Words by Donal Byrne, video by Leah Carroll.
Competition in the budget electric car segment intensified this week with a new arrival from Chinese manufacturer BYD in Ireland.
The urban EV, the Dolphin Surf, increases the number of small EVs priced at under €20,000 available here from Hyundai, Dacia, another Chinese newcomer, Leapmotor, and this one from BYD.
The Dolphin Surf is priced from €17,985 for the basic Active model, after grants. There are two other versions of the car, Boost and Comfort, priced at €22,230 and €24,113 respectively.
It’s a four-seater designed primarily for urban use with battery pack capacities to reflect that. The claimed range is 220 km for the smaller 30 kWh battery and 322 km for the bigger 43 kWh battery, the modest capacity reflecting both the price and its city driving credentials.
It’s designed to be cheap to run and easy to park.
The usual caveats about claimed ranges apply until we see how it performs in real-world conditions. BYD also claims a 10% to 80% charge time on a fast charge of 30 minutes.
Its dimensions are compact, as is now the norm with budget EVs, and the car comes in at just under four metres in length, 1.7 metres in width, and the height is 1.5 metres, making it a deal more spacious than a car like the Dacia Spring.
The bonnet is short, and there is a choice of either 15" or 16" wheels.
There are integrated daytime-running lights at the front, and the rear has a full-width light bar, and there’s a rear spoiler to improve airflow and dynamic efficiency.
The Dolphin Surf has been through the EuroNCAP crash test procedure and has been awarded the maximum five-star rating. There are ISOFIX child seat anchor points from and rear.
There are two screens: a small driver display and a 10.1" rotating centre infotainment screen through which most controls are filtered.
There is a six-year manufacturer’s warranty and an eight-year battery and electric motor warranty on all versions.
