THE Seal is the flagship model of Chinese giant BYD (Build Your Dreams) and it is in my opinion the best looking car to arrive from China.

It is an all-electric sports saloon that offers attractive styling, a good driving range, fine handling and performance as well as generously equipped trim levels and the choice of rear or all-wheel drive.

You may not have heard much of BYD but the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of new energy vehicles.

It employs 90,000 engineers and supplies parts to the likes of Sony, Google, Nokia and LG. Half the Apple iPads in the world have some input from BYD and one fifth of mobile phones globally feature a BYD part too.

Overall BYD has 600,000 employees.

The Seal is currently available in two options. The Design version features a single motor for rear-wheel drive and costs £45,695, while the Excellence grade I sampled has two motors (one on each axle) for all-wheel drive and is priced at £48,695.

Both vehicles deliver impressive range between charges with a tested 354 miles for the Seal Design and 323 miles for the more powerful Seal Excellence. And both are equipped with the same 82.5kWh Blade battery developed by BYD.

Its Blade battery is 100 per cent cobalt-free and uses ground-breaking technology to offer new levels of safety, performance and durability. The battery forms the floor of the Seal giving it perfect 50:50 weight distribution for great handling and strength.

The Seal is definitely alookerwith sleek dynamic lines which grab attention. Eye-catching features include integrated LED headlights with distinctive daytime running lights, door handles that are flush to the body, a low bonnet, sloping roofline, angled windscreen pillars, a panoramic sunroof, a full width rear light bar, dot matrix taillights and two-tone 19-inch alloy wheels.

The interior is premiumquality with seats that are finished in leather and can be heated or ventilated and are electrically powered. The steering wheel can also be heated in winter.

The cabin is dominated by a centrally-positioned 15.65-inch infotainment screen which acts as the car's control centre. It can be rotated at the push of a button to be viewed in either portrait or landscape form and it provides access to the sat nav, smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a good 12-speaker sound system with DAB radio.

I did find it difficult to adjust the climate options on the move and BYD would make things safer by providing easier controls. The air conditioning system was also poor as I could not get it to blow cold air with any success.

Behind the steering wheel there is a clear 10.25-inch driver information display with all the vital data such as speed, battery charge levels and range information.

A panoramic sunroof keeps the cabin bright and there is lots of room for four adults to travel in comfort.

With a total output of 530PS, the AWD Seal can power its way to 62mph from a standing start in just 3.8 seconds and tops out at 111mph. There is a badge on the back of the car that reads 3.8s and this is a boast to its rapid sprint time. On motorways it eats the miles with ease and it also performs well on country roads where it feels well balanced and agile no matter how hard you push it.

There are drive modes called Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow that alter the driving characteristics of the vehicle accordingly and it is also possible to adjust the settings for regenerative braking.

The Seal offers all the latest driver aids and safety systems to keep you in check if you get over enthusiastic and it has a five-star Euro NCAP rating.

On the practical side the boot has a 400-litre capacity and there is a further 53 litres of space beneath the bonnet. In addition, there is a large central cubby, glovebox, door bins, cup holders, a double charging pad and a large storage area beneath the centre console, where the USB ports are located.

When it comes to charging the 82.5kWh battery, the BYD Seal offers an 11kW 3-phase on-board charger for AC charging as standard. But it can also be fast charged with a maximum of 150kW and this will see a 30 to 80 per cent boost in 26 minutes.

My only other gripe was with the indicator stalks which were on the wrong side of the steering wheel, although I guess you would get used to this through time if you owned the car.

The handsome Seal is certainly worth a look if you are in the market for an all-electric sports saloon but potential customers will have to be tempted away from the prestige badges of European manufacturers.