Review: BYD Dolphin

You can be forgiven if you’ve not yet come across the Chinese motor manufacturer BYD - it’s only been around in the UK for a few years..

But the appeal of its all-electric cars is growing.

Figures published by the SMMT of UK new car registrations in November 2024, peg BYD - Build Your Dreams - at 7,433 in the year to date, up from 895 the previous year.

It has 56 dealerships in the UK with plans to increase this to 90–100 by the end of this year.

The Dolphin was the first model to be launched in the Ocean series after the Atto3 made its BYD UK debut.The Dolphin was soon after joined by the Seal sports saloon.

In the world of technology BYD is one of the really big players.

The company started out in 1995 making rechargeable batteries - and it still does. It is estimated that a large number of iPads and mobile phones worldwide contain at least one BYD component.

BYD constructs its electric cars quite differently to other manufacturers.The cobalt-free, lithium iron-phosphate battery is a flat rectangle (a blade battery) and is integrated into the body of the car to add stiffness and thus making the car much more able to withstand impact.

In addition, lithium iron-phosphate batteries are said to offer a much higher level of safety than conventional lithium-ion batteries

It also has a long life with more than 5,000 charge and discharge cycles.There are two powertrains - both pure electric. The Comfort and Design trim have a 60.4kWh battery with a 265-mile range and the other is 44.9kWh with either 211 miles for the Active trim and 193 miles for the Boost.

It is also fitted with a heat pump - a direct cooling and heating system which increases the thermal efficiency by up to 15 per cent in the winter.

The Dolphin is a nice looking vehicle. Sleek, stylish and smart. It’s also very safe with a full complement of active and passive safety features.

The interior sports quite a lot of hard plastic but this is balanced out by plenty of soft vegan leather and the overall impression is one of quality.

It seats five. There is six-way adjustment for the driver’s seat and four-way for the passenger. Both are heated. The rear seats are roomy and comfortable.

The rear seats split 60:40 which bumps up the 345-litre boot to 1,310 litres when they are folded.

Dotted around the cabin ar loads of storage cubby holes and pockets to keep things from ratling around.

As with the majority of new cars the controls are not immediately intuitive but should pose no trouble in the long run. As a back up there is a very good voice control system that had no trouble understanding my accent.

Prices start at £26,195 for the Active with the top of the range Design at £31,695 - undercutting rivals by a wide margin.

There’s clearly a market for affordable electric cars and the Dolphin fits the bill.

BYD Dolphin Active

Price: £26,195

Engine: Electric 44.9kWh battery.

Power: 95bhp

Torque: 133lb/ft

Transmission: Single speed automatic

Top speed: 93mph

0-62mph: 7 seconds

CO 2 emissions:0

EV range: 211

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