‘Enjoying smooth KuchingSri Aman drive on single electric vehicle charge’
KUCHING: It was an impressive performance exhibited by the muchacclaimed fully-electric BYD Seal sedan during a KuchingSri Aman round-trip drive yesterday, achieved on a single charge.
Representatives of The Borneo Post and See Hua Daily News had the opportunity to test-drive the electric vehicle (EV), now with 19-inch alloy wheels, the X-shaped front end and futuristic taillight shape.
The salesperson from Regas EV Auto showroom demonstrated the remote ignition using a digital key connected via BYD mobile application.
Alternately, the driver could also access the car using key fob or NFC card.
The journey began from the Regas EV Auto showroom at CityONE Megamall here at 9.45am, with the participating media representatives being provided with two of the Premium variant marque for the Sri Aman trip.
The first stop was at Serian at 10.30am, where by then the EV had consumed only eight per cent of the energy from a full charge.
We reached Sri Aman at 12.25pm, having covered a total distance of 183.6km and with the car showing 64 per cent remaining battery energy.
Throughout the time spent travelling on the Pan Borneo Highway, the media folks were given first-hand experience of semi-autonomous driving with adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.
In the BYD Seal, the driver is assisted with a bundle of technologies, including 10.25inch full LCD instrument panel, 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen, head-up display (UHD), navigation, smartphone wireless charging, tyre pressure monitoring system, 360-degree camera, blind spot detection, lane departure prevention, predictive collision warning, automatic emergency braking, front and rear USB ports, Android Auto, Apple Carplay, as well as 12 speakers for unparalleled acoustic performance, and also ventilated front seats.
After lunch at Sri Aman at around 1.30pm, the media team headed back, making a brief stop at Serian before arriving in the city at 4pm.
Overall, the total distance covered was at 370km, with the remaining battery energy standing at a commendable 20 per cent.
Compared with conventional petrol-fuelled vehicles, BYD Seal EV has incurred a relatively low cost at only RM23 from the battery energy consumed, in accordance with the existing electricity tariff rate in the state.
The model features three driving modes: ‘Eco’, ‘Normal’, and ‘Sport’; and it comes in the colours of ‘Cosmos Black’, ‘Aurora White’, ‘Atlantis Grey’ and ‘Arctic Blue’.
For Malaysia, BYD Seal has two variants: the extended range rear-wheel drive ‘Premium’ variant with a total range of 650km on a single charge, and the all-wheel drive ‘Performance’ variant with 580km range.
The EV could be fast-charged from zero to 80 per cent in half an hour, with DC capacity of 150kW, and a wall-mounted charger is also provided for ease of charging at home, which should take about between eight and 10 hours for full-charging – incurring an estimated bill cost of RM29, based on the Sarawak’s electricity tariff rate, which is the lowest in the country.
The ‘Premium’ variant can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 5.9 seconds, while the ‘Performance’ variant can achieve this in 3.8 seconds.
On-the-road price (without insurance) for the Premium variant is RM183,640, and for the Performance variant, it is RM203,640.
Accompanying the media during the Kuching-Sri Aman round trip were Regas EV Auto dealer principal Brandon Juan, marketing manager Gabrielyn Tay, as well as salespersons Ho Kui Ping and Nicholas Tan.