KUANTAN – With its electric models that have marine animal-inspired names like Seal and Sealion selling so well in Singapore, Chinese company BYD is now bringing in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

The Sealion 6 DM-i is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) equipped with a petrol engine and an electric motor. Its batteries get charged when the car is on the move or when it is plugged into a wall charger.

The SUV decides how to use the two sources of propulsion – petrol engine or electric motor alone, or a mix of both.

Combined, the Sealion 6 can travel 1,100km on a full tank of fuel and a fully charged battery.

Ahead of its official launch on July 16, The Straits Times had a chance to find out how it performed, during a four-day, three-night Singapore-Malaysia round-trip drive organised by BYD.

For this first-time PHEV driver, the EV-to-engine transition felt seamless.

The car is a great companion for long road trips with the family. It offers cabin comfort for passengers, space for four roll-on suitcases and tech features to keep everyone plugged in and occupied on long drives exploring Malaysia, without anyone worrying about where the next charging station is.

The road trip was conducted under real-world conditions in a convoy of Sealion 6 DM-is.

Drivers were told to drive normally. Each car was loaded with four adults and their bags, and the air-conditioning was set to full blast to beat the heat.

The route through Malaysia included congested cities, hill climbs, highways and winding coastal roads.

By the third day of hard driving, the low-fuel warning light in the test cars came on, after clocking between 761.6km and 803.1km, and using up around 50 litres of petrol.

The difference in the range could have been due to how each car was driven. It seemed they performed best when the accelerator was feathered gently.

By the time the low-fuel indicator lit up, the car should have had around 10 litres of fuel left in the tank. This suggested that the Sealion 6 DM-i should be able to cover nearly 1,000km with its 60-litre fuel tank.

This was quite good, considering that throughout the drive, we drove as quickly as the traffic allowed and made no effort to be exaggeratedly fuel-efficient, such as doing without air-con or going unrealistically slow.

I shared “my” car with three others invited for the trip. They were radio jockeys Glenn Ong from Kiss92 and Li Mei from UFM1003, and producer Vanessa Jane Seah from SPH media. We all took turns to drive.

We started in Singapore at the BYD showroom in Alexandra Road and headed across the border via the Second Link. At the petrol station in Gelang Patah, Johor, our fuel tanks were filled to the brim and the trip meter reset to zero.

From there, the convoy made stops in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands, Kuantan and Melaka, before returning to Singapore.

BYD said the driving route was designed to demonstrate how the car would perform under typical family road-trip conditions.

Challenges included congestion in Kuala Lumpur, highway cruising on the North-South Highway, the steep climb up Genting Highlands and winding coastal roads through Kuantan.

During the trip, I had a great time getting to know the other members of my Sealion 6 “family”.

On the long drives between stops, we chatted about our loves, lives and aspirations, while Vanessa played tunes from her 58-hour music playlist.

On the first night, we stopped at the Ikan Glamping campsite outside Kuala Lumpur. The luxury campsite in Bentong has 18 luxury tents – complete with air-con and hotel-style amenities.

We were lulled to sleep by chirping crickets and awoke to gentle sun rays peeking into the tents.

On the second day, craving some exercise, Glenn and I made the 272-step climb up Batu Caves to visit the temple cave perched atop the hill. It is guarded by a towering statue of Lord Murugan, a Hindu god of war, victory, wisdom and love.

Navigating sharp turns and steep inclines, our car took us up to Genting Highlands, where we spent the second night.

The challenging route allowed us to channel our inner “race car drivers”, taking corners and pushing the engine to its limit.

I cannot confirm or deny whether our car left any burnt rubber and skid marks on the sharper bends up the hill.

On the way to Kuantan, after overnighting in Genting, we drove through Pahang, which produces the most durians in Malaysia. What better way to memorialise the trip than to stop by the roadside for a durian feast?

The highlight for me was the third and final night’s stay at the Mangala Estate Boutique Resort in Kuantan.

The 67-private villa property is tucked away in the wetlands and palm groves of a small seaside town of half a million inhabitants.

I soaked in the private pool of the villa, surrounded by nature and uplifted by birdsong. About 100 varieties of birds are endemic to the region.

The soak soothed my tight shoulders and aching back, having spent too many hours on the road.

I had never driven a petrol-hybrid or an electric car before, so I was curious to see if a PHEV like the Sealion 6 would be any different from the petrol-powered vehicles I knew so well.

The Sealion 6 drives no differently, as I discovered, so there was no learning curve.

Driving the car in electric or hybrid mode (when both the engine and electric motors are at work) did not seem to affect its performance. The transition between the electric motor and engine-assisted drive modes proved to be smooth.

Given BYD’s popularity and reputation as one of the pioneers of mass-market EVs, I had high expectations for the electric-assisted start-up with the battery assist helping to overcome the additional weight of the EV battery. It turned out to be quick and agile.

The car starts off in electric mode and the transition to fuel-assisted driving, when the engine chips in, is always seamless. Even at highway speeds beyond 110kmh, the car remained quiet.

Putting myself in the shoes of a dad on a solo-vehicle road trip, I found having the option to recharge or refuel strangely comforting. I did not experience range anxiety because I knew I had the option of refuelling at petrol stations.

The car handled Genting Highlands’ winding uphill roads with confidence and agility. There was no noticeable struggle with the car, even with four adults and luggage.

Throughout the drive, the engine delivered good torque, thanks to the hybrid set-up. The body roll felt well contained for a family SUV of this size too.

The air-conditioning was strong even when temperatures soared past 35 deg C on most of the days.

The ample charging points (USB-A, USB-C, wireless charging for devices front and rear) kept the phones of the four occupants – and other devices like cameras – charged.

The interior finish felt premium, with ergonomic leather seats, ambient lighting and a panoramic sunroof.

At various points, people were popping their heads through the sunroof for better views or to take more exciting photos of the convoy.

The 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen was easy to use. With an Infinity 10-speaker sound system, it was a pleasure to listen to the playlist Vanessa contributed from her phone.

My companions enjoyed playing with the built-in voice command feature too. We could get the car to open and close the sunroof, and initiate the voice control system by saying “Hi BYD”.

There was ample legroom at the back, so there were no fights over space.

The 574-litre boot was sufficiently spacious to carry our four roll-on suitcases and small personal bags.

As someone who will be in the market for a replacement when my car is due to be scrapped, the Sealion 6 DM-i will be an ideal first hybrid for long-distance road trips with the kids.

With around 1,000km of driving range, it offers stress-free road trips exploring Malaysia and farther afield, without the driver worrying about where the next charging station will be.

Price: $212,888 with COE
Motor: Permanent synchronous with 18.3kWh LFP battery and 1.5-litre range extender (97hp)
Transmission: Hybrid single-speed
Power: 160kW
Torque: 300Nm
0-100kmh: 8.5 seconds
Top speed: 170kmh
Fuel/power consumption: 0.9 litres/18.8kWh per 100km
Charging capacity: 2.7kW AC; 18kW DC
Agent: E-Auto