BYD Dolphin: Best Value For Money EV?

April 8, 2024

BYD Dolphin basics

The electric vehicle (EV) market has heated up in the past several years, thanks in part to the arrival of several affordable vehicles from Chinese manufacturers. BYD, an acronym for Build Your Dreams became one of those companies when it introduced the Dolphin. Priced at RM99,900 or RM100,530 on the road but without insurance, it should be within reach of most consumers.

Instead of opting for a fully loaded B-segment ICE (internal combustion engine) car, one could choose to go green and buy a BYD Dolphin. But is it a sensible move to ignore tried and tested vehicles for something that certain quarters have branded as a fad?

Let’s look at what you get with the base model BYD Dolphin, which is being touted as an affordable, value-for-money EV:

BYD Dolphin Variants

BYD offers two variants of the Dolphin. There’s the Dynamic Standard, which is priced under RM100,000 and the more expensive Premium Extended, which costs RM124,900. But for the sake of this article, we will focus on the former.

Performance

The Dynamic Standard comes with a 70kW electric motor that allows the car to spring from 0-100km/h in 12.3 seconds. Power is supplied via a 44.9kWh, Blade battery (Lithium iron Phosphate) that provides the car with a range of 410km on a single charge.

By comparison, the Premium Extended version gets a 150kW motor that allows it to accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 7.0 seconds. It also has a large 60.48kWh battery pack that allows it to cover 490km on a single charge. You can learn more about the difference between kW and kWh in a previous article on my.priceshop.com.

Compatible charging: DC Charging port – CCS 2 Standard range (60kW)

BYD Dolphin Battery Tech

Launched in 2020, BYD’s Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery is designed to be safer, more efficient and durable than other battery packs. It’s designed by FinDreams Battery, which is a subsidiary of BYD. The company claims that it successfully passed the “nail penetration test”, without the battery heating up, emitting smoke, or catching fire.

A regular lithium battery, if penetrated, exceeds 500 degrees Celsius and violently burns up. Though regular lithium iron phosphate batteries behave in a comparable way to BYD’s unit, they reach a surface temperate of between 200 to 400 degrees Celsius, which isn’t safe.

It also successfully passed the extreme strength test of having a 46-ton truck roll over it without any damage. BYD says that it has a high starting temperature for exothermic reactions, slow heat release and low heat generation.

The battery can also withstand 3000 charge and discharge cycles without degradation, which should equate to many years of usage before you notice a drop in charge capacity. It also supports fast charging technology that enables it to be charged from 10% to 80% charge in just 10 minutes when used with compatible fast charging infrastructure.

Compared to the Premium Extended Range variant, Standard car loses electrically adjustable driver and passenger seats, panoramic roof, mobile phone wireless charger, LED rear side reading light, front and rear window one clicks up or down with anti-pinch. These aren’t deal breakers when considering what you’re getting for your money, but the cost-cutting measures may not sit well with certain consumers.