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By Jonathan Crouch

The BYD Dolphin Surf is a model of its moment - and aims to reinvent the citycar genre. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 46

The Dolphin Surf is a small EV runabout that will really put BYD on the map in Western markets. It blurs the boundaries between city cars and superminis - and between sensible and fashionable small runabouts, but could be the ideal compromise for many urban folk.

Backgroundword count: 181

One day, Chinese maker BYD aims to become the world's biggest car maker. And when it does, perhaps much will be owed to this model, the Dolphin Surf. It's the smallest car BYD makes but perhaps has the biggest challenge to face. Today, over 60% of new large car sales are fully electric. At the opposite end of the market, in the citycar sector where the Dolphin Surf competes, that number from the launch of this car in mid-2025 was just 9%. And that's despite the fact that the majority of citycar models these days are EVs, with cheap models like the Dacia Spring and the Leapmotor T03 at one end of the segment and pricier trend-setters like the Renault 5 E-Tech and the Hyundai Inster at the other. This Dolphin Surf, called the 'Seagull' in China and the 'Dolphin Mini' in South America, targets a place between those two extremes. And, unlike cheaper citycar EVs, aims to provide the longer-ranging maturity you'd get from an electric supermini in the segment above. To side-step Western tariffs, it'll soon be European-built too.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 299

When BYD nails the drive dynamics of its cars, it really will be forced to be reckoned with in Western markets. It's been a bit hit and miss so far. The handling of the Seal saloon felt quite engaging. The drive dynamics of the Dolphin small hatch didn't. The Dolphin Surf looks more promising in this regard, helped (as on other BYDs) by the way that the Blade battery is actually part of the car's e-Platform 3.0 chassis, rather than separate from it. This car certainly has an innovative powertrain - what the Chinese maker claims is 'the world's first 8-in-one electric powertrain system'. This combines electric motor, charger, reducer, DC converter, power distribution box, battery management controller, vehicle control unit and motor controller into a single module that saves space and, equally crucially, improves efficiency. Sure enough, the 43.2kWh battery variants most customers will choose go a lot further on a charge than the budget citycar EVs BYD wants to compete against; either 200 miles or 192.6 miles, depending on whether you choose the mid-range 'Boost' version (which has an 87bhp motor) or the much more powerful 'Comfort' range-topper, which offers 154bhp and 220Nm of torque, a better choice for the kind of longer trips this Surf is (unlike its budget rivals) well capable of making. There's also an entry-level 'Active' model at the foot of the range with the 87bhp motor and a small 30kWh battery that gives you 136.7 miles of range (about the same as a rival Dacia Spring). This BYD should feel agile around town, as the 0-62mph figures suggest (11.1s for the 'Active', 12.1s for the 'Boost' and 9.1s for the 'Comfort'). The top speed on all variants is 93mph. Don't expect particularly engaging handling on faster roads though, or much steering feel.

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