Everything depends on the price
After the Han, the Tang and the Atto 3, it’s time to put the BYD Dolphin through its first test. That car would actually be called Atto 2 and is therefore the little brother of the Atto 3. If all goes well, it will also be cheaper!
‘First things first’: what about those names at BYD?
That is indeed interesting. In China, BYD has several model lines. One of those lines is named after ancient dynasties – the Han and the Tang are part of it, as is the BYD Yuan Plus. However, the latter has been renamed BYD Atto 3 for export markets and would therefore be the first in a whole series of Atto models, but the Chinese BYD management eventually put a stop to that. The Dolphin is simply called Dolphin here, just like the simultaneously launched BYD Seal. It is no coincidence that both cars take their name from marine mammals: these are models from the so-called Ocean series.
Bright. A ‘Dolphin’ is a graceful animal, so this must be a streamlined sedan?
Wrong. The BYD Dolphin is a compact and fairly high hatchback. The Dolphin has been around in China since 2021, but the European version is more than twenty centimeters longer. The extra length is in the nose and rear bumper and has to do with crash safety, but also ensures that the Dolphin grows from Peugeot e-208 size to Volkswagen ID.3 size. Compared to that Volkswagen, the BYD is slightly longer, narrower and higher, with an (even) more MPV-like body. That carriage itself is quite conservative in shape, although BYD knows how to brighten things up by offering all kinds of striking colors. How about pink or light purple, for example?
The outside is neat, but far from exciting. What about the interior?
According to good BYD use, all kinds of shades are also available for the interior, but that is not really necessary here. While the designers of the outside apparently did not want to upset anyone, the interior is a true design tour de force. Voluptuous shapes, special buttons and BYD’s rotatable touchscreen – optionally vertical or horizontal – compete for attention here. The great thing is that it all looks coherent and sturdy and the various controls work nicely despite the special shape. Form has therefore not replaced function, but it does play a major role. The sporty-shaped seats sit well and there is plenty of storage space for loose items, including in the high, ‘floating’ center console. Also very interesting is the large, fast-working touchscreen, which rotates a quarter turn at the touch of a button. The materials used in the interior are not of top quality, but that may also be because the introduction is still about pre-series cars. There is also enough space in the back, even more than enough for the legs. The luggage space is less impressive at 325 liters.
BYD Dolphin
Is there anything interesting to discover under the skin?
From a technical point of view, the BYD Dolphin shares a lot with the already well-known Atto 3. Despite the slightly smaller wheelbase of 2.70, it still fits a 60 kWh battery, from BYD’s Blade Battery type developed and built in-house. This is a cobalt-free LFP battery that, due to its layout, should be more compact and safer than a traditional battery pack with separate battery modules. With that 60 kWh net, the Dolphin can travel 427 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle, exactly what an ID.3 Pro can also do. The power of 150 kW / 204 hp is also the same as that ID3, although the responsible electric motor at BYD is on the front axle. The BYD Dolphin therefore has front-wheel drive.
Front-wheel drive is not always the best choice for EVs. How does the BYD Dolphin drive?
We only drove the new BYD Dolphin for a very short time, on a specially marked track on a track. In any case, he does not fall through the basket. The choice for front-wheel drive does not result in excessively noticeable drive responses in the steering wheel, although the steering seems slightly ‘sticky’. Acceleration is smooth and smooth and so is braking, with the degree of energy recuperation adjustable. Drive forces only penetrate the steering wheel to a limited extent and there does not seem to be any excessive tendency to spin the wheels, so BYD has done that nicely.
What will it cost?
At the time of writing, the price of the BYD Dolphin is not yet known. BYD does give an indication: ‘Between 30 and 38,000 euros’. However, this is not focused on the Dutch market and the Dutch VAT rate. More importantly, that price of 30,000 euros is based on a yet-to-be-launched version with a smaller battery. So count on more for the variant with 60 kWh, but even then ‘less than an ID3’ seems an achievable goal.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl