BYD Dolphin Surf review

Our opinion on the BYD Dolphin Surf 

BYD has high hopes for the Dolphin Surf, and in many respects, it’s right to. The car is priced to compete at the value end of the city car market, but it has the space and sophistication of something significantly larger. Maybe it lacks the design flair to lure fashion-conscious buyers from the more trendy alternatives, but with a smooth, refined driving experience, low costs, and a roomy, good-quality cabin, the Dolphin Surf might tick enough boxes for those of a more practical persuasion. 

About the BYD Dolphin Surf

Having already given us the BYD Dolphin, BYD Seal and BYD Sealion 7, BYD’s nautical naming policy was blown off course by the Seagull, a city car inexplicably named after everyone’s favourite chip-stealing seaside pest for the Chinese market. It has been revamped and re-christened as the BYD Dolphin Surf for the UK and Europe, which is probably a sensible move. 

The Dolphin Surf is the entry-level car in BYD’s expanding UK model range, sitting below the Dolphin supermini and the BYD Atto 2 small SUV. The giant firm already dominates its home market and has openly outlined its ambitions to become the world’s biggest car maker in very short order. 

To do so, it plans to sell a whole load of Dolphin Surf models in markets around the world (many of which know it as the Dolphin Mini). To help lower costs on European models, it’s building them in Hungary. 

The Dolphin Surf is BYD’s entry into a small electric car sector where rival brands have historically struggled to turn a profit. The inherent cost of an EV running gear and meeting strict safety legislation in compact, affordable cars has proven to be a major barrier, yet we have still been seeing signs of life in this area of the market. 

With the Dacia Spring and the Leapmotor T03 at the budget end being joined by more fashionable options like the Renault 5, Hyundai Inster, and Fiat Grande Panda, the BYD Dolphin Surf has plenty of competition. 

BYD’s effort is priced from around £18,000, splitting the difference between stripped-out econoboxes like the Spring and urban trend setters such as the Renault 5. It’s also on the large side for a city car, at close to four metres in length and with a generous 308-litre boot. So again, BYD looks to have constructed a solid on-paper value proposition to lure buyers unfamiliar with the brand. 

The car is strong on technology as well. The Dolphin Surf uses BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 underpinnings that incorporate its trademark ‘Blade’ battery technology. This clever system has cells that act as structural elements of the battery, improving rigidity while saving weight and cost. 

BYD has also flexed its muscles as a world-leading EV component manufacturer in creating what it claims is a world first eight-in-one electric powertrain system. This combines the electric motor, charger, and other units into a single module that boosts efficiency and saves a lot of space, which is crucial in a small car.

There are three trim levels on offer: Active, Boost and Comfort. All models get BYD’s gimmicky 10.1-inch rotating touchscreen, LED daytime running lights, adaptive cruise control, air-conditioning and vegan leather seats. There’s also rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera for a belt and braces approach to parking. 

Mid-range Boost models get a larger battery, 16-inch wheels that are an inch bigger than those on the Active, electric front seats and auto wipers. In Comfort spec, there’s a 360-degree camera, full-LED headlights, heated seats and a wireless charging pad for your phone. Not to mention a more powerful electric motor.  

The BYD Dolphin Surf is a conventional front-wheel-drive city car that incorporates some clever powertrain tech under its skin. BYD says it’s the world’s first mass-produced eight-in-one EV powertrain with the motor, reducer, charger, DC power converter, power distribution box, battery controller, motor controller and vehicle control unit all combined into one module. What it means for those of us who aren’t electric vehicle engineers is savings in space and cost.  

On the move, only the slightest whine is detectable from the electric motor at low speeds, and the Dolphin Surf settles down to prove extremely quiet in town driving. Even under hard acceleration, the motor stays hushed, with only the increasing level of wind noise really being audible in the cabin. 

The suspension is on the noisy side when called into action over bumps, but it deals with moderately rough surfaces very well, cushioning vibrations and impacts. The ride only became jarring over the most serious potholes that our central Rome test route threw up. 

The steering is light, just as you would want in a city car, and consistent in the responses it elicits from the car. There are Sport and Comfort settings, with the former adding a bit of extra heft that most will find preferable at higher speeds.

The steering isn’t particularly direct, though, and the Dolphin Surf lacks that nimble, darty feel that makes a small car enjoyable to punt about town. There’s also more than a hint of torque steer in the powerful Comfort model, where the tyres can struggle for grip under hard acceleration, causing a tugging sensation on the wheel.

The brakes are powerful enough and predictable, but the effect from the dual-mode regenerative braking system is very slight. Even in the strongest of its two settings, there’s little noticeable slowing when you lift off the accelerator. If you like the feel of a strong regen system or even one-pedal driving, this isn’t the car for you. 

Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed

The exact powertrain you get in the BYD Dolphin Surf depends on your choice of trim level. The base Active cars get a 30kWh battery and the others get a larger 43.2kWh unit. While Active and Boost trims offer an 87bhp motor, the Comfort range topper has a punchy 154bhp and 220Nm of torque, making it one of the most powerful models in the class.  

None of the BYD Dolphin Surf versions are what you would call blisteringly fast, especially by modern EV standards. The Active model manages a 11.1-second time for the 0-62mph sprint, but the bigger battery and extra kit of the Boost make it 76kg heavier and a second slower at 12.1 secs. Even the Comfort model only manages 9.1 secs, despite its extra power and a 1,390kg kerbweight that is just 20kg up on the Boost. All of the Dolphin Surf models have a 93mph top speed.

Town driving, visibility and parking

Urban driving is where you want a city car to excel, and the BYD Dolphin Surf did feel very at home on our test route through central Rome. Forward visibility is good, and it’s easy to thread the car through gaps. Trying to see out of the back is less straightforward because the big rear headrests and thick C-pillars eat into your view.  

We tried the flagship Comfort model, and in town driving, it feels faster than the 9.1s 0-62mph time suggests, thanks to its rapid acceleration up to around 30mph. Things start to tail off after that, but the Dolphin Surf has pace where you need it to make lively getaways from the traffic lights.  

B-road driving and handling  

We had limited opportunity to stretch the Dolphin Surf’s legs on our test drive around the Italian capital, but it seemed to corner without too much drama in the shape of lean and body roll. 

When accelerating out of bends, traction is more of an issue, and it’s very easy to spin a wheel - especially with the throttle pedal in the more responsive Sport setting. This is compounded when roads are wet, to the point where you question whether the Comfort model's big power output is worthwhile.

Motorway driving and long-distance comfort

We spent over two hours at the wheel on our test drive and climbed out without any unusual aches or pains. We did minimal high-speed driving on our test, but refinement from the powertrain was exemplary, and on smooth roads there’s not much noise of any kind to disturb the peace. It gives the Dolphin Surf the feel of a far larger car, one that should be well capable of longer journeys. 

Expert view, on driving experience 

“It’s a small car but the BYD Dolphin Surf feels very grown-up when you drive it, more like a larger supermini than a city car.” - Steve Walker, head of digital content, who drove the car on the International press launch in Rome, Italy.

BYD’s Blade battery and e-Platform 3.0 chassis technology help the Dolphin Surf deliver a driving range of up to 200 miles, a very strong showing for the city car class. Even the base model can manage close to 137 miles on a full charge in the official WLTP tests, fractionally below the Dacia Spring’s 140-mile range.  

On our test route, we returned an impressive efficiency of 5.4 miles per kilowatt hour in the Comfort model, equating to a range of over 230 miles. This was mainly in urban driving, and we weren’t going out of our way to preserve the battery’s charge, so it all bodes well for the little BYD being an efficient EV. 

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The batteries in the Dolphin Surf are lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) units, chosen for their low cost and durability. You get a 30kWh pack with the Active trim, and a 43.2kWh capacity battery with the Boost and Comfort trims. 

The maximum charging speed for the smaller battery is 65kW, but the larger capacity version can charge at 85kW. It means that in either case, the Dolphin Surf can be boosted from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in half an hour. That’s faster than the Dacia Spring (34kW) or Leapmotor T03 (48kW), but the Renault 5 wins out with its 100kW maximum. 

Rapid DC charging, of course, should really only be for quick get-me-home top-ups, and all the Dolphin Surf models support 11kW AC charging, which will allow a full charge to 100 per cent in 3.5 hours (Active) or five hours (Boost and Comfort).

All models also have V2L (Vehicle to Load) capabilities that’ll allow you to plug in an adaptor to the car’s charge port and run various devices. BYD suggests a coffee machine or an electric grill, but we’re not sure how convenient these would actually be in a UK urban setting, where you’re never more than 20 yards from a Greggs. 

Insurance groups 

The BYD Dolphin Surf sits in insurance group 14A if you go for the Active or Boost models, but the more powerful Comfort is in group 19D. 

For comparison, a Renault 5 starts in group 18, while the Dacia Spring starts in group 24.

Tax

Like all electric cars since April 2025, the BYD Dolphin Surf is liable for vehicle excise duty (VED) or road tax. The bill will amount to £195 per year, but at least the little BYD dodges the expensive car supplement for cars over £40,000. 

For company car drivers, the car slots into the three per cent zero-emissions bracket for the 2025/26 tax year, rising to four per cent in 2026/27 and five per cent in 2027/28.

Depreciation

We don’t have residual value predictions for the Dolphin Surf yet, but BYD will be hoping that it follows in the tyre tracks of the large Dolphin supermini that holds on to around 52 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles. That’s a couple of percentage points better than the Renault 5’s average. 

BYD hasn’t exactly set the car design world alight with any of its products to date, employing a largely safe and inoffensive strategy. The BYD Dolphin Surf doesn’t deviate too far from this, but it has at least got a splash of sporty character about it. 

It’s a chunky-looking little thing with the wheels pushed right out to each corner to boost cabin space - a trait of BYD’s e-Platform chassis. The firm has also taken the commendable decision of offering the car in a bright ‘Lime Green’ paint shade as standard, so the ones you see on the street are likely to stand out that much more. The less said about the fact that ‘Lime Green’ is, in fact, yellow, the better.

There’s a strong character line down the flanks that rises diagonally from the front wheelarch to the C-pillar. Lower down, you’ll spot an unusual contrasting trim section that juts upward from the sill only to duck down out of sight again ahead of the rear wheelarch. 

There’s a sizeable roof spoiler at the rear and a full-width light bar. At the front, the sharp nose and quadrilateral headlights might even have the vaguest hint of Lamborghini about them. Make of it what you will, but it’s one of BYD’s less forgettable European efforts so far. 

Interior and dashboard design

Interior quality is good for a city car at this price, but the likes of Hyundai’s Inster, the Renault 5 and MINI Cooper are ahead in terms of the special feel they manage to generate in their cabins. 

The central touchscreen is the main focus, but a row of shortcut switches below it gives easy access to the driving modes, ventilation system and stereo volume control. We could live without the squelchy sound effect accompanying the car’s shifts from neutral to drive and reverse, though.

The instruments are set in a second screen behind the steering wheel. The main screen is the size of a tablet, but the one behind the wheel is more like a smartphone in its dimensions. Like the main screen, it’s guilty of looking cluttered because its small text size can be tricky to read at a glance. 

Materials and build quality

There’s an interesting mix of different materials in the cabin. The 'vegan leather' seats, and the soft grey suede-like fabric lining used on the centre console and sections of the door cards add a touch of class, though we do wonder how easily the latter will collect marks.

The rounded air vents are an eye-catching design, but the plastic door pulls feel a little cheap, and there are hard plastics high up on the doors and the dashboard. In the end it’s hard to be too critical of budget materials in a car at this price point, because the Dolphin Surf feels much higher quality inside than the likes of the Dacia Spring. It just doesn’t have the same wow-factor you’ll find in a MINI, Renault 5 or Hyundai Inster.

Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo

BYD’s rotating touchscreen might be of dubious practical benefit, but it certainly brings the potential for impressing your friends. The 10.1-inch unit in the Dolphin Surf will gently ease itself from portrait to landscape orientation as required. More useful is the standard Android Auto and Apple Car Play smartphone connectivity. 

Some of the areas you need to press on the screen are quite small to accurately hit when driving, like the fan speed button, for example. BYD does have a shortcut for the ventilation system controls where you place three fingers on the screen. Swipe up and down to alter fan speed or go left and right to change the temperature. It seemed to work well but a larger shortcut bar at the base of the screen would have been easier. 

Generally, the touchscreen menus are logically laid out, and the information seems to be presented clearly enough.

Expert view, on design 

It’s hard to see BYD’s city car being bought as an urban style statement when it’s up against retro creations like the Renault 5, Fiat 500e and MINI Cooper - Steve Walker, head of digital content, who drove the car on the International press launch in Rome, Italy.

In a way, the BYD Dolphin Surf straddles two classes, but whether you view it as a big city car or a small supermini, it does a decent job of making the most of the space it’s got. BYD is particularly proud of the 2,500mm wheelbase, which shows in the amount of interior space they have liberated inside the car. 

Storage space inside the cabin is pretty good. All four doors have door pockets that can hold a small water bottle, and there’s some useful additional space in the centre console - a tray for rear seat occupants and a large storage area plus two cupholders for the front. The glovebox is big enough to hold a few items as well. 

We particularly liked the wireless charging pad ahead of the central armrest on Comfort models that holds your phone securely but positions the screen in view so you can see messages or navigation instructions while you’re driving.

Dimensions and size

The Dolphin Surf is 3,990mm long and 1,720mm wide, making it substantially bigger than city cars like the Dacia Spring (3,701mm and 1,583mm) and the Leapmotor T03 (3,620mm and 1,652mm). The Renault 5, another car that treads the size line between the city car and supermini classes, is slightly shorter but wider at 3,922 and 1,808mm. 

Driving position, seats & space in the front

The driving position is helped by the reach and rake adjustable steering wheel, even though there isn’t a huge amount of reach adjustment. The sporty-looking front seats are soft but with some side support, and are actually very comfortable. 

Broader drivers might find the seat backs a touch narrow, however, and I also encountered a slight lack of kneeroom in the driving seat because you’re restricted on each side by the centre console and the low door armrest. Headroom in both of the front seats is generous, with a good 5cm of overhead space for six-footers.  

Seats & space in the back 

The car has only four seats, but the rear legroom is impressive, helped by a flat floor and angled seat backs. At just over six-feet tall, I was able to sit comfortably behind my own driving position with a decent amount of knee room and space for my feet under the seat in front. 

The padded front seat backs help here, making it more comfortable for your knees to press into them. As for headroom, if you’re much over six feet tall, or have a particularly voluminous hairdo, you might find yourself rubbing the headlining. 

The rising window line might be more of a problem for kids in the back seats because the lower ledge of the rear window is at chin height for adults. Smaller children will struggle to see out at all. At least the thin front seat headrests will give them an improved view out of the front, and there are ISOFIX child car seat points on the front passenger seat and in the rear.

Boot space 

The 308-litre boot is large for the class, being equal to the Dacia Spring, and nearly 100 litres more than you get in a Leapmotor T03. The space is quite tall and not very deep, but we reckon you could easily fit a couple of medium-sized suitcases inside if you stood them up on their wheels. 

There’s a big loading lip to drop items over, but the boot opening isn’t too high off the ground, so there isn’t a long way to hoist your cargo. There’s only a small dedicated storage for the charging cables under the boot floor, so one of these will probably have to sit on the boot floor in the zip-up bag provided unless you try to cram it in. There's no storage under the Dolphin Surf's bonnet.

The thin rear seats fold down to give a large 1,037-litre load space. When they are down, they create another ridge in the load floor, but that’s par for the course in small cars.

BYD is confident of getting a four-star score when the Dolphin Surf undergoes Euro NCAP crash tests. The e-Platform 3.0 uses 68 per cent high-strength steel, and the Blade battery tech is inherently rigid and safe in the event of a collision. 

The Dolphin Surf has received extensive crash structure upgrades compared to the closely related Chinese market BYD Seagull to boost its European crash test performance. 

BYD is very proud that its innovative battery design passes the ‘nail penetration test’ – which you can probably imagine the mechanics of – without its surface temperature exceeding 60 degrees. In practice, it means that if the battery is damaged in an accident, the chance of a fire is very slim.  

Safety kit runs to front and side airbags for the front-seat occupants and automatic emergency braking. There’s also a suite of other driver-assistance features, from lane-departure assist to auto-dipping of the headlights.

• Best buy: BYD Dolphin Surf Active

No version of the Dolphin Surf is poorly equipped. You get the same infotainment system, keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors and vegan leather trim regardless of which trim level you go for. That and the fact that the Comfort can feel slightly overpowered make us gravitate towards the entry-level Active spec as the pick of the range. 

The only caveat is the shorter range and inferior charging speeds. If you plan to use your BYD Dolphin Surf as a city car for short urban trips, go with the Active. If you need more from it, stepping up to the long range Boost makes sense, even though it is the slowest model.

Alternatives 

Small, low-cost electric cars are becoming more commonplace, and the obvious alternatives to the Dolphin Surf for those prioritising low costs are the Dacia Spring and the slightly pricier but also more sophisticated Leapmotor T03.

If you’re happy to pay more for a small car with a bit more style about it, there are many options. The Renault 5, Fiat Grande Panda, Hyundai Inster, Fiat 500e, and even the MINI Cooper Electric are all vying for your attention in this space. The Citroen e-C3 is another candidate, offering a lot of comfort and cabin space for the money.

You also have a dwindling pool of petrol-powered city cars, the best current options being the Hyundai i10 and its Kia Picanto sibling.

BYD Dolphin Surf pictures

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