BYD Seal wins Best Electric Vehicle Under $50K

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Electric cars continue to be a hot topic among new car buyers. While sales may have plateaued in 2024, there's still a lot of excitement around electric vehicles, and especially at the more affordable end of the segment.

It wasn't all that long ago that our $50,000 price cap would have been conspicuously empty of available options. But over the last 12 to 18 months, the landscape has changed, and changed dramatically.

Now, buyers are spoiled for choice with a number of electric cars on the market that come in under our price cut-off.

Last year, the MG 4 took out the prize as Australia's Best Electric Vehicle Under $50K, seeing off a field of newcomers that together changed the landscape, making electric motoring more affordable than ever before and proving that budget-friendly electric cars need not feel cheap.

It's that same philosophy that has underscored the category again this year, with three finalists – MG 4, Chery Omoda E5, and BYD Seal Dynamic – all delivering on the key criteria of value, comfort, decent driving characteristics and good driving ranges.

But one car stood taller than its rivals.

MORE: See the finalists for Best Electric Vehicle Under $50,000
MORE: See all the winners – visit the Drive Car of the Year 2025 hub

Winner: BYD Seal

Drive’s pick: BYD Seal Dynamic from $46,990 MSRP

The BYD Seal certainly made an impact when it landed in Australia just over 12 months ago. As the closest rival to the popular Tesla Model 3, the Seal brought a level of features and ability that had, until then, been missing from the sub-$50K price bracket in the electric vehicle market.

That resulted in the combination of the Seal's price and feature-packed offering being rewarded by buyers, with over 6000 cars sold over the last 12 months, making it the third-best selling sedan of any kind in Australia behind only the Tesla Model 3 and the Toyota Camry.

At the time of judging, at $49,888 before on-road costs, the BYD Seal Dynamic slipped in just under our $50,000 price cap for this category. However, in good news for buyers, BYD has since then slashed the price, and by quite some margin for the 2025 model year, now priced at $46,990 before on-road costs.

It's not just sales success that marks the BYD Seal as a winner because here we have an electric car that is nicely designed, packed with standard features and with the kind of performance buyers have come to expect from today's EVs.

The BYD Seal Dynamic might be the entry-level model in the range but it doesn’t lack for equipment or creature comforts. And it certainly doesn’t feel 'cheap'.

Inside, the Seal Dynamic is well-designed with plenty of leather-like materials and soft touchpoints. It doesn’t feel like an entry-level car, especially once you dig through its features.

Standard equipment in the Seal Dynamic includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch instrument display, synthetic leather-look upholstery, power-adjustable heated and ventilated front seats, a 12-speaker stereo, glass roof, power tailgate, and a suite of advanced safety systems that contribute to a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Of course, to win a Drive Car of the Year category takes more than just a nicely-designed interior and a healthy list of standard equipment and features. To claim the top honour, a winning car must also deliver on the driving characteristics expected of the segment.

MORE: BYD Seal price and specifications

And the news here is good, the BYD Seal Dynamic performing commendably. With a single electric motor with outputs of 150kW and 310Nm, the Seal Dynamic proved more than capable in most driving situations.

Acceleration is best described as perky without straying into silly territory like some electric cars do while ride comfort is also commendably good, the suspension tune erring on the softer side of comfort. That results in a composed ride in most daily driving situations, the Seal ironing out lumps and bumps with comfortable ease. But it also comes at a cost, the softness of the suspension resulting in a car susceptible to a hint of wallowing over undulating surfaces. Still, for the most part, and certainly in most urban driving scenarios, the Seal's ride comfort is refined and composed.

It's not perfect though. Servicing costs are a bit steep for an electric car, priced at $875 over three years and 60,000km or $1805 for five years/100,000km. And a six-year, 150,000km warranty is on the skinny side as brands push to seven and even 10 years.

But those gripes don’t detract too much from what the BYD Seal Dynamic offers in today's electric car landscape – a spacious and comfortable sedan, with a refined interior, and plenty of the types of modern technology today's buyers expect from a new car.

Add in that it's a great daily driver with perky performance and decent ride comfort, and it's easy to see why the BYD Seal Dynamic is the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Electric Vehicle Under $50K.

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