We get behind the wheel of the BYD Dolphin Surf all-electric city car. CAR Editor Ian McLaren’s first impressions here…
What are we driving and why is it significant?
Introduced to South Africa via an exuberant campaign of paid promotion, hashtags, and “influence”, the smallest vehicle Chinese powerhouse BYD produces is, indeed, one of the brand’s best-selling global offerings. Sold as the Seagull in its home market, this all-electric compact hatch is famous for securing 10 000 orders within 24 hours of going on sale, with its maker celebrating the one-millionth unit leaving the Xi’an factory production line just 27 months later. Apart from the innovative packaging of a thinner version of the brand’s Blade Battery pack around its e-Platform 3.0, the main drawcard for this sub-four-metre-long city car’s initial success was its compelling price point of 73 800 yuan, or approximately R171 500.
While this price point was never likely in the South African market, the arrival of the BYD Dolphin Surf, as it’s called here, as one of the most affordable passenger EVs available, has nevertheless shone a spotlight on the potential of this segment – and what pricing could be if government reevaluated its current taxation on new-energy vehicles.
What’s new on the BYD Dolphin Surf?
Available in four exterior colours, including the Ice Blue of this car, the Dolphin Surf is the sister car to the larger Dolphin hatch and the Atto 3 compact SUV. Available in two trim levels, Comfort and Dynamic. Together with the introduction of additional front curtain airbags (bringing the total to six), power-adjustment for the driver’s seat and a neatly integrated wireless phone charging cradle, Dynamic specification gains a larger capacity battery pack (38.8 kWh compared to 30 kWh), unlocking 63 km of additional range.
While a claimed 295 km of range on a fully-charged battery may not inspire confidence for those used to achieving figures double this from an internal combustion engine, in its natural habitat, including school runs, trips to the shops and an average commute (South Africans drive, on average, around 44 km per day), this lightweight BYD can comfortably cover a week’s worth of emissions-free driving, even before it’s plugged into the complementary home-charger wallbox solution included with the purchase of each car. To confirm, in the unlikely event that you arrive home with the car’s battery completely depleted, it would require 38.8 units of electricity to recharge.
Should the opportunity arise, the Dolphin Surf Dynamic can be charged from 30% to 80% in 30 minutes, via a 40 kW DC public charge, these days priced upwards of R7/kWh.
The Dolphin Surf matches its quirky exterior styling and full bouquet of LED lighting with an impressively comfortable, neatly configured and broadly user-friendly interior. With some of the most comfortable seats we’ve encountered, the material quality feels well beyond this car’s price point, and standard equipment is comprehensive. This includes auto headlamps and wipers, air conditioning, cruise control, a reverse camera, a multifunction steering wheel, 7.0-inch digital instrumentation and a 10.1-inch infotainment system capable of wireless smartphone pairing. If we have one complaint about the workings of the latter setup, which is likely to affect older buyers, is the relatively small font used. On this, while it’s odd to have the climate system’s temperature setting listed as a number between 1 and 11, rather than in actual degrees Celsius, the rest of the touchscreen’s interface is relatively intuitive.
Also relatively small is the row of supplementary rocker switches that house everything from the car’s selectable driving modes, to the audio system’s volume control and even the drive selector.
Including seating for two adults or two Isofix child seats, rear passenger leg- and headroom in this compact BYD are favoured over luggage space. That said, with the car’s charging cables housed below the boot board, space for additional shopping or school bags can be unlocked, but it requires folding down the rear backrest. Not having this item split 50:50 is an oversight.
What does the BYD Dolphin Surf cost?
The BYD Dolphin Surf is priced from R341 900, making it one of the most affordable EVs in SA. The Dolphin Surf is sold with a three-year/100 000 km warranty and a three-year/60 000 km service plan. The brand offers an eight-year/200 000 km warranty on the Dolphin Surf’s battery.
- BYD Dolphin Surf Comfort — R341 900
- BYD Dolphin Surf Dynamic — R393 900
What are the BYD Dolphin Surf’s rivals?
In South Africa, the BYD Dolphin Surf competes against the Geely E2 (priced from R332 900), which we sampled at its local launch, and the Dongfeng Box (priced from R459 000).
What is the BYD Dolphin Surf like to drive?
Together with sharp handling and an impossibly tight turning circle, the BYD Dolphin Surf comes into its own as a compelling city car, suited to all ages, with its combination of modest power outputs (55 kW and 135 N.m) and a well-modulated corresponding throttle action. This means that, unlike cars like the nevertheless thrilling Volvo EX30, you don’t need to worry about firing off into the horizon (or the garage door) with an inadvertently heavy dab of the throttle.
Certainly capable of open-road driving, we noted a limited top-speed readout of 105 km/h in our test unit (BYD claims a top speed of 130 km/h). We averaged an impressive 14.5 kWh/100 km over our established mixed-use fuel route.
Verdict
As global automotive manufacturers grapple with balancing ever-stricter emissions regulations against enticing the broader buying public to embrace electrification, while hybrid technology is quickly proving its worth in everything from SUVs to performance cars, a package like the charming BYD Dolphin Surf, priced from under R400 000, feels like the ideal fit for urban-bound buyers looking to complement their on-the-move lifestyles with fuss-free mobility.
BYD Dolphin Surf Dynamic specifications
- Price: R393 900
- Powertrain: single electric motor with 38.8 kWh battery
- Transmission: single-speed automatic
- Driven wheels: front
- Power: 55 kW
- Torque: 135 N.m
- Top speed: 130 km/h (claimed)
- Electric range: 295 km (claimed)
