Oftentimes, we like to think outside of the box. Even if it means doing something our readers and viewers might not like, we do it anyway, if we feel like it’s worth trying out.
In the latest episodes of The Big Test, that’s what we did—we took the BYD Seal 5 DM-i Dynamic and matched it up against the Honda Civic RS Turbo. On one hand, you have the Chinese plug-in hybrid that’s looking to get a foothold in the subcompact sedan segment, and on the other you have the traditional petrol-powered Japanese compact sedan that’s remained strong in a segment that’s hoping to stay relevant in the years to come.
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We didn’t intend to ruffle some feathers here. We just wanted to see if the Seal 5—a car that clearly punches above its weight and is so much better than its competitors on paper—can actually stack up against a more premium and bigger (at least in segment) sedan like the Civic.
We chose the base variant of the Seal 5 because we thought since we’re a segment below already, why not go even lower with the base trim? As for the Civic, the RS e:HEV was just way too expensive compared to the Seal 5. The RS Turbo loses out on the hybrid powertrain, but at least across the board, it doesn’t lag that much behind the e:HEV.
And again, we were doing something unusual, anyway, so why not make it hybrid versus ICE? Anyway, if you want to see how our tests went, just click play on the embedded video below.
