2024 BYD Dolphin Premium review

Competition in Australia's new car market is a funny thing. A niche or segment can go unrecognised for years, but once it hits, the popularity can spread like wildfire. The crossover SUV is a great example. While rugged off-roaders were plentiful, and a few all-wheel-drive wagons existed, it wasn't until the Toyota RAV4 arrived to tackle the Suzuki Vitara that the segment really took off.

So what does that have to do with the BYD Dolphin? Well, it is one of three electric vehicles in Australia with a starting price under $40,000 before on-road costs. A segment that didn't exist before 2023. Now the Dolphin is one of three small electric cars with what's considered an accessible price point.

While the sub-$40K starting prices of the BYD Dolphin, MG 4, and GWM Ora are a great lure for showroom traffic, it's actually the next step up, with longer-range batteries, that's proving more popular. Pricing here starts around the $45,000 mark before on-road costs.

That's where this car, the BYD Dolphin Premium, sits. It is poised to be the most popular model in its range, and set to challenge electric cars and traditional rivals like the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 alike.

The Dolphin's attention-grabbing claim to fame is its starting price of $38,890 plus on-road costs. Low enough to earn it the title of Australia's lowest-priced new electric vehicle. At that price you're getting the Dolphin Dynamic, with a 70kW motor and a claimed 340km range from a 44.9kWh battery.

Stepping up the range to the Dolphin Premium tested here pushes pricing up to $44,890 plus on-road costs, but also brings a 427km driving range, a bigger 60.5kWh battery, and a more powerful 150kW motor. Significant upgrades to help ease the blow of a $6000 price premium.

Some more minor changes include a change from rear torsion beam suspension on the Dynamic in favour of a more sophisticated multi-link independent suspension, 17-inch alloy wheels in place of 16s, and two-tone paint.

Impressively, the equipment list between the two is similar, meaning both get an impressive list of standard inclusions like faux leather and suede interior trim, electrically-adjustable front seats with heating, a fixed panoramic roof with powered blind, LED head and tail-lights, single-zone climate control, wireless phone charger, and a 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, and more.

Safety systems are comprehensive too, with forward autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep and lane-departure systems, traffic sign recognition, front and rear cross-traffic alert with braking capability, and a range of other systems (more detail on these further down).

I have to hand it to BYD, the company has made clever choices about the balance of materials and features in the Dolphin's interior. The cabin isn't just good for an EV with a low price, it's good for the small car segment in general.

The design isn't as polarising as that of its bigger sibling, the BYD Atto 3. It's more conventional, but in honour of its oceanic namesake, there are a few wave-shaped patterns on upper dash vents and fin-shaped interior door handles. Those features are subtle enough not to stand out too much, though.

The dashboard design shows some careful consideration. The infotainment screen sits nice and high, but doesn't impede forward visibility, and it can be switched to portrait orientation if you'd like to see more of what lies ahead on the map (more on that in the next section).

A lot of the interior plastics are hard surfaces, rather than more premium soft-touch sections, but you still get nicely padded armrests and swathes of suede-look fabric to give a more upmarket appearance. Interior colours are matched to paint colour, so while our grey car had a black-on-black interior, if you opt for a pink car you get two-tone pink and grey, while blue cars ship with a blue and black interior.

It's nice to see some colour in modern car interiors, but the available colour schemes may not be to all tastes. The feel of buttons and controls is good, and pass the knock-and-shake test just fine. Nothing feels light or flimsy, but it will be interesting to see what some scorching summer temps and punishing Aussie conditions do over the longer term.

Storage space is good – and bad at the same time. The high centre console looks like it would tuck plenty away, but the armrest isn't a console lid, instead it's fixed in place, yet there's open space underneath accessed from the sides but intruded upon by the seats. Under the screen there's a big slot for a mobile phone, but again, it isn't what you think it might be. You don't charge your phone here, but you can do that from a little slot under the armrest.

Things get a bit more conventional elsewhere. Cupholders up front have clear access and do exactly what you'd expect. The door pockets are nice and big, both front and rear, and the fold-down rear armrest has rear cupholders. The centre console has a USB-A and USB-C port in the front, and another pair in the rear, but the back of the console lacks air vents.

Seat comfort is decent, though for me as a shorter driver, the headrest from the fixed-form seatbacks can feel a bit intrusive. The balance of sculpting on the front seats is good for support but not so rigid as to hamper access.

The crucial missing element is interior width. Front-seat occupants will be positioned quite close, and there can be a bit of an elbow war for the front armrest when stopped. In the rear seats, accommodation is good for two passengers but tight for three.

BYD quotes 345 litres of boot space with the rear seats up, but the two-position boot floor just about cuts this in half. At first glance, the boot looks relatively compact. Lower the floor, though, and it becomes a deep space that's great for packing more in, but still lacking in length between the seatbacks and the boot lip.

The rear seats have a 60:40 folding backrest opening up 1310L with the seats folded and the floor divider set low. There's also a little side net for holding smaller items and a solid parcel shelf for keeping things out of view. The Dolphin does without bag hooks and tie-down points.

While it may not be the most sought-after feature, the 12.8-inch display in the Dolphin has a power-rotating function. At the press of a dedicated button on the steering wheel, it can turn 90 degrees from landscape to portrait orientation. There's no real reason it needs to, but if you want to see more of what's coming up using the inbuilt navigation, it can be handy.

Alongside the standard navigation there is FM and digital radio (but no AM), Bluetooth, online streaming via Spotify, and access to Apple CarPlay (via USB-A only) and Android Auto (both wired and wireless). The system is Android-based itself – but not the dedicated Android Automotive platform being adopted by other brands, rather a version of the same software that drives phones and tablets.

The interface is simple and easy to learn as a result. There's a range of themes to change the external look of the system, but menus and control settings are still laid out the same way, it's just the icons and colour schemes that change.

Controls like vehicle and safety settings, climate control and seat heating are largely controlled through the screen. There are also 'Hi BYD' voice commands for a range of functions, though I'm not sure if it was background noise or my twangy Aussie accent, but commands weren't always confirmed, even if they had worked previously.

The car's inbuilt 4G connection also allows access to the BYD Connect app. From here it's possible to remotely lock and unlock the car, check if doors or windows are open, monitor the state of charge, or start the climate control. Unfortunately, we weren't able to test the app with BYD requiring an owner's registered email to pair to the car. Handy for security, but inconvenient in a situation like ours as a borrower.

The BYD Dolphin carries a five-star ANCAP rating tested to the latest (and strictest) 2023 assessment criteria.

That rating translates to an 89 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 85 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, but the Dolphin's safety assist system score was slightly lower at 77 per cent.

Regardless of whether you opt for the cheaper Dolphin Dynamic or the Dolphin Premium tested here, the safety equipment is unchanged. Standard features include autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assistance, traffic sign recognition and intelligent limiter, forward and rearward collision warning, lane-departure prevention, blind-spot monitoring, and front and rear cross-traffic alerts with the ability to detect, then brake for obstacles to prevent a collision.

There's also an emergency lane-keep assistance system, and a lane-change collision warning system.

Other details include tyre pressure monitoring, seven airbags (including curtain airbags and a front-centre airbag between front occupants), driver fatigue monitoring, 360-degree camera, and parking sensors front and rear.

Most of the systems appear to work well. The traffic camera recognition tends not to relay false info. If it has trouble reading a sign, it just won't display a limit. The over-speed chime sounds as soon as you creep 1km/h above the limit, but it's subtle and not too annoying.

The lane-centring system does feel a little artificial. It tends to tug at the steering wheel and can be a little too defensive. It's easy to switch between lane centring and lane keep when using the adaptive cruise control, though, so it's easy to overcome. That cruise system lacks 1km/h increments, though, so you can only cycle up and down in 5km/h steps.

The crisp and clear 360-degree camera is fantastic to use, and offers the ability to have it pop up at low speeds, which can be handy to make sure you're clear of kerbs and parking markers.

BYD offers capped-price servicing on all models in its range at the same fixed cost – $189 for the first service, $370 for the second, $189 for the third, $447 for the fourth and $189 for the fifth. Service intervals are set at 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.

Rather than having to return to a BYD sales site, the distributor is in the process of setting up service centres, but also has a service agreement in place with MyCar Tyre & Auto, allowing you to service your BYD through MyCar at the same capped price, and in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

Warranty for BYD vehicles is divided into sections. The vehicle warranty is six years or 150,000km, the high-voltage battery warranty is eight years or 160,000km, and the drive unit (ie: electric motor and related assembly) is eight years or 150,000km.

Outside of the vehicle warranty, BYD applies limited warranty coverage to vehicle lights, tyre pressure monitoring module, suspension and ball joints (four years, 100,000km) and the multimedia system, shock absorbers, wheel bearings, parts of the climate-control system, and the AC/DC charging port assembly, plus some other minor parts (three years, 60,000km), making for one of the most conditional new car warranties in Australia.

Since we first drove the BYD Dolphin at launch, insurance premiums have already been adjusted upwards. Our standard quote info for a 35-year-old male driver travelling 10,000–15,000km per year returned a premium of $2997 – it was almost $1000 less last time we checked.

The same cover for a GWM Ora Extended Range would cost $1986, an MG 4 Excite 64 would cost $2004, or a top-spec Toyota Corolla hybrid hatch would set you back $1604 per year. All quotes are from the same insurer and are based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

The BYD Dolphin Premium, with its larger 60.5kWh battery capacity, has a claimed driving range of 427km according to WLTP efficiency testing. Compared to the smaller battery in the Dolphin Dynamic, you get an extra 87km of theoretical travelling range.

Energy consumption is rated at 14.2 kilowatt hours per 100km, but depending on the type of driving you do, this figure will vary. While we were running round town, the Dolphin's trip meter showed as little as 14.6kWh/100km. After an extended 80–100km/h cruise, with little opportunity for energy regeneration and battling greater air resistance, that figure pushed into the 17kWh/100km range. Overall, my time in the car was mostly urban and showed 15.7kWh/100km.

While the claimed range is 427km (in ideal conditions), the real-world figure is likely to be just under 400km for most users. When it comes to charging, the Dolphin Premium has a maximum charging DC rate of 80kW, making it slower to charge away than something like an MG 4. At home, AC charging tops out at 7.2kW, meaning a full charge will complete in more than nine hours, but a 10–80 per cent charge should be closer to 6.5 hours.

The Dolphin uses an in-house BYD Blade battery, with lithium iron phosphate chemistry, meaning it can be fully charged regularly without affecting the serviceable life.

Time spent behind the wheel of the Dolphin's bigger range-mate, the Atto 3, shows that BYD knows how to set up a comfortable and easy to drive vehicle. But does the same experience translate to a smaller, cheaper car? Before jumping in, I had my doubts.

I need not have, though. The Dolphin drives as nicely as any other small hatch you can buy right now.

The driving experience is smooth and fluid. The single-speed transmission means there is no interruption to power delivery, and the way power feeds in as you press on the accelerator starts gentle and ramps up progressively. There's an Eco mode that dulls down throttle response, Normal mode feels, as the name suggests, pretty balanced, and Sport mode makes the accelerator more reactive. Not too aggressive, but more willing to chirp the tyres at times.

Those tyres are the weak spot. The Linglong Comfort Master rubber isn't the most dynamic choice, so they'll find their grip limits reasonably early. Once again, though, the balance is neutral. They're not a terrible tyre, but nor are they a premium choice.

Noise is low overall. At city speeds you can hear the pedestrian-warning hum, and I don't find it particularly pleasant but you can drown it out with the radio easily enough. Wind and road noise start to pick up at speeds of around 80km/h and above, but while they are noticeable, they're never too intrusive.

The steering is fairly remote, so if you were after a sharp driving tool, you won't find it here. After threading the BYD through a series of bends, it felt surprisingly top-heavy (keeping in mind the battery weight is concentrated low in the chassis). The chassis's inherent balance feels fine on well-maintained surfaces, but mid-corner bumps and broken surfaces reveal that it can be upset fairly easily.

Given the Dolphin's positioning as an urban runabout, it's not too hard to see why it does its best work within city limits.

The BYD Dolphin gets a lot of things right. The bulging standard features list is already a highlight, but combined with the decent driving range, the combination holds a lot of allure.

Pricing isn't quite on par with combustion-engined rivals from brands like Toyota, Mazda or Hyundai just yet, but it also doesn't push into the prestige realm either.

It would be great to see the warranty levelled out, with fewer exclusions and exceptions for greater peace of mind for buyers too.

On the whole, though, it's hard to pick holes in BYD's first small car in Australia. The Aussie appetite for performance means the 70kW base model could be worth avoiding, but the added range and performance from the Dolphin Premium feels like a better fit all round for Australian buyers.

If a compact EV is something you'd like to add to your garage, the BYD Dolphin leapfrogs the likes of the Nissan Leaf, but the competitive field including the MG 4 and GWM Ora deserve close comparison. And if you're interested in any one of those three cars, it would be worth checking out the others to make sure you find the right fit of looks, features and driving dynamics for you.

The Dolphin Premium, like the one tested here, is the one to go for. While standard features between the two available variants don't change, it's the better range and performance that tick boxes here.

Because of the bundled interior and exterior colour combinations, I'd suggest heading to a BYD Experience Centre to check out a car in person. Some of the colour choices are a little in-your-face and probably shouldn't be left to viewing online. You can find your nearest location by clicking here.

Because the world of electric vehicles moves fast, it's not uncommon to see changes to specifications and pricing. For the latest details since this review first published, find all the latest Dolphin news here.