New BYD Dolphin 2023 review

Verdict

A short squirt around a Spanish race circuit shows that the Dolphin has the potential for strong practicality, decent motor refinement, respectable performance and solid (if uninvolving) dynamics – though we’ve had no opportunity yet to see how close it gets to delivering the hefty range promised by its 60kWh battery, or to judge what could well be its big selling point: value for money. Our star rating has to remain lukewarm, therefore, until UK prices and specs are confirmed.

Electric cars have been coming in phases – higher-end models first, of course, followed by alternatives to family SUVs and hatchbacks. But the next 18 months look set to deliver a new wave of more affordable small EVs – the equivalent of superminis, but less expensive than current offerings of this size, like the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric. Renault’s reborn 5 and the Dacia Spring should be two key arrivals – and this could be another: the BYD Dolphin.

Before you snigger at the name, it’s worth remembering that there is serious clout behind this compact hatchback. The Dolphin is the most compact offering from the world’s second-largest battery manufacturer, and it’s designed to sit beneath the Atto 3 in a line-up that appears destined to go from zero to three models on sale in the UK in the space of barely a year. 

We’re driving a late prototype European-spec Dolphin here, but senior company officials have already confirmed that it’s heading for British customers at some point in the late summer, with prices that could start from less than £30,000. That could put the Dolphin in a class of one on its mix of dimensions and cost, for a few months at least.

It looks an interesting proposition on paper, too. The Dolphin uses BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 – so the same modular architecture as both the Atto 3 and the larger Seal – and follows the first of those cars by being front-wheel drive. It’s around 4.3 metres long – so longer than superminis like the Fiesta and Corsa, and shorter than a Golf or Astra – but the bespoke EV underpinnings mean short overhangs and a longer wheelbase than both of those full-size family hatchbacks. 

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There’s a single battery size to start with – 60kWh (usable), which is enough to deliver a claimed WLTP range of 265 miles. A smaller battery, likely to be around 45kWh, will follow later. There’s a single spec of motor, with 201bhp and 290Nm of torque, for a 0-62mph time of seven seconds. The maximum recharge rate is 88kW, which can take the battery from 30 to 80 per cent of capacity in 29 minutes. Three-phase 11kW AC charging and a heat pump will both come as standard, too.

Our first chance to try the Dolphin comes on a Spanish race circuit – hardly an ideal scenario for car that’s clearly designed for primarily urban use. But we can tell you that the throttle modulation is well judged – which is to say that BYD’s engineers have already moved past the grabby progression that plagued early Korean EVs such as the Mk1 Hyundai Kona. The steering is light but precise, and the car feels very much like an Atto 3 in the faster stuff, with decent stability and body control. The steering does feel like it could use a slightly lower ratio for twistier urban rat runs, mind you.

A hefty prod of the throttle will provoke some whine from the front-mounted motor, but as speed rises it’s drowned out, mainly by tyre roar, with a little bit of wind rush from the side mirrors finishing the job. It’ll be interesting, in fact, to see which brand of tyres BYD chooses to fit to its UK Dolphins, since it could have a significant impact on the vehicle’s motorway cruising credentials on poorer British roads.

Inside, the front cabin is dominated by the same 12.8-inch infotainment system as the Atto 3 – and as on that vehicle, the display can rotate between portrait and landscape layouts. It’s clearly powered by a grunty enough processor, delivering quick responses to inputs, but the interface – with small graphics and an arsenal of different typefaces – does look more like a nondescript Android tablet that’s been grafted onto the fascia, instead of a set-up that’s been properly configured for in-car use.

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The overall space feels larger than the likes of the Corsa and 208, though, with enough room for four adults to sit in comfort. And the boot is a fair capacity, at 345 litres – or 1,310 litres with the rear seats folded down.

It all feels pretty well built too, and the choice of finishes and materials is sound enough – though there is scope to go a little crazy with some of the colour combinations, in a manner that simply wouldn’t be allowed by a European brand. It’s also hard to see an established marque ever signing off the ice-cream van-esque generated sound that chimes as you’re completing slow manoeuvres – though at least there’s the option to deactivate it.

Now read our review of the BYD Seal...