BYD Seal

I've never in my life seen a car company who had to replace a basic commonplace item like that window either - wouldn't instill any confidence in the brand for me anyway but you can love them all you want, that's fair enough.

Not that poster

i'm sure you are, its a nice car, doesn't change anything i said though.

The ruse here is to make people think its a cheap alternative to a bmw or an audi rather than a $30k USD car that you are paying €50k euro for.

I had a look there at the pricing again of the base Seal model, that's a bit steep all right currently. I wonder if they'll be changing their pricing for the Irish market somewhere this year, but most likely they don't really give a **** about the Irish market in general like most car brands do. My 251 AWD sat between the current pricing of the Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor (which is slower) and the performance (which is faster), so a similar offering value wise really. I would pick the Seal over the Model 3 again, especially the facelift with the Google Automotive software. I prefer having an instrument cluster so I don't have to look to the side for speed etc., head-up display, Android Auto & Carplay as I have more than 1 car, steering wheel buttons, more buttons on the center console (can still do with more buttons though, a Xiaomi style button bar below the screen would be awesome), comfort, road noise (I still found the highland to be noisy) and the seating position. When test driving the Model 3 I found myself to be a bit high up seating wise, the seat wouldn't go low enough to get that actual saloon feeling. Kind of like a cross over, not really that different from the Hyundai Kona EV I had before.

I wouldn't go as far as calling the BYD brand a Fisher-Price brand, as that's a bit of an exaggeration. I know this is the internet and all and we're all after that polarizing hot take, but I wonder what you'd call the alternatives in this price bracket like Hyundai, Tesla, Polestar (2), Cupra, VW etc. They're all solid choices with their own quirks really. Even the fit and finish of the "premium" legacy brands like Mercedes (new CLA electric) and BMW (i4) can be questioned if they're really still that premium. It's a brave new world and most legacy car makers are struggling here.

Back to the BYD Seal discussion itself: not sure if anyone's keeping up with the community driven development for the BYD cars in general, especially the DiLink 3 models (like the Seals we drive), but there's a lot going on now that the BYD SDK has been made available (https://github.com/jkaberg/pyBYD):

• Overdrive (sentry mode and other quality of life improvements): https://overdrive-5lc.pages.dev/
• Alternative launcher for the infotainment with blind spot camera view etc: https://kinex.lexwah.com/
• More comprehensive trip stats: https://github.com/angoikon/byd-trip-stats
• Ability to cast any app to the instrument cluster: https://github.com/Kiroha/byd-dashcast
• Native maps app that can be displayed on the instrument cluster plus an alternative launcher for the infotainment: https://sealnav.com/. Fair warning, this requires creating a user account and will have paid features at some point.

Of course you have to have enabled sideloading (including wireless ADB), plus there's the usual warning to scan APKs before you install them on your car for malicious code etc. Most have their own GH repo so you can review the code and download the releases straight from there, but still, be responsible.

I would be careful about adding non approved software could cause warranty issues and other problems

I agree they are the ones that started it the last day and then came today to post sh*t again as if they were innocent.

I find it somewhat entertaining that people are arguing about a brand being premium or not ...when for me the proof is in the pudding.

Two BMW i4 vehicles, riddled with faults and software issues and hardware issues and very very pricey. Depreciated like a brick and horrific customer service requiring legal threats.

Two Seals with absolutely zero issues, fantastic customer service, solid trade in values, not a single fault for me personally with the car (I know some exist but I've been lucky). And compared to the cost of the BMW I would say fantastic value for money.

Also turns as many if not more heads as the i4 did.

I know which brand I'd consider better as a consumer and not a fan boy.

I always thought the Seal was more premium than a Model 3 but not as premium as say an EQE?