BYD Seal vs Kia EV5

The BYD Seal costs £6,385 more than the Kia EV5. For that premium it adds 25 miles more WLTP range, 70 kW more power and a 2.4s quicker 0-62mph time. The Kia EV5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 113 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV5 comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV5 is £6,385 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £184 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV5 comes out roughly £6,385 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 244 miles for the BYD Seal and 235 miles for the Kia EV5 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 31-37 minutes.

The two are within 0 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 525 mm of total clearance for the BYD Seal and about 525 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV5. The Kia EV5 also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the BYD Seal and 89% for the Kia EV5. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. The BYD Seal's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Kia EV5's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.