DM-i Hybrids, fuel question

Seal U DM-I driver here. 99% of trips on battery. Refuel maybe once every couple of months because I’m occasionally lazy plugging in and I use a little fuel. 1% of trips greater than battery range runs as a ‘soft hybrid’ just fine (regenerative braking, etc will extend fuel range)

I would advise to run your combustion engine regularly, once a week or biweekly to run the oil through it.

I’ve had the Seal U DM-i since Jan 2025 and in that time have refilled the car four times. It would have been less than that, but we have done a few long motorway journeys.

Personally, I will never go back to ICE after 2 years with BYD Dolphin 60kWh. Usually less than 100km per day but I did some round trips on the same day totalling about a bit over 800km, with stops on fast chargers. Most of the time I charge at home overnight. Installed a "smart charger" that enables my home electric installation of 6.9kVA, 220V to divert available power to the car when available without tripping the mains if I turn something that also uses lots of power. I drive mostly in the city and local roads. Consumption climbs a lot on the highway at 120k/h. For 400 km on the highway I usually stop twice because I want to have between 30 to 40% just in case. About 20 minutes in a fast charger ( very expensive! ).

Makes sense. But I think I'm going to keep looking for a full EV, the engine feels like a maintenance liability to me.

I drive exactly 90% electric with my DMI. First: consider a EV. The engine will be switched on once a while by the car just to test and run it for some seconds. Happens like once a week if I don’t use it. Fuel fouling: So far no issues here. I top it up every 3-4 months, like 10Liters or so. And I have added a additive. Will it help: No idea. So far everything works fine.

It sure is, if a EV works for you it's definitely the better choice

Is there any reason why you wouldn’t just go for the normal seal? It’s a mega car.

I actually am still holding out for the Seal 06 GT, but was curious about this one since it's also a Seal 6.

Bought a Seal U-dmi in Okt. Best thing I ever did. Fueled it up full twice since then. The winters are cold here in north of Sweden ( over minus 20 celsius for over a month now). When cars with only electric motor shows their true distance in cold weather I can always rely on my combustion engine to cover the distance I need. I hardly see it go 9 months between fueling, maybe 3-4 at most if you push the throttle down once in a while, and trust me you will want to do that :) Im so glad I did not buy a fully electric car like most of my neighbors. More than once Ive seen them on the IKEA warehouse here in town or a fast panic charge

AWD Seal U dmi here and yes it does sound like a case for full ev, although with a bit of sense you can enjoy power delivery ánd be a bit economical. My business drives typically always extend the ev range for a day trip, so Itl tend to use hev in auto mode, wait till it sets and then full ev last part. NL highways before 19:00 limits at 105 kph on the dash, which seems to be a very efficient sweetspot for the hybrid setup. Still very comfortable with the hybrid choice in this EV generation, as I am one of those range anxiety dinos. Pretty sure next buy will be full ev when worst case conditions exceed 600/700 km.

Have the sealion 6, run it on a day trip and once at 20% the engine will kick in. Only filled the tank 3 times since we had it, roughly 8 months. Fuel seems fine with no issues, can put it into HEV mode and sport mode to make sure the engine kicks on more often. Ive also left my Mazda 3 for month on the same tank when I had a work car and had no issues with the fuel. It may loose a few octanes but not had issues running there either

Dont look it as a liability. Just think of it as a spare engine just in case you forget to charge. If youre forgetful like a I am, this will really help you on those days you forget to charge your vehicle. Now if youre hesitant to leave the gas in the tank, you can always switch to HEV once a week just so that you will be using the gas every week. Just keep your tank 50% full, and load every time it reaches 1/4 your tank. Just to share what I do, so in the morning or when I can drive on highways (no traffic) I will switch to HEV mode, during this time, you will be able to generate energy for you battery, and will charge via regen. In the afternoon, or city driving, switch back to EV. using the free(?) energy. Ive never had a full ev, but this way, I dont even feel the change in my power consumption at home. I only charge 1-2 times a week. Just use the PHEV to your advantage. The fact that you can choose between the EV and HEV is the real game changer!