First drive
7/10 BYD Dolphin
Is BYD’s C sector hatchback the solution to a market crying out for a sensibly priced EV? Pete Tullin
For anyone out there who still thinks BYD sounds like a firm of dodgy claims solicitors here’s a quick heads-up. BYD stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’ and is the moniker and marketing ethos behind a Chinese multinational intent on shaking up the establishment with its burgeoning line of predominately electrically powered vehicles. We’ve already driven the Atto 3 SUV, which in truth, is an impressive, if unremarkable machine, but the model that is far more likely to make European manufacturers sit up and take note is the cutely named Dolphin hatchback. The Dolphin is powered by a 60KW battery and uses a 204hp electric motor
BYD Dolphin
P11D £27,000 est On sale TBC Residual value TBC Depreciation TBC Fuel TBC Service, maintenance and repair TBC Cost per mile TBC Range 265 miles CO2 (BIK %) 0g/km (2%) BIK 20/40% a month TBC Luggage capacity 345 litres Engine size/power 88kWh/204hp
to deliver a junior hot hatch-rivalling 0-62 sprint time of just 7.1 seconds and an official WLTP range of 265 miles when driven more sedately.
Employing the company’s flexible platform, which uses its patented blade battery pack construction as part of the chassis, this arrangement is claimed to substantially improve torsional rigidity, with the associated benefits for ride, handling and crash integrity. It’s an impressively high-tech manufacturing approach but of more interest to prospective buyers and user-choosers is the Dolphin’s sticker price. Although not officially confirmed yet, an entry-level Dolphin is expected to start at just £27,000. The maximum charge rate the Dolphin’s battery can accept is 88Kw, although BYD has massaged the charging time somewhat, claiming a 30 to 80% charge can be achieved in under 30 mins, whereas most manufacturers quote charging times between 20 and 80%. To be fair, this means it should still take little more than a leisurely slurp of brown stuff and a cursory glance at your inbox before hitting the
road again. Positive P11D fi gure, spacious
interior, strong performance Negative
Sluggish dynamics, nondescript styling, a bit of an unknown proposition
Given our initial drive was limited to a billiard table-smooth Spanish race track, it’s difficult to predict with any certainty exactly how the Dolphin will cope with the mish-mash of surfaces that constitute the UK’s highways and byways. That said, even driven sedately we couldn’t help but notice a fair bit of body lean and a certain reluctance to change direction, so we suspect the Dolphin may end up as more of a battered asphalt absorber than a feisty roundabout rascal. As with any EV, with no combustion engine rumble to mask matters, a crucial factor is how well external interlopers are masked. The Dolphins we drove did seem to generate a fair bit of road noise and a bit more motor whine than we’d ideally like but not significant enough to set any alarm bells ringing.
Inside the Dolphin’s driver interface looks and feels a wee bit leftfield. The dash is dominated by some swoopy horizontal panels and a quartet of circular air vents, while the door pulls are said to resemble dorsal fins, we kid you not. While the heating and
Data is from Kee Resources based on a three-year/60,000-mile cycle
Engines: Electric: 204hp, 88kWh
Equipment grades: TBC
Transmissions: Single-speed automatic
ventilation are taken care of by a standard-fit heat pump, pride of place goes to the large 12.6-inch infotainment screen, which can rotate between portrait and landscape layouts. We’re guessing once it’s set you probably won’t ever employ this unless you’re implored to do so by your young’uns to wow their mates. To be fair, the usability of the system is pretty straightforward, and it is quick to respond to inputs although you may find some of the smaller icons tricky to hit when driving.
If you’re only going to use your Dolphin for commuting then space shouldn’t be an issue as there’s enough room for four adults to travel in reasonable comfort, plus there’s a fairly decent 345 litres of boot capacity which can be boosted to 1,310 litres by folding the rear seats. As we alluded to earlier, perhaps the Dolphin’s biggest incentive will be its price point. With a sticker price similar to a basic MG4, while offering considerably more range and equipment as well as being considerably cheaper than the likes of a Vauxhall Corsa Electric or Volkswagen ID.3, the Dolphin could well make a splash when it arrives in the UK later this year.
www.businesscar.co.uk | May 2023 | 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
