I have to say I was surprised. I was invited to the launch of the BYD Dolphin Surf and I thought, as a small city car, it wouldn’t be up to much. I was wrong.
Compared to the most recognisable rival – the VW Polo – the BYD Dolphin Surf is about 84mm shorter, 31mm narrower, and yet 144mm (nearly six inches) taller.
I’m told that its electric vehicle platform allows it to have a roomy interior comparable to some cars in the next class up. Also, I think the extra six inches of height more than makes up for the taller floor.
Electricity is ideal for city cars, as there are no tailpipe emissions. It is quiet, and when it is not moving it is using minimal energy. And given its dimensions, the BYD Dolphin Surf will park in many spaces unsuitable for larger cars. It even fits well into the apartment car park spaces designed for cars of 30 years ago.
Presently, we are starting to see an influx of smaller battery electric cars with reasonable ranges, and the BYD Dolphin Surf is one of the better ones.
Safety
As doctors, because we see so many people who have been in road traffic collisions, we tend to look out for safety features.
So, I’m delighted to tell you that the Surf has achieved what so few small cars have and that’s a five-star NCAP [New Car Assessment Programme] rating.
No doubt this is helped with the extensive safety equipment as standard. From the base model up, that includes: Front and side-curtain airbags; force-limiting and pretensioner front seat belts; tyre pressure monitoring; emergency call; driver monitoring system; lane assist; auto emergency braking; intelligent speed limit control; forward collision warning; and electronic brake distribution.
Looking at the NCAP videos on the assessment programme, the car performs impressively. Also, and this is entirely subjective, when I close the door, it sounds solid.
Performance
Performance around town is, as expected, lovely. As I said it is quiet, and only moves when the throttle is pressed. It is also comfortable. Some passengers reported the seat was a little short and firm, but the materials are mostly of good quality and the steering wheel on the Comfort model had a lovely ‘vegan leather’ feel.
On the motorway, its 1400kg weight helps the Surf feel planted and firm. The steering felt responsive. On lesser roads, the short wheelbase and the laws of physics played against it, making the ride a little choppy at times. I found the cruise control sometimes a little on/off on undulating roads and not as smooth as in other BYD cars. However, it was perfect on the motorway and major roads. And speaking of common faults, the radio reception was not as good as other makes. Still, CarPlay and Android Auto worked well and the sound quality was good for this level of car.
Boot space is good at 310 litres, more with the seats folded. The ‘bike in the boot’ fits with the front wheel removed, but leaves the front seat passenger with minimal legroom. Rear visibility is limited, but there’s a rear-view camera available on all models. The rear seat room is surprisingly decent for a small car.
Performance around town is, as expected, lovely…. Overall, the BYD Dolphin Surf is an impressive car
Specs
Anyway, back to equipment levels. Manual air conditioning is standard, but BYD works on its own scale. When you ask for ’17’ using the ‘Hey BYD’ command, it assumes you mean level 17 and not 17°C, and you’ll get max heat.
As well as BYD’s rotating centre display, there is a separate display for the driver ahead of the steering wheel. Personally, I find this useful, but at my age I’d like a larger font.
Priced at €17,885, including grants and vehicle registration tax rebate for the base Surf Active model, it is a lot of car for the money.
The Surf Active uses a smaller 30kWh version of BYD’s LFP ‘Blade’ battery, giving a WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) range of 220km.
The front-wheel drive front-mounted ‘engine’ gives 88bhp. Next model up is the BYD Dolphin Surf Boost, which has the same motor, but the battery is better giving 43.2kWh with a range of 322km.
Finally, there is the Comfort version with the more powerful motor rated at 156bhp. By the way, digging deeper into the pockets for a better battery means faster charging times too. I charged it at home from 20 per cent to 98 per cent over 18 hours with a three-pin socket.
Overall, the BYD Dolphin Surf is an impressive car. By no means perfect, the faults are not deal-breakers and, in my opinion, some software updates should sort them out. You have a lot of equipment for your money in a neat, yet safe, package.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.