New BYD Dolphin Active review: base model is simply too expensive

Verdict

While it’s a very welcome sight to see the choice of cheap electric cars grow ever larger, the entry-level BYD Dolphin Active doesn't quite offer enough. Not because it’s the least powerful model in the range, but because for the specs that it offers, we’d like to see an even punchier price. Even one year ago we would’ve been singing its praises louder, but the arrival of cars such as the Citroen e-C3 - which is as spacious, as good to drive and starts from £5,000 less - have moved the goalposts for small, affordable EVs so far from where they were previously.

It seems like we’ve been twiddling our thumbs and glancing impatiently at our watches for ages, but it’s finally happened: EVs are now as cheap as equivalent petrol or diesel options. Already in 2024 we’ve driven a Dacia Spring electric city car that costs just £15,000 and the brilliant Citroen e-C3 that’ll start from just over £21,000, and now the BYD Dolphin Active is bringing even more value for money into the class above. 

Its 4.3-metre length means that BYD says the Dolphin slips into the same C-segment as the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus (albeit with a taller, more MPV-like roofline than either). But with prices starting at £26,195, it undercuts the entry-level versions of both on price.

The new starting point to the Dolphin range, plus the £27,195 Boost version  that also joins the line-up, have gained a few key changes in order to undercut the model’s previous £30,195 starting point, but tech-savvy buyers will be pleased to see that equipment levels have been compromised very little. 

The trim structure, which now ranks as Active, Boost, Comfort and Design (conveniently abbreviated as A, B, C, D from lowest to highest) is well equipped throughout. Electrically adjustable front seats trimmed in vegan ‘leather’, a 360-degree surround view camera, a 12.8-inch rotating touchscreen display and, crucially for the UK’s cold winters, an efficient heat pump are all standard throughout the range. The new A and B trims miss out on heated front seats and front parking sensors - and the Active also swaps 17-inch wheels for 16-inch items - but they’re hardly deal-breaking omissions. 

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Instead, the price cuts are made through new, more modest powertrains. In place of the Comfort’s 60.1kWh Lithium Iron-Phosphate battery is a smaller 44.9kWh unit. That inevitably brings a drop in range, and the Active’s official 211-mile WLTP distance between recharges is 54 miles less than the Comfort. There’s also a more modest motor; big-battery versions use a 201bhp motor, while that figure has more than halved here, to 94bhp. The Boost also gets the smaller battery, but combined with a 174bhp motor. 

By any measure, 94bhp is a fairly modest amount of power for a 1,506kg car to move along, which is reflected in a 12.3-second 0-62mph time. Many electric cars have blown what is a necessary amount of performance well out of proportion though, and in reality the Active moves along just fine. That’s even more the case when BYD itself says this model is aimed primarily at town driving, where the generous 180Nm of torque means it’s sprightly enough at low speeds. 

The 16-inch wheels and the Dolphin’s fairly soft suspension set-up helps it to work well in town, because broken road surfaces and drain covers are soaked up better than in many other alternatives for the money. It handles as safely and predictably as it needs to, even if the Linglong tyres that are fitted as standard on the Active (the rest of the range get Hankooks) don’t offer up a vast amount of grip. 

Efficiency looks very promising, too. Driven in a way that didn’t give much too thought to saving energy, we averaged 4.5 miles per kilowatt-hour, which based on that battery capacity translates into a real-world range of 202 miles. We’d expect that to improve a little around town, although we didn’t have an opportunity to venture onto a motorway, which would see that figure drop. 

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At 65kW, the maximum charging speed is fairly slow, however. It means that a 10-80 per cent charge (that’s 141 miles of range at the efficiency we achieved) would take 38 minutes. If it is a car for town driving, the built-in 7kW charger is likely to be the more frequently used option, which will easily get the job done on an overnight top-up. That would be ideal if you’re able to take advantage of an electricity tariff that provides cheaper rates at off-peak times.

Elsewhere, it has the same qualities as the pricier Dolphins. The interior space is generous, with rear kneeroom in particular a strong point, and the 345-litre boot is reasonable, if not vast. A five-star Euro NCAP rating and a six-year warranty (eight years for the powertrain and battery) offer plenty of peace of mind, too.

That asking price compares well to some petrol-powered family hatchbacks, but what about electric alternatives? The new Vauxhall Corsa Red costs very similar money, but offers different things; the BYD is far more spacious, better equipped and comfortable, but the Corsa has more power. Both have a similar real-world range. It’s also cheaper than the MG 4, but that car offers much stronger performance.

There’s another thorn from Stellantis that sticks into the Dolphin’s side, though. Although the Citroen e-C3 is pitched as a model from the class below, it’s similarly spacious inside (it’s a little tighter on legroom but has better headroom than the BYD), trades a tiny bit of range for better performance, but most crucially, it costs at least £3,000 less. Yes, the Dolphin has more kit, but not enough to resolve that price gap.