BYD's Dolphin hatchback is now available and it's the most affordable EV you can buy
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BYD's Dolphin hatchback is now available and it's the most affordable EV you can buy
BYD has just launched its Dolphin electric hatchback here in Singapore. And in doing so, it is now the most affordable way to get a brand-new electric car in our island city.
To start, the Dolphin isn't entirely new. The Dolphin has been in production since 2021, but BYD is now slowly selling it in markets outside of China.
The Dolphin is a small hatchback. In terms of size, it's somewhere between a Volkswagen Golf and Polo.
To ensure it qualifies for a cheaper Cat A COE, the Dolphin here will only be offered with a 70kW motor. That means 94hp and 180nm of torque. It doesn't sound much on paper, but given the responsiveness of electric motors, it should still be a pretty brisk thing on our roads.
It has a 44.9kWh battery and a claimed WLTP range of 340km. If you manage to find a 60kW DC charger, BYD says it can get from 20% to 80% of charge in a little over 30 minutes. If you use a slower 7kW AC charger, you can get a full recharge in 7.5 hours.
The interior is quite similar to the Atto 3 that I recently reviewed. It's definitely quite quirky, and it has a rotatable 12.8-inch main infotainment display and a smaller 5-inch digital instrument cluster.
Like the Atto 3, the Dolphin has loads of safety features. Apart from the usual blind spot and lane departure warnings, it also has adaptive cruise control – a feature commonly found on more expensive cars.
On paper, the Dolphin looks like a very compelling option for anyone who's looking to get a sensibly-priced compact electric car – as much as it can be sensible to buy a car given the current COE climate.
Hopefully, I can get behind the wheel of one soon to give you a full review.
I recently had the chance to experience the BYD Dolphin for a weekend and you can find my full review here.
Pricing and availability
The BYD Dolphin is available now, and it's priced at S$156,888 inclusive of COE and VES rebates. It's available for test drives at Vantage Automotive and its authorised dealers, MotorEast and BYD by 1826.
Note: Prices are correct at the time of publication.
