Gareth Butterfield tests the BYD Dolphin to see how it compares against some of the obvious EV rivals
Let's not dwell on the name. This is BYD's first attempt at disrupting the UK's EV market and it has already been followed by the fairly impressive Atto 3 and the rather nice Seal. The name seems less daft now, doesn't it?
The Dolphin is a deceptively large hatchback with an impressive range, an unnecessarily nice interior and a long list of standard equipment, all bundled in to a forgettable exterior and priced keenly enough to worry the mainstream manufacturers.
On the face of it, then, there's lots to like about the Dolphin. It might be a bit generic to look at, but BYD claims you'll get up to 265 miles from its 60kw battery, and it serves up around 200bhp, which is enough to hurl it to 60mph in seven seconds.
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It isn't, however, a hot hatch. It might have decent acceleration, but it's by no means dynamic. For most people, the handling is fine, buyers of battery-powered vehicles won't be expecting hooliganism. But they will be after a bit of refinement, and this is something the Dolphin scores highly on.
In fact, its best feature by quite a margin is its lovely interior. It's almost overstyled, but in a joyful way. The driver's instrument display is a bit small, the central infotainment screen is a bit big, but besides that it's a lovely place to be, with large, comfortable front seats, decent space in the rear and a generous boot.
The steering wheel is reassuringly chunky, there's lots of storage space in that swoopy dash and console, and the gear selector is a little rotating nob on the dashboard - it's actually surprisingly intuitive, one of the better unconventional solutions I've tried.
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BYD has gone straight in with the current trend of piling all the controls into the central screen though, and it's not a great thing to use. It has a neat party trick of rotating to landscape or portrait mode at the touch of a button, but I'm not really sure why. It would have been nice to have seen a few more physical buttons and switches, but it would have perhaps spoiled the funky aesthetic.
There's also a lot of tech to get to grips with in the Dolphin. UK buyers get higher-spec versions and there's so much standard kit, even in the base Comfort version. This is one of the things that really does set it apart from rivals. Compare it with the MG4, for example, and it's a more complete package. Although the MG does handle more sweetly.
The effective range also compares well with its counterparts, too. While you'd struggle to get the official 265 miles, 200 will be possible in the right conditions. It's just a shame the charging speed isn't a bit more impressive - it tops out at 88kWh, which is outclassed by a few cars now. It does have vehicle-to-load electric output though, and BYD are battery specialists, so the Dolphin comes with the latest LFP "Blade" batteries.
It's another decent showing from BYD, then. It's good to see another competent EV with decent range and lots of spec for the money. I doubt it'll have much in the way of mass market appeal, though. And that's a pity, I quite like it.
