How the 2025 BYD Seal 5 DM-i did 1,645 km without refuelling or recharging
Riding on the tidal wave of success created by its industry-shaking Sealion 6 DM-i crossover, BYD Cars Philippines debuted the Seal 5 DM-i last month as its entry into the country’s most ferocious automotive segment.
But the moment the covers came off, everyone knew that the little BYD would cause yet another tremor throughout the local car industry. Despite being priced to take on the Toyota Vios and Honda City, the Seal 5 DM-i is even bigger than the recently launched Honda Civic e:HEV.
And none of those sedans could match the BYD’s immense range on a full tank of fuel and a full battery – the P948,000 Dynamic variant can do 1,170 kilometers, while the P1,198,000 Premium can go as far as 1,240 kilometers.
The secret, of course, is down to BYD’s innovative Super DM-idrivetrain that combines a gasoline generator with a plug-in-chargeable BYD Blade battery (8.3 kWh in the Dynamic and 18.3 kWh in the Premium).
But BYD Cars Philippines went even further by conducting a sanctioned fuel-economy run, where the Seal 5 DM-i did over 1,600 kilometers without ever filling up or plugging in. We got first dibs on just how their new aquatic friend did it.
The drive
As with the Sealion 6 DM-i fuel-economy run, the Automobile Association of the Philippines was on-hand to serve as the independent observers for the Seal 5 DM-i’s record-setting, four-day trip.
Three cars were used – two Premium models driven by racing legends Georges and Louis Ramirez with their respective navigators, as well as a Dynamic model driven by a BYD Cars Philippines employee. All vehicles were driven at legal speeds with the air-conditioning on.
The first day covered 488 kilometers through EDSA, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the Central Luzon Link Expressway, followed by the Pan-Philippine Highway to Tuguegarao City.
BYD Cars Philippines said all the cars made full use of their batteries, especially with regenerative braking and generator charging on the open road.
The second day was a 542-kilometer trip from Tugegarao to my ancestral hometown of Caba in La Union. Despite the poor visibility on the Pan-Philippine Highway because of the morning fog, the group soldiered on with the help of the Seal 5 DM-i’s standard LED headlights.
BYD Cars Philippines said the mountain passes past the towns of Claveria and Santa Praxedes in Cagayan showcased the car’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Mode, where the traction battery and electric motors proved useful in reducing consumption up the steep, winding roads.
The next day, the cars easily accomplished the 260-kilometer trip back to the starting point in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City.
The Seal 5 DM-i Premium driven by Louis Ramirez still showed 197 kilometers of range, while the Seal 5 DM-i Premium driven by Georges Ramirez had 229 kilometers, and the Seal 5 DM-iDynamic displayed 123 kilometers. Moreover, all had additional battery range that could be prolonged through regeneration.
The second drive
With three days done and over 1,280 kilometers traveled, BYD Cars Philippines could have just stopped there.
But this highly ambitious carmaker spent another day answering, “How far can we go?” And so, the three cars drove from BGC to Clark, Pampanga, and back, to run their fuel tanks dry.
The three Seal 5 DM-i units reached Clark via NLEX and SCTEX and were able to turn back to traverse another 101 kilometers. But there was still range left for all three cars, so the team collectively decided to take the Skyway Stage 3 and the Southern Luzon Expressway to Caltex Mamplasan.
The Seal 5 DM-i Dynamic ran out of fuel driving up the entrance ramp of Skyway Stage 3 from NLEX, so the remaining 48 kilometers to refuel at Caltex was done solely in EV Mode. All in all, it covered 1,503.5 kilometers and consumed 52.282 liters of fuel for an average fuel-economy reading of 28.76 kilometers per liter.
Meanwhile, the Seal 5 DM-i Premium driven by Louis Ramirez did 1,557.1 kilometers as he was still able to drive from Caltex to BGC, where they topped the car back up with 52.192 liters of fuel. This yielded an average fuel consumption of 29.83 kilometers per liter.
But the Seal 5 DM-i Premium piloted by George Ramirez was the most efficient of all – from Caltex, he was able to reach the Lipa exit of STAR Tollway, before returning to BGC to refuel. After covering 1,645.2 kilometers, it set a staggering average of 31.22 kilometers per liter after being refilled with 52.695 liters of fuel.
BYD Cars Philippines said it also used comparable internal-combustion engine sedans for the Luzon Loop. These could only do anywhere from 13 to 17 kilometers per liter, all while using 72 to 98 liters of fuel across multiple stops.
Put another way, the Seal 5 DM-i is set to totally redefine your notion of matipid in any sedan that you look at from now on. With a feat like this, you can bet that this not-so-subcompact sedan will generate glee from astonished buyers, as well as groans from its non-electrified competition.
