First of all, I find the overly soft seats to be uncomfortable after only 15 minutes on the road. The general driving position doesn’t help, either, due to the almost bus-like angle to the steering wheel. I sometimes catch myself doing a bus-driver-like wheel shuffle when going around sharp bends.
Put the Sealion 7 into drive and it’ll creep forward, but press the throttle pedal and not much happens. Response from the electric motor is painfully slow, to the point where one has to take this into account when pulling out of junctions or overtaking. It’s not a ‘drive mode’ thing, because there’s no discernible difference between Sport, Comfort and Eco.
Yet in complete contrast, the brakes are incredibly sensitive. This makes driving at low speeds a frustrating exercise. It also makes you look like a total amateur when parking, because the brakes easily snap on, causing the whole car to rock back and forth. It’s no better on faster roads, because the spongy pedal makes the level of braking you apply hard to modulate and maintain.
Then there’s the ride and handling. The suspension is soft, but it’s not a comfortable car. I’m no chassis engineer, but even I can feel that the spring rates – that’s the firmness of the springs – are far too low in relation to the dampers, which are too firm. The Sealion 7 rolls into corners, yet seems able to find, transmit and magnify every bump in the road. Along complex or uneven surfaces, the suspension gets so befuddled that it feels like the Sealion 7’s body is trying to emancipate itself from the suspension.
