Overview: The BYD Dolphin versus other electric hatchbacks

The Chinese BYD already has a relatively affordable and quite good electric SUV with the Atto 3. However, with the new Dolphin – you can read more about that name here – the brand drops half a segment. The Dolphin borrows a lot of technology from the Atto 3, but trades its high-on-the-legs carriage for a hatchback shape. With a small MPV touch, because just like the Volkswagen ID3 and the Cupra Born, the Dolphin is almost a so-called ‘monospace’. A car with a slanted nose, which in combination with the large windscreen and the high roof results in a spacious whole.

The comparison with that ID3 and its Spanish sister is therefore quickly made, but there are now more hijackers on the coast in this segment. You could describe that segment as the electric compact middle class, the so-called C-segment. Alternatives to traditionally driven hatchbacks such as the Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla and Opel Astra, in other words. Now that the Astra has been mentioned, there will also be an electric version, just like the technically identical Peugeot 308. For today’s comparison, we will stick to electric hatchbacks that, like the Dolphin, have been developed as an EV from the first stroke of the pen.

It is remarkable that BYD opts for front-wheel drive, especially for such ‘dedicated EVs’. Manufacturers usually opt for rear-wheel drive for EV platforms, although BYD is not alone in this. Renault also opts for front-wheel drive with the Megane E-Tech and the upcoming retro Renault 5. Both manufacturers indicate that this saves money and provides luggage space, although we see little of that with the BYD. With the Megane it is, because with 440 liters it is the most spacious in the back. The Renault also has the widest spread in terms of engine power and battery capacity. It starts here with 130 hp and 40 kWh, but 220 hp or 60 kWh is also possible. The rest is usually on the well-known 204 hp (the equivalent of 150 kW), although Cupra has a stronger version and MG a weaker version. On to more important things: the driving range. THE BYD scores 427 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle and thus comes almost exactly as far as the most popular version of the Volkswagen ID3. The Cupra Born is logically not far from that. With the MG it strongly depends on which variant you choose. The price mentioned in the table is for the model with a range of 350 kilometers, but you can get 450 km away for €35,478. With these prices, the MG is still the cheapest car in this field, and by a long way. But the price of the Dolphin is not yet known. BYD speaks of ‘€30,000 to €38,000’ and that is certainly very neat, but the lower amount belongs to a type with a smaller battery that has yet to be launched. The price of the Volkswagen ID3 is also unknown, because that car recently received a facelift. Before the facelift, however, the Volkswagen cost a minimum of €45,990, a rather hefty amount in this category.

Although it is of course not the case that all aspects of a car can be captured in a table, we are still curious which of these five EVs leaves the best impression on you. Feel free to let us know in the comments, but keep it fun!