BYD is a major Chinese company that is really making a splash in the electric vehicle world. They don’t just make cars and buses, they also produce batteries and solar panels. They are a one stop shop for green transportation and energy solutions. Their name is an acronym that stands for “Build Your Dreams”, which is a pretty ambitious motto, but they seem to be living up to it.
We recently had the chance to test the BYD Dolphin, an all-electric compact hatchback, first released in China in 2021 and has since been launched in several other markets, including Brazil, Japan, Australia, and now Europe. The Dolphin is based on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0, which is designed specifically for electric vehicles.
BYD’s Dolphin is designed to be an affordable and practical electric vehicle for everyday use, aimed at buyers looking for their first electric car or those wanting a smaller, more efficient vehicle.
The BYD Dolphin is offered in four trim levels: Active, Boost, Comfort and Design, with pricing starting at £26,195 and rising to £31,695 OTR, making the Dolphin a competitive package that compares favourably to other EVs in its class. This makes it an attractive option for budget-conscious buyers.
For a car of this size, the Dolphin provides a decent driving range on a single charge, suitable for daily commutes and longer trips at a push. A full charge shows around 215 miles of range, more than enough for urban living. As with all EV’s, the range is effected by driving style, for example, a 70mph motorway trip saw the range take a serious hit.
Available with a choice of either the highly efficient 60.4 kWh with a 265 mile range (WLTP) or the 44.9 kWh LFP Blade Battery with a 211 mile range for Active and 193 mile range for Boost (WLTP). The Dolphin is available with two battery options (both using LFP Blade Battery technology): a 44.9 kWh battery offering a range of up to 211 miles (340 km) WLTP, and a 60.4 kWh battery providing a range of up to 265 miles (427 km) WLTP. I didn’t manage to get near the suggested mileage, but I was trying to have fun.
It supports both AC and DC fast charging, meaning BYD say the battery can be charged from 30% to 80% in about 30 minutes, in Design and Comfort trim levels.
The maximum DC rapid charging rate is 88 kW in Design and Comfort trim levels, while Active and Boost models have a maximum DC rapid charging rate of 60 kW.
BYD offer the Dolphin in three different power outputs: 70 kW (94 hp), 130 kW (174 hp), and 150 kW (201 hp). The most powerful version has a published 0 to 62 mph ( 0 to 100 km/h) time of 7 seconds.
Despite its compact size, we found the Dolphin offers a surprisingly spacious interior with plenty of headroom and legroom for passengers, particularly for rear passengers.
BYD DOLPHIN is offered in four trim levels; Active, Boost, Comfort, Design. The Dolphin we tested was the Design, which was well equipped for this class of car. Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto was a very welcome feature.
There’s a 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 5-inch digital instrument cluster,
and over-the-air software update capabilities. The controls were intuitive and worked well, without complaint. There were some quirky features, such as the gear selector is on a rotating toggle switch below the touchscreen, and the touchscreen rotates between landscape and portrait for some reason.
As you would expect, the Dolphin comes with an abundance of safety and advanced driver assistance features. Standard safety features include: Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Rear Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Brake, Lane Departure Prevention and Emergency Lane Keeping Assist. You also have Adaptive Cruise Control and Intelligent Cruise Control, panoramic 360-degree camera visibility for safe vehicle manoeuvring and Blind Spot Detection System. Not forgetting: Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Hill Decent Control, Automatic Vehicle Hold, and Traffic Sign Recognition with Intelligent Speed Limit Control are included as additional driver aids. It really is a full suite.
The Dolphin offers decent performance with peppy acceleration and a comfortable ride. It’s very quiet and doesn’t crash or bang over bumps and potholes, although It’s quite softly sprung and there is a fair bit of body roll. It doesn’t have much grip, mostly thanks to the Dolphin’s standard fitment Linglong tyres, which were woeful. They offer very poor grip, particularly in the wet. This, coupled to steering that offers no real feedback means it’s not a driver’s car. Then again, that’s not what this is about, it’s not a hot hatch after all.
The interior was quite pleasant; functional but not exceptional. Then again, so many car interiors these days are dull and boring, very conservative. While the BYD Dolphin may not be the last word in chic and stylish interior design, but it’s not a bad place to be.
The Dolphin has achieved a 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.
Overall, the BYD Dolphin is a well-rounded electric car that offers a good balance of range, performance, technology, and safety. It is also priced competitively, making it an attractive option for buyers looking for an affordable electric car.
pricing between £26,195 and £31,695 OTR.
Dimensions:
Length – 4,290 mm (168.9 in)
Width – 1,770 mm (69.7 in)
Height – 1,570 mm (61.8 in)
Wheelbase – 2,700 mm (106.3 in)
Power outputs:
70 kW (94 hp), 130 kW (174 hp), and 150 kW (201 hp).
Battery;
44.9 kWh – range of up to 211 miles (340 km) WLTP
60.4 kWh – range of up to 265 miles (427 km) WLTP.
Trim levels; Active, Boost, Comfort, Design
