BYD Dolphin review

Refreshingly simple this: a Dolphin ‘Comfort’ starts from £30,205, and a Dolphin ‘Design’ from £31,705. Same 201bhp electric motor, same 60.4kWh battery, same 265 miles range. We’re going to struggle to pad this section out at this rate…

Let’s talk rivals, because here it gets a little bit complicated. An MG4 can be had for cheaper and it’ll go further off a single charge, while there’s a bigger battery/longer range option too. A VW ID.3 starts slightly more, but again gets longer range options. Same story with the pricier Cupra Born.

Meanwhile a Renault Megane E-Tech, Peugeot e-308 and Vauxhall Astra Electric all get just the one similar sized battery and alike ranges, but will all cost you at least a couple of grand more. So the Dolphin if nothing else has price on its side. Just.

What about kit, though?

It’s actually more generous than you might expect. Deep breath…

Comfort trim gets 17in alloy wheels, LED head- and tail-lights, heated mirrors, heated front seats, 12.8in rotatable touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree parking camera, adaptive cruise control, the full suite of driver assist gizmos, vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging (so you can power external appliances), a heat pump, and keyless entry and start.

Top-spec Design adds a dual-tone exterior paint option (we’re not massive fans, the bonnet feels too much and ruins it), panoramic roof, rear privacy glass, and rear privacy glass. Which for an extra £1.5k seems good value to us.

Peak Dolphin, then?

We’d say so. Then again, we’d be sorely tempted by the MG4 over one of these, which feels more dynamically sorted even if it doesn’t have as many toys.

Oh, and worth knowing the Dolphin comes with a six-year or 93,750-mile warranty on the car, and eight years or 125,000 miles on the battery. By comparison MG offers seven years or 80,000 miles on the 4. Your move…