BYD Dolphin 2023 Review

The 2023 BYD Dolphin is available in two model grades: entry-level Dynamic and better-equipped Premium.

At $38,890 plus on-road costs, the Dolphin is currently the most affordable EV on the market – but only by $100.

There’s also a Dolphin Premium at $44,890 plus ORCs. It gets a larger battery for additional range and more power.

Each can be had in four colours – Sand White, Urban Grey, Maldive Purple and Coral Pink – at no additional cost.

BYD is also preparing a sportier BYD Dolphin Sport with flared wheel-arches, stickier tyres and an aggressive body kit. It’s priced from $49,990 plus ORCs and is due in 2024.

The most obvious rivals to the small sized BYD Dolphin are two similarly priced electric offerings in the MG4 (from $38,990 plus ORCs) – which has just been crowned carsales’ 2023 Car of the Year – and the GWM Ora (from $39,990 plus ORCs).

Price-wise, the Dolphin also trips over better-equipped versions of popular petrol-powered hatchbacks, including the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 that are also both available as a hybrid.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin may be affordable by EV standards, but it also comes with a long list of standard equipment.

It rides on 16-inch alloy wheels and gets a panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable front seats, smart key entry (as well as a keycard that can be used as a key; plus you can use your phone as a key), heated front seats and a panoramic glass sunroof.

The seats are also trimmed in fake leather.

The Dolphin is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty. However, that warranty has some curious exclusions, including only four years/100,000km of coverage for the suspension system and lights and only three years/60,000km coverage for the multimedia system, shock absorbers and charge port assembly.

The high-voltage battery has a separate eight-year/160,000km warranty that guarantees at least 70 per cent of the original capacity.

An initial service after three months/5000km is free, then the car is recommended to be serviced at 12 months/20,000km and every 12 months or 20,000km after that.

Capped-priced servicing ranges between $189 and $447 per service.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin gets dual front airbags, side front airbags, side curtain airbags across the two rows and a centre airbag between the front occupants.

There’s also autonomous emergency braking (AEB), front cross traffic alert and rear cross traffic alert.

Lane departure warning is teamed with lane keep assistance and there’s speed sign recognition, door opening warning, blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera.

While it ticks all the boxes on paper, the Dolphin isn’t as convincing in real life. The lane keep assistance loves a beep or 10 and will often aggressively jolt you away from a lane marking, sometimes when you least expect it. It’s overly officious and occasionally comes as an unwanted shock.

Similarly, the overspeed warning loves beeping but isn’t always relying on reliable data. So you can be below the limit but it’s beeping to tell you to back off.

An unusual addition to the Dolphin’s safety artillery is a small tool to smash the windows in case you get locked inside.

The Dolphin scored a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating tested to the 2023 protocols. While crash protection ratings were strong, the safety assist score was just good at 77 per cent.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin can be unlocked and driven using a smartphone as a key. There’s also a regular smart key as well as a card that can be waved against the exterior mirror utilising the NFC (near field communication) functionality.

You can also monitor the vehicle remotely via an app and perform over-the-air software updates similar to those on a smartphone.

The Dolphin also gets a 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch central infotainment screen. It has a nice clear 360-degree camera that makes parking easier.

That screen is not at Tesla levels of gizmos, but it packs plenty in, including Spotify music streaming.

There’s digital and FM radio but no AM (a common omission with EVs due to challenges shielding the AM aerial from interference).

The central screen can be arranged in wider landscape configuration or upright portrait layout. Press a button and the screen rotates through 90 degrees.

However, if you’re using Apple CarPlay then the screen must be in its landscape configuration. Plus, the portrait configuration is foiled by polarised sunglasses.

There’s also some cheekiness within that screen; despite dual temperature adjusters suggesting you can adjust for each side of the cabin, the Dolphin only has single-zone ventilation, with either side mimicking the other.

Gadgets can be topped up by a USB-A and USB-C plug in both the front and rear.

There’s also a wireless phone charger up front, allowing the phone to slide into an angled holder in the centre console.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin Dynamic gets a single electric motor driving the front wheels.

It’s rated to produce 70kW of power, which is diminutive by modern standards. That said, power display in the instrument cluster regularly darted above 80kW – 84kW was the best we saw – suggesting it may be eking out a tad more.

It backs it up with 180Nm of torque. Again, it’s a modest figure but is not far off what a petrol-powered entry-level hatch would make. Plus, due to the nature of an electric motor, that peak is available far quicker than it is in a petrol engine.

Whereas the BYD Dolphin Dynamic uses a 44.9kWh lithium-ferrous phosphate (LFP) ‘Blade’ battery BYD Dolphin Premium has a bigger 60.48kWh power pack.

The Premium produces 150kW/310Nm and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in a claimed 7.0 seconds, making it a lot quicker than the Dynamic that needs 12.3sec to reach the highway limit.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin Dynamic has a claimed EV range of 340km, according to the WLTP cycle. Bank on something like 300km in the real world.

While that may make it tricky for road trips, it’s fine for suburban running.

The Dolphin is also impressively efficient. During our couple of hundred kilometres we averaged around 13kWh per 100km – close to its 12.6kWh/100km claim – and it was easy to sneak it below that with more mundane driving.

For comparison, the Dolphin Premium, with its bigger battery, has a 427km (WLTP) driving range.

AC charging can be done at up to 7kW using a wallbox, which means a full charge in about seven hours for the Dynamic. Charging from a home power point takes more like 23 hours.

Public DC charging can be done at up to 60kW, replenishing the battery from 30-80 per cent in a claimed 28 minutes. The Premium can handle up to 80kW and takes 29 minutes for the same level of recharge, according to BYD.

The Dolphin also has a vehicle-to-load (V2L) feature. Plug a two-power-point power board into the charging port and you can power any regular household appliance, from lights and computers to cooktops and toasters.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin Dynamic may not have much power – just 70kW!! – but the easily accessible torque ensures zippy suburban running.

It does so without the outright enthusiasm of most EVs, but there’s enough pull to make it a useful city device. It feels healthier than that raw power output may suggest.

The Dolphin Dynamic weighs 1506kg, which is nuggety given it’s a small hatch, but it’s not borderline featherweight by EV standards.

The lack of power becomes more obvious at freeway speeds, at which point it’s a tad leisurely. Ultimately it’s the torque to the rescue again, although overtaking takes some forward planning.

Regenerative braking is mild but can be ramped up via one of the toggle switches in the centre console; even then it’s still fairly mild.

The Dolphin’s suspension is surprisingly supple, so it smothers bumps nicely. Relatively high profile tyres no doubt help, although the set-up also has plenty to do with it. Either way, it makes for a cushy and comfy ride, something that makes it one of the more plush hatchbacks on the market.

The trade-off is the Dolphin lacks cornering bite and dynamic poise once you wind up the pace.

While the Premium model gets a multi-link rear suspension system, this Dynamic model gets a more basic torsion beam set-up, although given the modest performance and suburban-focused nature it doesn’t appear to be a massive penalty.

While it does a decent job of getting the drive to the bitumen via the front wheels, some cornering enthusiasm with the outside wheels loaded can coax some scrabbling from the inside front wheel as it fights for traction. It’s not bad, but takes the edge off the otherwise respectable dynamic equation.

And to some extent the comfortable ride in other scenarios makes up for those quibbles.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin tries a bit harder than many mainstream models with its interior presentation.

The fake leather is more convincing than anything you’ll find on a Tesla (it’s not difficult) and the materials and finishes show there’s genuine attention to detail.

From the circular air vents to the sculpted door handles, there’s design finesse that adds to the presentation.

Space up front is good and the race-inspired front seats – with fixed head restraints – hug in the right places.

Storage includes decent door pockets cup holders and a phone-ready tray protruding from the dash. There’s also an open binnacle below the centre console, although the slender opening limits what you can coax inside.

However, we found ourselves peering around the chunky A-pillars (on either side of the windscreen) because of the blind spot they create.

The back seats have respectable headroom, although legroom depends on the generosity of those up front. At least the flat floor makes room for feet and there’s enough width in the cabin to accommodate three across.

Those in the rear miss out on air vents, though.

At 345 litres, the boot isn’t huge, with a shallow space. You can lower a false floor to add more volume, but otherwise you’ll need to pack carefully. The split-folding rear seats extend the luggage capacity to 1310L when lowered.

There’s no frunk (front trunk) due to the electrical components beneath the bonnet and, as with virtually all EVs, there’s no spare wheel – just a tyre repair kit.

The 2023 BYD Dolphin mounts a compelling case at the entry level of the EV market.

By small hatchback standards it packs plenty in and has an easy-going driving demeanour.

Outright performance may not hit the EV highs we’ve quickly become used to, but what’s there is easy to utilise, teaming with a supple ride to make for easy daily running.

2023 BYD Dolphin Dynamic at a glance:
Price: $38,890 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 70kW/180Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 44.9kWh lithium-ferrous phosphate
Range: 340km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 12.6Wh/100km (ADR)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2023)

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