Who said wagons are dead? BYD bringing Camry rival to Australia

BYD’s Australian expansion is continuing, this time with the Seal 6 sedan and Touring wagon, both of which have been priced locally ahead of going on sale on April 9.

Sized similarly to the Toyota Camry, the Seal 6 is a plug-in hybrid and is unrelated to the BYD Seal electric sedan which has been on sale here for more than two years.

The Seal 6 sedan will arrive in a lesser-equipped Essential grade with its price starting from $34,990 before on-road costs, while the Seal 6 Touring gets more kit in its Premium guise, as well as a higher price tag of $39,990 plus on-roads.

Both iterations of the Seal 6 are powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which is mated to an electric motor, driving the front wheels only.

In the Seal 6 Essential, a 10.1kWh battery provides a claimed 55km of electric-only driving range on the WLTP lab test cycle, while the Seal 6 Touring Premium’s 19kWh pack increases this figure to 100km.

All up, BYD quotes an estimated combined driving range of more than 1400km for the sedan and 1300km for the wagon.

Though the carmaker hasn’t detailed powertrain outputs, Australian government approval documents show the Seal 6’s engine produces 70kW, with the Essential sedan’s electric motor making 120kW (bringing combined outputs up to 130kW), while the Premium gets a 160kW electric motor, making 163kW total.

By contrast, the Toyota Camry – which is a traditional hybrid and can’t be plugged in – has a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, paired with an electric motor for a total power output of 170kW.

The BYD Seal 6 sedan measures 4840mm long, 1875mm wide (excluding mirrors), and 1495mm tall while riding on a 2790mm wheelbase, with the wagon only gaining 10mm in its height. A Toyota Camry is 80mm longer, 35mm narrower and sits 45mm lower, while its wheelbase is also 35mm longer.

BYD quotes a 670 litre boot storage capacity for the wagon with the rear seats up, increasing to 1535 litres when the back seats are folded. The sedan’s 491 litre capacity is slightly less than the Camry’s 524 litre figure.

According to BYD, equipment in the Seal 6 will include an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and level two driver assistance functions.