The BYD Sealion 7 and Kia EV6 are premium EV offerings, roughly priced between Rs 50-70 lakh. They’ve both got modern designs, premium cabins and punchy performance. They are also fully imported as completely built units (CBU) and rival cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and BMW iX1. In this story, we compare the performance, range and regen of the respective top-spec variants of both cars.
BYD Sealion 7 vs Kia EV6: Specifications, price
The Sealion 7 is bigger, has more performance and is less expensive
*Power-to-weight is hp per tonne
^Torque-to-weight is Nm per tonne
The BYD Sealion 7 is bigger in every dimension - length, width, height and even wheelbase, but the Kia gets a bigger 84kWh NMC battery (versus an 82.56kWh LFP battery in the Sealion 7). In terms of performance, the Sealion 7 makes 205hp and 85Nm more than the EV6. And while the EV6 is available in an AWD setup only, the Sealion 7 is available in a RWD layout with less performance. The big difference is how they are priced, and the price difference between the top-spec trims of these cars is roughly Rs 10 lakh.
BYD Sealion 7 vs Kia EV6: Performance tests
With 205hp and 85Nm more, the Sealion 7 is quicker in all our tests
With the difference in performance between these two, it was a little easier to predict the outcome. In all the performance tests, the Sealion 7 was faster. It completed the 0-100kph run in 4.43s and is 0.73s faster than the EV6. Again, 20-80kph and 40-100kph runs are 0.29s and 0.58s faster than the EV6, respectively.
BYD Sealion 7 vs Kia EV6: Regen and range tests
Kia EV6 has stronger regen modes and offers better range overall
The BYD gets two regen modes - Standard and High, whereas the EV6 gets four, including the option of a single pedal driving mode. In all the modes, the EV6 showed stronger regenerative braking than the Sealion 7. In their respective highest regen mode, the Sealion 7 takes more than twice as long to slow down from 80-20kph when compared to the Kia EV6.
In our real-world range tests, we found the Kia to be more efficient than the BYD. In the city, the EV6 delivered an efficiency of 5.18km/kWh versus 4.90km/kWh for the Sealion 7. Thanks to the stronger regen modes in the EV6, you can expect a real-world range of 435km in the city, whereas with the Sealion 7 you can expect 405km - about 30km less than the EV6.
On the highway, the difference is even wider - the EV6 becomes more efficient (6.67km/kWh), and the Sealion 7 becomes even less efficient (4.17km/kWh) than in the city. One can expect a real-world range of 344km with the Sealion 7, whereas the EV6 will go 216km further!
BYD Sealion 7 vs Kia EV6: Verdict
The BYD Sealion 7 is priced from Rs 49.9 lakh for the RWD variant to Rs 55.9 lakh for the top-spec AWD variant, and is the more affordable option here, while also being the more powerful EV. The Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD is the more expensive pick and costs Rs 65.97 lakh. If budget isn’t an issue, the Kia EV6 will be a better all-rounder. It has better range, faster charging speeds and multiple regenerative braking modes, including single-pedal driving that makes city driving that much easier.
Autocar India’s testing standards
Before we conduct our performance tests, we check and maintain tyre pressures per the manufacturer’s recommendations and ensure the car is charged to 100 percent. The car is then tested in a controlled environment with two people on board, and the data is collected via highly accurate GPS-based timing equipment.
For our real-world range test, we begin with each car’s battery fully charged and tyre pressures set as per the manufacturer’s recommendations. We drive the cars on a fixed loop covering both city and highway stretches while maintaining set average speeds. We then calculate the range based on the percentage of charge consumed. The AC is set to 22deg C in auto mode, and features such as the music system, lights and ventilated seats are used as needed, just as a regular user would. This approach ensures consistency and gives a clear idea of what to expect in daily use.
To test regenerative braking, we pre-select a level of regen braking, completely lift off the throttle pedal and allow the car to decelerate till under 20kph. This procedure is then repeated for as many levels of regenerative braking the EV packs in. The deceleration rate, distance covered and time taken to go from 80kph to 20kph are recorded on a GPS-based Vbox system.
Uday Singh
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
