BYD Sime Motors recently passed me the BYD Seal 6 EV Premium for a weekend. Having already done a media drive for their other models like the Sealion, Seal, ATTO 2 and 2026 ATTO 3, I was quite intrigued as to how the Seal 6 (I attended the launch in Malaysia last year but didn’t test drive it – https://timchew.net/2025/09/26/byd-seal-6-ev-makes-global-debut-in-malaysia/) would perform.
The Seal 6 EV made its global debut in Malaysia in September 2025 — the first time BYD has chosen this market to launch a model internationally ahead of any other, including its home market. It is a notable vote of confidence in Malaysia’s appetite for electric vehicles, and it positions the Seal 6 EV as the seventh model in BYD’s local line-up, occupying the C-segment sedan space between the smaller Atto 2 and the larger, more performance-oriented Seal.
The car is built on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 architecture and powered throughout by the company’s in-house Blade Battery, a lithium iron phosphate design BYD positions as one of the safer battery chemistries on the market. What distinguishes the Seal 6 EV most within its segment, however, is its layout: a rear-wheel-drive configuration that BYD says is unique among C-segment sedans sold in Malaysia, paired with a dual ball-joint MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link rear setup (which was really comfortable even over speed humps and potholes!) — the latter a first for the brand. BYD frames this as a deliberate pursuit of a more engaging, balanced driving character rather than simply chasing range or price, with a tight 5.5-metre turning radius built in for manoeuvrability in car parks and tighter urban roads.
The Seal 6 EV Premium that I was loaned for the weekend is priced at RM115,800. It is powered by a single permanent magnet synchronous motor producing 160kW of power and 330Nm of torque, with a 0–100km/h time of 7.5 seconds. It comes with a 56.64kWh Blade Battery and BYD’s claimed NEDC-combined range of 485km, with support for 7kW AC charging and 100kW DC fast charging, alongside Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability that allows the car to function as a portable power source for external devices.
The Premium variant comes with several notable features including a panoramic sunroof with electric slide and anti-trap protection, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with ventilation, four-way power adjustment and ventilation for the front passenger seat, an eight-speaker sound system, a wireless phone charger, multi-colour ambient lighting, and footwell lighting front and rear.
Most of the car’s functions are controlled via a 12.8-inch touchscreen, which connects seamlessly to smartphones via wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The 8.8-inch digital instrument panel is adequate for viewing, and the car comes with a comprehensive driver assistance suite covering automatic emergency braking, front collision warning, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and a 360-degree view monitor. The warranty package is equally generous across both variants: six years or 150,000km on the vehicle, and eight years or 160,000km on the drive unit and the high-voltage Blade Battery.
I collected the car from BYD Sime Motors’ outlet in Ara Damansara on a Friday morning, and I will be honest about where my expectations sat going in. The Seal 6 EV is, after all, the entry point into BYD’s Malaysian sedan range, sitting below the larger Seal in both price and positioning, and I did not expect to come away particularly impressed.
That assumption did not survive the weekend. The more time I spent behind the wheel, the more I found myself warming to the car — and by Monday morning, when it was time to return it, I genuinely did not want to give it up.
A large part of that came down to how easy the Seal 6 EV is to drive day to day. The instant torque from the electric motor makes the car feel considerably quicker than its segment and price point would suggest, with power delivered smoothly and without hesitation when merging into traffic or making a gap on the highway. Manoeuvring and parking were similarly stress-free, especially with the 360-degree camera. While the car’s dimensions are generous for the segment, it was highly nimble and never felt unwieldy in tighter spaces or basement car parks.
The cabin reinforced that same sense of generosity. Rear legroom in particular stood out — passengers in the back seat had genuinely ample space, with none of the cramped, knees-up seating position that can affect even larger sedans in this price bracket. The boot, too, was large – something that many Malaysians appreciate.
None of this is to say the Seal 6 EV is without its trade-offs — it is, after all, a car built to a specific price point, and that shows in some of the smaller material and refinement details, but nothing I can really nitpick. If you’re into more refinements and/or features, there’s always the Seal or Sealion (both of which I enjoyed driving during the recent BYD media trip to Penang for the launch of BYD Mansion Macalister – https://timchew.net/2026/05/18/sime-motors-launches-byd-mansion-macalister-strengthens-the-byd-brand-in-malaysia/). But as a car to actually live with over a few days — commuting, going to church, running errands, going for a date night — it performed well above what its position among the entry level offerings of BYD’s local range had led me to expect.
For dinner, we made our way to Nizza, the Italian restaurant at Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara in Bukit Damansara. The kitchen is led by Chef Simone Fraternali, who trained at IPSAAR Riccione in Italy and has worked across several notable Italian kitchens, including the three-Michelin-starred Ristorante Da Vittorio in Lombardy and the one-Michelin-starred La Tana Gourmet in Asiago, before relocating to Singapore, where he held roles at Aura at the National Gallery, Il Lido at The Cliff in Sofitel Sentosa, and as Head Chef at SO Sofitel Singapore. He went on to open Solo Ristorante on Amoy Street in Singapore, which has since been recognised in the Michelin Guide and the Gambero Rosso guide for four consecutive years. That background informs Nizza’s cooking philosophy: modern Italian cuisine grounded in the traditions and regional identity of Emilia-Romagna, built around quality ingredients and balanced flavour rather than excess or spectacle.
The menu follows a familiar Italian structure — crudo and tartare to start, followed by classic starters, a substantial pasta and risotto section, wood-fired pizza, prime cuts from the wood grill, and a separate land-and-sea selection of mains, rounded off with sides, cheese, and dessert. Among the more distinctive offerings is the Spaghetti al Nero all’Astice e Granchio, a squid ink spaghetti finished with lobster and Alaskan crab and flambéed in vodka within a Parmigiano wheel — one of the kitchen’s signature dishes and clearly built for a special-occasion table.
For those drawn to red meat, the wood grill section includes a Tomahawk sized for three to four diners, alongside more conventional cuts such as the Black Angus ribeye and tenderloin. The wood-fired pizza selection includes the Nizza al Tartufo, built on mozzarella, stracchino cheese, wild mushrooms, and truffle pesto, while the crudo and tartare section features a chef-signature Ricciola — amberjack battuto with Sorrento lemon dressing, grapefruit, and smoked capsicum purée.
To close, the Tortina alle Albicocche pairs confit apricots with a rosemary tart, yoghurt, and vanilla gelato, while the cheese course offers a curated selection of Italian cheeses served with preserved figs, honeycomb, and candied walnuts for those who prefer to end on a savoury note.
Nizza’s setting within Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara gives it a particular usefulness for corporate leadership or senior manager weighing where to host a client. Bukit Damansara is a well-connected, established address, and a hotel restaurant of this calibre carries an institutional credibility that is genuinely useful for first meetings with clients or counterparts who may not yet be familiar with a standalone restaurant.
The presence of some of the hotel’s other F&B outlets such as the adjoining pool bar, Le Bar Cocktail & Stories, and the hotel’s cigar lounge by Trinidad also makes Nizza a workable choice for an evening that may extend beyond dinner itself, whether for a private celebration, a longer corporate function, or simply an evening that does not need to end the moment the dessert plates are cleared.
Nizza is located within Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara at 6 Jalan Damanlela, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, and serves lunch daily from noon to 3pm and dinner from 6pm to 10:30pm, with the restaurant closed on Tuesdays. For more information, visit https://www.sofitel-kualalumpur-damansara.com/restaurants-bars/nizza/
I went into this weekend expecting little from a car positioned as the entry point into BYD’s sedan range in Malaysia, and came away having to talk myself out of asking for an extension. The Seal 6 EV Premium did not win me over with any single standout feature — it did it the way a genuinely good daily car does, by quietly getting everything right across a few days of actual use: powerful motor, nimble, easy to drive, easy to park, comfortable for driver and passengers, especially whoever is in the back seat, convenient/ useful features, and a huge boot.
For a car at this price point, that is incredible value and a difficult combination to argue with, and it is hard not to come away thinking BYD has something genuinely competitive on its hands at the lower end of its Malaysian range.
The BYD Seal 6 EV Premium variant is priced at RM115,800 in Malaysia. For more information on the BYD Seal 6, head over to https://byd.simemotors.my/models/byd-seal-6.html
Photos shot by the author using the vivo X300 Pro.
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