I would buy BYD Seal and take the £12,000 saving and go for holidays with my family.

I’ve just priced up the BMW i4 in Australia. The base price is $85k but when you add all the options that are similar to the BYD Seal the the price seems to increase to between $118k and $125k. The BYD Seal performance (the same as your Excellence in the UK) price is slightly under $69k topping out, with colour change and upholstery colour change, at under $72k. The more equivalent vehicle to the BMW is the BYD seal Premium which has almost all the same specs as the Performance but with a single motor. This car comes in $10k cheaper. In Australia at least, you could buy 2 Seals for the price of a single BMW i4 with options. I know what I am going to buy.

The BYD also has a Euro NCAP rating of 5 stars whereas the BMW only gets 4.

I traded in a Porsche Cayenne for a BYD. We now can power our house in a power cut, and saving a fortune on fuel

The BYD Seal is the best EV in the world at a price in its class

A big consideration buyers should have is LFP blade battery vs the battery in the NMP battery in the BMW. The safety and longevity of thr Blade battery is pbly the best in the market.

i see the SEal is not a sports saloon but a grand tourer which i think lots of buyers will want

Tbh, the BYD is a better looking car. If you are not a badge snob, there's nothing much else you get from BMW that you don't get from BYD for so much more extra $$

Here in Thailand the BYD Seal AWD is £34k and the BMW i4 eDrive 35 starts at £86k needless to say I purchased a BYD Seal AWD. I've had it for 4 months and love the car. As I'm writing this the V2L is currently running my house, try doing that in a BMW

Own a BYD AWD drive now for a month. Issues i've had. 1. The rear passenger door handle not releasing correctly and remains locked in its housing which leaves me having to open it from the inside which is very annoying with kids (bringing to get repaired but its 8 weeks lead time for a slot at the dealer) 2. The Pedestrian warning sound does not work when set to "off-brand" The car is just silent. My brother has confirmed this on his Atto 3. I thought this might have been serious enough to merit a recall. 3. The alarm will randomly go off when I'm sitting in it charging and won't go off no matter how often I hit the unlock key button. 4. The touches need to disengage the speed warning/LKA. 5. Would like stronger regen braking for one-foot driving. The positive is the car looks better in the metal. I have shadow green and it's a real head turner The bonnet contours are very impressive. It's a very smooth wofty drive and the power delivery is smooth as opposed to a jerky Tesla. It is a very nice place to sit and drive. All things considered, I'm very happy with it. Popped into a KIA dealer the other day and they said they had a team meeting that morning about the BYD Seal AWD as the EV6 GT is not selling at all. At €85,000 for a car with about the same performance as the BYD AWD, they know they are in big trouble. They will not sell and have not been selling at all since late last year.

the fact that BMW offers only 3 years of limited warranty is alone enough for me to chose the BYD with 6 years. If you count all the other factors like LFP battery, longer range, better performance, cost savings, etc. its really a no brainer in my opinion

I have recently placed an order for the BYD Top model in black. I am eagerly anticipating its arrival. Over the past three years, I have been driving a Tesla, which was an excellent choice back then. However, with a growing number of brands entering the market, Tesla is starting to lose its appeal. In the past, I owned a BMW 5 Series seven years ago. The maintenance costs were exorbitant and left a significant dent in my finances. This experience has made me hesitant to consider BMW again.

Great comparison and I very much agree with the final point, the BYD Seal is a better value proposition by a long shot. I actually took delivery of one just this week. It does have its flaws but I have found those to be quite OK to live with. The biggest one being, as pointed out in the video, the intrusive safety systems. The worst offender is the speed limit warning that will beep at every speed limit change it recognizes and chastises you with 4 beeps every time you go 1km/h or mph over the limit. It amounts to roughly 95% of all the beeping the car does. You can set the system up so you can disable that with just one swipe down from the top of the main infotainment screen and one additional push of a button. That, to me, is an acceptable amount of fiddling before I drive off and it's still quite easily accessible if you're already driving and forgot before setting off.

Did I hear you correctly - the BMW i4 is a converted ICE car? If that's the case they,ve done a good job to control the weight (2065 kg cf the Seal at 2155 kg) - but the Seal has a significantly bigger battery (82.5 kW vs 70.2 kW, i.e. 17% bigger). This is really no competition, the Seal is miles superior in every department - and given BMW's poor reliability record (and I've owned two over recent years), it's a no-brainer, buy from the biggest dedicated ev manufacturer in the world.

Ive bought a byd seal the pull down menu on the screen turns off all warnings in 2 seconds, your complaing about noise of warnings for speeding and keeping in your own lane, turn them off and you would have no complaints!

Thanks for excellent unbiased and honest review about Chinese car. Whether we realise or not Chinese EVs are market leader.

If I had enough money for the BMW then I would definitely buy the BYD

The price difference once you compare the two that are more similar to each other (either the BMW i4 eDrive40 against the RWD BYD or the M50 vs. the AWD BYD) becomes over 20K once you add the options to match them too. The BMW may be the better car, but it's just in the details. Unless you have excess of cash it's just not justified to pay so much more for it. European brands need to wake up to the new reality. They will be in big trouble very soon if they don't.

Very informative video, thank you, the section that is missing for me is the servicing cost? I had Ice BMW for many years, and got completely fed up with the ridiculous servicing cost, even when very new. I moved to a Tesla M3P, with minimal service cost. The cost of ownership is just so much lower than other cars including other EV’s, it would be good when you review to include this if possible, not a criticism, only a comment. Thanks.

Very comprehensive and balanced review, thanks very much.

Any EV is build using an ice car chassi structure is a No for me.

The perfect car would be BYD and Tesla combination. Getting my Excellence on next monday. Happy days.😀

Rather than a bong it can be set as a vibration - and doesn't reset. So it could still save you from speeding fines or worse.

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

Great video and I can support most of what you said based on my experience with both cars. I was looking for my first EV and in the end I decided between the BMW i4 (e35) and the BYD Seal Excellence. I borrowed both for a day each and put them through their paces. First of all, the BYD is without any ifs and buts the better package in terms of price-performance ratio - here the BMW has no say at all. With the Seal you get a TOP equipped, very well made and extremely powerful car, at a very fair price. With the BMW you pay very, very, much more for the same equipment and when it comes to power, the edrive35 pales in comparison to the Seal. BUT. Overall, the BMW feels noticeably more premium in terms of its workmanship and features, but where the real difference lies: the driving. The Seal definitely doesn't have to hide from Tesla, Hyundai, Kia or Polestar, but the BMW simply plays in a different league here. Despite the lower power, the BMW constantly gave me an insanely huge grin on the country road, which the other, more powerful EVs (like the Seal) simply couldn't do. You should also be careful with the assistance systems and the OS, here BYD delivered the worst experience of all the EVs I tested, while BMW, together with Mercedes, is currently the spearhead on the market, when it comes to driving assistance systems.

Would take a BYD over any BMW ev anytime!

The annoying beeps are from exceeding the speed limit. Configure a shortcut and drag TSR (traffic sign recognition) into it. That way it can be turned off incredibly quickly by swiping down and pressing TSR to turn it off.

A very good review. Atto 3 owner for a year, very nice car and love it, ordered a seal 3.8s, add another BYD to our family. Voice control is very useful and getting better with update.

On looks, BYD Seal wins easy.

I have a Peugeot e208. Would consider a BYD over a BMW on cost grounds every time. My days of buying on brand recommendation is over, when there's 12 grand to be saved. That is more than I spent on my first car! My only concern is a first world issue - how soon before it gets replaced by a newer model?

At a year old I see BMW i4 35s advertised at a bit over £41K. I think that tells you something.

great review!

Because of tariffs, the price of seals is so high. In China, it only costs 170,000-200,000 yuan, which is less than 22,000 pounds.

When I started driving in the late eighties, they said that having a radio was a dangerous distraction which took your concentration away from driving. Now it seems the drivers safety systems are more distracting, especially as you spend a lot more time focusing on a computer menu than on the road.😅

BYD are not an unknown brand in the world that is what matters. They have sold 6 million NEVs of which 3 million are pure EVs.

Sometimes it also depends on the deal the manufacturer is offering. Last year BMW here in Austria was offering a great leasing deal, so I got my fully loaded eDrive 35 for less than a Model 3 SR per month (which is ~12000€ cheaper on the list).

Why not turn the beeps and bongs off while your testing. It's easy when you use the swipe down function on the screen. You downgraded the review of the car by focusing on it all the time. It's a 5 star safety requirement and BYD is going to update ability to turn off in an upcoming OTA. However overall a good balance report as usual. Thank you.

I prefer the more integrated screen layout of the BMW and the big rotating screen on the Seal is a bit much. Apart from some aspects of the interior the Seal seems better all round though definitely in terms of bangs for bucks!

Is there also a big price gap in the leasing market? because for company car drivers it tends to affect if the car is within your bracket and then of course how much BIK tax you pay against the list price of the car?

Great video. Seriously considering going for a BYD

Loving the reviews! Of course, capital cost, range, and miles per kWh are important costs when choosing an EV. But could you also include some information on expected depreciation (not easy if the model is relatively new, I know), and cost of insuring - these might also be necessary to make an informed choice. Thanks.

Good review. I probably would not buy either of those cars but that is based on your review and I appreciate a test drive will be required by each individual

I have the Seal, I laught a little everytime I see any of the BMW i cars on the road. More money than sense!

Great review. Driving wise I would go BMW, but smaller battery and £12k is a big turn off. However, the BYD bongs and bong would get annoying quickly. The overbearing systems is a real annoyance. My Ioniq 5 has them, some I can turn off permanently some I can’t, but at least there is one button on the wheel that turns off the offenders. We should be able to save our profile with settings as WE choose them. By all means make us acknowledge what is off at first switch on

Thanks for the video. As a Seal dual motor owner (called the Performance in Australia) and an F10 5 Series, I actually see more of a similarity with a five series BMW, both in terms of interior space and luxury / sport balance. Also, the i4 M50 is the equivalent performing car to the Seal dual motor, did you consider this comparison? The price difference would have been mind boggling in this case.

The Asian car makers tend to sell their cars packed with features included, whereas European brands make you pay through the nose with options, options, options. By the time you have similarly spec'd cars, the price gulf, as you've demonstrated, puts them in different classes altogether. There will be brand snobs who will insist the European car (BMW, Polstar) is worth it, but IMO the BYD (in this situation) is a no brainer.

great review

Hopefully the annoying warning sounds could be turned off with future updates for the BYD

Great video

Are the indicators still an option on the BMW i4 35? LOL Great comparison by the way

Living in Asia makes the BYD Seal £17k cheaper than the BMW. I love BMW but I definitely would have to go with the Seal for this one. Will never overspend too much on EV cars anyway

Good video, nicely presented. BMW must stop electrifying petrol cars. Develop a good electric car. About the price difference, that’s big. A side note is that BMW is stable in value. With the BYD you have to wait and see.

How can you compare an Premium class car with an new brand B class car. You don't buy a BMW for the price, but because you want to drive it. Look alone at the interior finishing, the BMW breaths quality over the cheap plastic BYD looks. It's really a combined mess of different design styles from other car brands. It isn't really a fair comparison, mostly judging the price. I would choose the BMW 100x over this kinds of brands, even over a Tesla. As someone who drives BMW i don't care a BYD or Tesla has more range. I want a car that feels good, looks good and drives good. For me the interior finish is really important, especially if you have to drive long distances.

Seal looks like a very compelling new option. I agree it's a Model 3 competitor. Tesla's in trouble.

in Australia the Android Auto is wireless across all 3 versions of the BYD and the "BYD badge" is on the back. They seem like weird exclusions in the UK and believe it or not, the cars are even cheaper here as there are no duties.

I'm probably in the minority, but I like the styling of the beemer. For me, in a very hot part of Australia, there is no way I'd live with a full length panoramic glass roof. It's the same reason Teslas are a no go for me.

Yeah, no, still not getting used to that BM styling.

BYD for me

Apparantly BYD ‘s saloon is higher quality and higher design.

You can set up a shortcut to switch off speed limit warning. Just swipe down. Most reviewers don't have the car long enough to know all the tips. That said hopefully an OTA update will fix this and other niggles.

BYD seal❤ Sorry voor de Europese markt. Hadden ze maar eerder moeten aan denken.

The Build Your Dreams is a beautiful looking car. It’s reasonably practical vehicle that would carry my normal load, but not so good for holidays!!

The more van like it is, the better I like it. My car has to double up as a camper van, so a window van is much more practical for me!!

I am not a BMW owner but can see there are 2 problems getting BMW owners to buy the BYD. 1) It is not a BMW 2) it has not got proven reliability.. long term ...over 9 to 20 years. As a Lexus owner myself that second point is the most important and would not consider anything that doesn't have a long term reliability record that comes very close to Lexus.

I've watched several reviews of the seal and every single one suffers with camera judder, which strongly suggests an overly stiff ride. For that reason and the restrictive boot entry I'd overlook the seal without hesitation.

BYD's new firmware update has addressed the annoying sounds while driving from what I've heard. It's still there but significantly reduced.

Malheureusement, la qualité BMW se paie beaucoup trop chère par rapport à la concurrence, il faudrait que BMW propose au moins une autonomie qui soit bien supérieure afin de compenser la différence de prix ! J'ai eu plusieurs BMW, la derniere une serie 4 435d sport, mais vu le prix d'une tesla avec, les performances, équipements, autonomie, j'ai craqué !

Its always easy to win on price and trim features. What you just said is BMW is a better car (maybe in eDrive 40 trim) but not everybody can afford it. Maybe, you should have made the message clearer. Also, the value for money proposition must include used car prices 3-7 years down…

I strongly suspect we’ll see the power of electric cars come down over the next 5 years. It feels like early EVs ramped the power up to show what they could do and become a selling point and since then other manufacturers seem to be trying to make sure they can compete in that space. But it’s entirely unnecessary to have a 3sec 0-60 time with 500+bhp. I think motors will get smaller and lighter to increase range and they’ll still be absolutely fine for daily use.

Personally, I would rather have a Tesla than a BMW!! Well, that’s my choice of those two cars. My favourite, however, is the Vauxhall Combo Life Electric with Wheelhome Vikenze III camper conversion.

problem with bmw is it doesn't look like electric car , not futuristic like byd seal

I would definitely go gor the Seal anytime

The only thing that makes BMW not perfect is the non-electric current platform it has. You can tell these were management decisions focused on $€£

There is an OTA update for the Seal sedan rolling out that addresses the ADAS issues especially around the intrusive warning sounds. The BYD Seal is a ground up built EV. The BMW is a converted ice vehicle to EV. Honestly why would you bother with any converted ice vehicle to EV no matter the brand unless you are a brand snob.

How much is it in the UK 😂

Now you know why European Union wanted to impose heavy tariff on Chinese EV makers. Else the European traditional car makers will get devoured completely. EU certainly learned well from the American. "When you can't compete, just come out with some ridiculous reasons to kill the competitions" Oh yeah, before you fools claiming Chinese EVs are heavily subsided by the Chinese government. Pls wake up from your denial. The very same model same spec is selling even way cheaper in mainland China.

The thing is, just is just a bit of driving and sitting in the cars. Go on an actual road trip with both. I would really like proper comparisons between cars. On EVs specs and normal driving are not always the full story. Some cars have terrible Battery Management Systems (Kia/Hyundai/BYD). Which can mean anything from overheating issues, Cold issues, poor thermal management in general, poor route planning, bad charging curves etc.

That speed limit beeping is a pretty serious negative. It would be one thing if it was turn-off-and-forget, but you have to set it every time you get in the car? That's... really, really bad.

Pretty design doesn’t really lead to a PRACTICAL car!! I currently have a little Renault Zoe, which is incredibly practical for a supermini!!

V2L on the BYD could mean you get the car for free if you look at the cost and KWH of Telsa Power Walls. Don't think you need V2L then just wait for the blackouts.

ID7 is not a compact sports saloon. It has bil inteeior soace compared to the Beemer.

Japanese EV of the Year 2023 are... 1st BYD Dolphin 2nd Hyundai Kona 3rd BYD Atto3 Two BYD Models Triumph at the "2023 Japan EV of the Year" Awards BYD, the world's leading new energy vehicle manufacturer, achieved a victory in the "2023 Japan EV of the Year" awards, with the BYD DOLPHIN winning the "Grand Prix" at the first place and the BYD ATTO 3 ranks third. This marks the first time a Chinese carmaker has received such accolades.

The Seal should have a lift-back like the i4

The first 25 minutes may as well be on a repeat loop of your conclusion.

byd seal👍️🤘👌

The channel need update you are talking about EV not ICE, you know the focus shall be difference right?

Not a hope in hell I would buy any Chinese manufacturers car. It’s not about money, it’s about the whole driving experience, dealer support, reliability, resale value (it does matter). Further and Faster doesn’t necessarily sell a car. Chinese cars are cheap because of massive subsidies. What data is the car sending back to base - does that matter. Oh and the BMW roundel is NOT a propellor, it’s the colours of the Bavarian flag.

The BYD does actually look great and performance also a massive plus, but you need to consider second hand value as the majority of folk won't buy cash, therefore monthly cost or total over 3 years really close the gap with affordability for PCP or lease deals. But I wouldn't buy one until there's a permanent way to turn off them bings and bongs! My current BMW saw sense to send a software update to do exactly that!

£60k for what is basically a 3 series is scandalous

two different levels of cars cannot be compared

they are not comparable ... the price not at the same level .

Hope Byd hybrid, DMI, could come to UK sooner, which is more superior to Toyota's because it's a battery-age hybrid technology. Toyota's is ICE-age technology

You need to train the AI first before they know what you say. If you don't train it, It works better with American accent!

You will pay more for a BMW but it will have better resale value than a BYD. So in the end you will lose more money with BYD. How´s that ?

I would take the BYD over the BMW.

Seal is just a better looking car than the i4. BMW desperately needs a new design team.

Lets see how the byd lasts over two years bmw is usally built proof

The byd looks like a old honda Civic hybride on the inside. And sounds like r2 d2, beep beep bong bong 🤣

BYD better in "every conceivable way"? Really? What about comfort and refinement? What about build quality and reliability? Of course, BMW is nowhere near as reliable as a Lexus, but it's in another world when compared to BYD. And having a longer warranty when you have to bring back your car time and time again to the workshop doesn't help you much. Speaking of the dealerships, what network of competent repair shops does BYD offer currently? Now, I know that the motoring journalists are fascinated by the Chinese onslaught, like a deer is fascinated by the headlights of the car that is going to squash it, but let's try some objectivity. BMW is expensive because it's premium. In "every conceivable way"...

I remember when BMWs were attractive and elegant as well as competent. That and the build quality made them worth a few more quid. Now they look designed by a 10 year old with a dodgy trigonometry set.