteIs there a speed limit for EV only mode? Can it reach 100kmh?
DeleteWheels boy YouTube channel tested a BYD sedan claiming it can go 2000 plus km in a full tank. The car only went 1200 plus. The consumption is 4.5l/100km. My corolla cross in Cebu metro does 4.3l/100km. I spoke with other friends who have hybrids almost all gets below 5l/100km. The only technology of BYD Dm-i is that it has a bigger 65 liter fuel tank. Consumption wise no game changer it just carries more fuel
ReplyDeleteByd as a product not that good compared to geely/lynk n co. what makes a buzz about byd is its very low pricing which they can bcoz of heavy subsidy from CCP. its actually a predatory pricing, prices to push competitors out of the market.
DeleteThe Corolla Cross is a much smaller and lighter car than the Sealion so I don't think comparing their fuel economy is fair. The Corolla Cross has a much smaller battery, i believe it's NiMH for the 1.8L and Lithium Ion for the 2.0L. Both of these have a cycle life of around 500-1000 cycles where it degrades to 80% of original capacity. In comparison, BYD has a much bigger 18.3kw Lithium Phosphate battery with a life cycle of 3000-6000 cycles. Battery life is a function of its capacity and life cycle, thus at 90km per cycle, we can expect it to have 270,000 km to 540,000km before it degrades to 80% capacity. I'd guess the Corolla Cross battery would degrade at a much faster rate. I'd think that the 18.3kw battery of the BYD would cost around 200k using the price of residential lifepo4 battery as a basis.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the specs maybe at the end it is the consumption figures that matters. For sealion competitors like rav4 hybrid and crv hybrid, both got less than 5l/100km. I saw the video the claim was really far off from reality. No car specs will be the same, but the consumption is the barometer where all new energy vehicles will be measured.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you say the BYD achieved 4.5L/100km, based on wheels boy YouTube channel... so it's lower than 5L/100km right? The article said they tested the Sealion and went 1600km, and this is documented by the AAP. Are you saying this is rigged? Granted, 90km came from charging the battery to 100%, then, let's just consider 1500km for the 60L of gas. That comes out at only 4km per 100L. I read somewhere that is because of the 40% thermal efficiency of the engine that BYD is using and I further read that Toyota wants to use this from BYD as well. Aside from that, the BYD can go full EV mode and you don't even need to use the gas if you charge 100% everytime and your daily trip is less than 90km. I have talked to a lot of Prius Taxi drivers before and they have said the fuel economy drops considerably in just 1-2 year for Toyota Hybrids, and it makes sense... They are using a much smaller battery with only 1/6 the life cycle of Lithium Phosphate battery, so it runs through it's life cycles much faster and every cycle, it degrades, thus your fuel economy degrades with it. And just imagine how much Toyota will charge you on a new hybrid battery.
ReplyDelete