We talk about charging our EVs and PHEVs conveniently at home, as if civilisation has not already proved itself too stupid for the task. In an ideal world, neighbours would have a sense of community. They would help old ladies across crossings, bring your bin in if you forgot, and avoid touching a car that is not theirs. In return, you might mow their footpath, pick up the odd bit of shopping, and resist the urge to call them a complete bastard in print.
I have been in a BYD Sealion 8, a shining example of new Chinese auto supremacy, and one of the most comfortable affordable PHEV SUVs we have driven. It is pretty, it has fast charging, and it has enough lovely electric gadgets to make you giggle like a schoolgirl. The official BYD Australia site has the Sealion 8 positioned as a three-row plug-in hybrid SUV, which makes the home-charging bit rather more than a brochure garnish, although DC charging can be used.
That is the part that has my blood boiling. Some complete and utter bastard went to all the trouble of taking the AC charging lead from the power socket, which then allowed the car connector to be detached as well. The miserable excuse for a human being left the charge cable beside the car, where anyone could steal it for its copper. Yes, that is a thing. Thinking this miscreant was a walk-through, I plugged it in again only to find once again, the cord now under the car and an anti-EV note on the windscreen. Predictably the fifth-grade handwriting, appalling grammar, and pre-school spelling all explain the malice. Despite having the owner’s permission, AC home charging was a non-starter.
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I had added a mere few kilometres of range before this egregious act of first-class ratbaggery took place. Presumably less than an hour had passed, meaning the expensive piece of modern technology lay untended, just asking for trouble. This is not anti-EV activism with a manifesto and a damp YouTube channel, it is smaller and meaner than that. It is the petty cruelty of someone who sees a cable and thinks, I shall make that someone else’s problem.
Above: 2026 Sealion 8 Premium a 359kw Beast
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ABOVE: BYD Sealion 8 in drive-day exterior and cabin images.
The Sealion 8 deserved better company than a cable-yanking ghoul, because beneath the irritation is a car with plenty going for it. It is good looking without trying to impersonate a German in evening wear, and the cabin has a calmness that feels expensive even when the price does not. The design is fabulous, with smooth, soft materials, a zen ambience, and a sound system that that is “big” in the hi-fi-est of ways. Unlike cars that shout luxury like a bogan in Bali, this one lowers its voice and humbly gets on with it.
Performance is strong, too. BYD quotes a 4.9-second 0-100, and that is quick by any sane measure, but the Sealion 8 never feels like it is flinging itself at the horizon with a knife between its teeth. The instant push is there, relaxed but insistent, and the delivery is smooth enough to make the experience feel slightly Jaguar-esque.
The ride carries the same mood, sophisticated, soft, and properly settled most of the time, which suits the car’s big, lounge-like nature. Handling leans soft, and the steering does too, so anyone expecting a three-row PHEV SUV to behave like a coked-up hot hatch needs to go outside and touch a tree. The Sealion 8 is not that car. It is a calm 7-seater with a boot full of batteries.
With those nasty 3rd row disasters stowed, the second row is vast, properly stretch-out, lounge-around, stop-whingeing vast. The third row is not, which is hardly a shock unless you still believe every SUV brochure written by a marketing junior called Lachie. It will do for short trips, children, and adults who have recently angered you. For everyone else, the second row is where the good life happens. The term 7-seater should be sent to Coventry and replaced by 5+2. What a nonsense it is. If you have 5 children you should have gotten a TV after the 2nd one was born, like normal people.
The Android Automotive OS, or AAOS, was the point where the mood curdled quickly. The system needed continuous resetting on the move. It froze, sulked, refused to start media with volume on startup, and generally behaved like a two-bob watch. CarPlay never auto-connected, although Bluetooth did, and stabbing at the CarPlay App connect got old fast.
This is not a BYD-only tantrum, either. AAOS users across Android installations, and systems based on it, have reported similar nonsense. BMW has not escaped the same gremlins. Screens freeze, media sulks, connections fail, and drivers are left prodding glass demented woodpecker. It is all very modern, by which I mean ghastly spiv-speak for experimental.
We have already looked at the Sealion 8 against the Kia Sorento PHEV, read about it here. The BYD has the showroom glitter and the pricing pressure to make legacy brands burst into nervous twitch. It also poses another fascinating question, whether Denza’s B8 could give the Land Cruiser a proper fright, a car we went into straight after the Sealion 8. BYD is no longer playing in a fringe, an outsider looking in. Despite one or two teeny little missteps, legacy brands have already expressed concern ranging from mild to manic. VW, who said MG made great second-hand cars, has been replaced on the top ten by, MG. Toyota’s sales are slipping like undies with busted elastic. Things are grim and Trump’s insane Middle East sortie has gone predictably bad. Buyers are scooping up NEV (new energy vehicles) like boiled lollies, and the signs of who is left behind are becoming quite obvious.
That makes the money story more interesting than the usual spreadsheet funeral. BYD profit is reportedly down 55% this year, helped along by the end of Chinese subsidies. That sounds brutal until you remember how fast the brand has expanded. More than 40% of BYD sales were exports, there are around 70 models in the orbit, and vertical integration has made manufacturing fast, reliable, and difficult for old brands to copy. BYD even has its own ships, since building the cars was not enough of a flex. They make their own batteries too, and those batteries are used in other brands.
If BYD is feeling the pinch, legacy brands must be bleeding buckets. BYD is the biggest name in this particular fight, but Geely has hard at it as well, and the broader Chinese push is not a fad. It is industrial policy with leather seats, battery packs, and a warranty brochure. Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai, and the rest can pretend this is business as usual if they like. The rest of us can see the wallpaper peeling and the mould setting in.
The Sealion 8 is not perfect. The software needs a stiff talking-to, the steering could use more conviction, and the third row is best treated as a polite emergency, but none of that kills the appeal. It looks good, rides beautifully, moves quickly without getting frantic, and wraps the cabin in a lovely hush.
If only the yobbo neighbours were as refined.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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