EV review: BYD’s ‘fun and capable’ Dolphin may be the ideal city car for zipping around

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The German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur said in August 2023 that the Dolphin was ‘a real threat to the German car industry’

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BYD’s Dolphin electric car on display at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show on March 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Mark Andrews

Published: 10:00am, 10 Nov 2024Updated: 5:28pm, 20 Nov 2024

The SCMP is embarking on a six-part series of motoring reviews to focus on Chinese electric vehicles that are made for the export market, either in the right-hand drive versions or their original left-hand drive editions. In the third of this six-part series, Mark Andrews puts BYD’s Dolphin electric car through its paces, concluding that what has been ranked the world’s second-safest car is also the ideal city car for zipping around town. Read the first review of Xpeng’s G6, and the second review of Nio’s ET7.

Most visitors to the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show missed one of the most important cars there, what with hundreds of sexier models on display.

Previously called the EA1, the electric hatchback concept has been rebadged with a friendlier and catchier name: the BYD Dolphin. This was the debut not only of the model but also the e-platform 3.0 which was BYD’s new dedicated EV platform for its export success.

Together with the Atto 3 SUV and Seal saloon, the Dolphin has guided BYD’s exports drive. The German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur said in August 2023 that the Dolphin was “a real threat to the German car industry.”

I drove the Atto 3 before, so I was keen to test how the Dolphin compares with its sibling that is built on the same platform. What became immediately clear was that BYD decided to leave funkiness at the vehicle’s doors. Gone were Atto’s guitar strings and dumb bell-looking interior paraphernalia, swapped for something with the right balance between playfulness and usefulness, without being difficult to live with.

BYD’s Dolphin (Fashion edition) with green highlights to underscore the electric car’s environmental credentials. Photo: BYD

My test car was the 70kW-powered Chinese version, which now has stretched to 4,125mm (13.5 feet), from 4,070mm. In most export markets, including Hong Kong, the Dolphin is 4,290mm due to a redesigned front to ensure a five-star rating in the Australian ANCAP crash test.