BYD Sealion 5 2026: International first drive

The big issue for plug-in hybrids from legacy brands such as Mitsubishi’s Outlanders and Ford’s defunct Escape PHEV was always price. You’d be paying $10,000 or more extra to get into these non-premium vehicles so you can have more efficiency — and so they never quite caught on.

China has arrived with lots of tech and cheap manufacturing, cutting prices of plug-in hybrids — or PHEVs — right down, below even some carmakers’ plugless self-charging hybrids. Now, BYD is mulling bringing an even more affordable midsizer Down Under in the Sealion 5.

Chasing Cars spied the Sealion 5 — called the Song Pro in other markets — testing in Australia wearing blue and black camouflage, indicating the affordable midsize SUV is on the cards for local release. If it does come to Oz, it will follow the recently confirmed seven-seat Sealion 8 PHEV (or Tang L) plus the cut-price electric BYD Atto 2.

The addition of the Sealion 5 would certainly add confusion to an already crowded range. Remember, the Sealion 6 is just a little bigger than the 5, yet uses less impressive existing PHEV tech. And the Sealion 7? That’s an all-electric Tesla Model Y rival. And with the Sealion 5 about five centimetres shorter than the Sealion 6, it’s all very busy.

The Sealion 5 has a trump card: a likely sub-$40K starting price.

That’s right, a plug-in hybrid SUV with over 1300km (CLTC) driving range and 173kW able to sprint from rest to the speed limit in a little over 8.0 seconds, with wireless smartphone mirroring and a huge touchscreen for less than a parking-inspector-spec Toyota RAV4 GX.

Chasing Cars was flown to China to sample the BYD Sealion 5, along with a host of other products including the off-road-focused Denza B5. Our run-in with each car was brief but somewhat illuminating.

Naturally, the first question was of cannibalisation of Sealion 6 sales, and what the point of both models would be.

“It’s a medium-size SUV, it’s a plug-in hybrid, so definitely. I think there’s a huge love of medium-size SUVs and hybrids. [There] definitely would be good potential for [Sealion 5],” replied BYD Australia senior manager product planning and pricing Sajid Hasan.

Apart from being shorter, narrower and taller than the 6, the Sealion 5 also packs less punch, with a 74kW 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder allied to a 120kW/210Nm electric motor for a combined 173kW. While down on the Sealion 6’s figure, it’s still up on any current Toyota RAV4.

Jumping inside revealed a cabin design that’s different to the Sealion 6, in that there’s less content, yet it was more elegant and cohesive. To hit the low price, the Sealion 5 doesn’t look like it’ll sacrifice creature comfort: heated seats, large rotating touchscreen and soft touch materials on the front and rear door tops are all present.

Choosing tan artificial leather upholstery was a good choice, as it shows off how light and airy the Sealion 5’s cabin can be, and hides the shininess of our tester’s black artificial leather. The cream alternative is even brighter.

The centre console has a single wireless charger, along with shortcut buttons for the screen. The ‘crystal’ gear selector was both nice to look at and interact with. Build quality was rather impressive — a common note in all newer BYD products.

Packaging was impressive, too, with a generously-sized rear seat and boot. The flat floor aids rear seat accommodation, while air vents were in the car we sat in along with map pockets.

Two battery options are offered globally: a 12.9kWh for a 75 kilometres of claimed electric-only range and a larger 18.3kWh that allows 115km in electric-only mode.

Our drive of the Sealion 5 was brief, and it was the least impressive in terms of punch and suspension satisfaction, riding on simple passive dampers and steel springs with a fairly tall body.

There was a lot of body roll through a slalom test and, like the Sealion 6 in Australia, the 5 in China has featherlight controls, with easy-breezy steering.

The brake pedal didn’t feel particularly positive. We also noticed a disconnect between the front and rear ends’ ability to absorb bumps.

The Sealion 5 was quiet and more than quick enough to spin up the front tyres, which is not helped by the longitudinal softness and weight transfer under acceleration (and deceleration).

It’s not likely to be the most refined and sophisticated drive experience, then, but as previous encounters with BYD’s PHEVs have proven, it’s likely to be efficient and pretty well calibrated.

Question remains: should BYD bring it to Australia?

We asked if there was a genuine possibility the Sealion 5 will dip below $40K, before on-roads.

The answer? “We’re not too far off that already with the Sealion 6, you’re only asking for another three grand below that, so I’m sure that’s possible.”

With everyday items costing more by the day, the draw of cheaper cars has seemingly never been stronger. If BYD can deliver a complete, family-friendly product for such a sharp price, then the Sealion 5 has every chance of succeeding.