The BYD Dolphin Review - The Next Wave in Electric Vehicles! - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

Jim was invited down to the latest BYD dealership in the UK to test drive the latest UK release from BYD - The Dolphin!  From one of the biggest manufacturers in the world that you may not have heard of the Dolphin really comes to take on the big boys of electric vehicles!  Click the link below to discover BYD's impressive lineup of electric vehicles, and while you're at it, why not schedule a test drive to experience the BYD Dolphin first-hand? http://bydsouthwest.co.uk/  Share your thoughts in the comments below!  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!  Our website: http://menandmotors.com/  ----- Social Media -----  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/ Instagram: @menandmotorstv Twitter: @menandmotorstv  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 Hello folks and welcome to Men and Motors.

00:05 I'm here today in not so sunny Devon

00:07 to take a look at the BYD Dolphin.

00:10 Now BYD might not be a brand

00:12 that you're overly familiar with,

00:14 but they're actually one of the largest

00:16 car manufacturers in the world.

00:18 You may have already seen the ATO3 on the roads in the UK,

00:21 which is a slightly larger crossover kind of vehicle.

00:25 The Dolphin is their go at the small car market

00:29 and this is really quite a compelling package.

00:32 Here we've got one with 265 miles of range

00:36 and it's really, really well kitted out.

00:39 Let's take a closer look, shall we?

00:41 Boot space is competitive at 345 liters.

00:45 You do have an adjustable floor height there,

00:47 but it's not the most convenient of boot spaces

00:50 for getting things in and out of.

00:52 Certainly a little bit of the real estate

00:54 is eaten into here.

00:56 And despite the fact that we don't have

00:57 quite as much overall capacity as we'd see

01:00 in a CUPRA Born or a VW ID.3,

01:03 it does fare well against things like the Renault Zoe,

01:06 the Corsa E, and of course the Aura Funky Cat.

01:09 Now the Dolphin's certainly no slouch

01:11 when it comes to overall performance.

01:14 Get 150 PS of power, we've got a 60 kilowatt hour battery,

01:18 which you can charge from zero to 80%

01:21 in just 43 minutes at fast charger.

01:24 And you've also got a nought to 60 time of seven seconds.

01:27 Now the overall design of the Dolphin feels quite safe.

01:30 It's certainly not gonna be as controversial

01:32 as something like a Funky Cat,

01:34 despite the fact that this one's

01:35 in this fairly funky two-tone paint.

01:38 What do you think?

01:39 Would you like to see something a bit bolder?

01:41 Or do you think they've hit the nail on the head here

01:43 in design terms?

01:44 One of the highlights of the Dolphin has to be the interior,

01:48 which is a great design.

01:50 Now there are some hard materials in here,

01:52 but they feel hard but not cheap, if that makes any sense.

01:56 Sometimes you feel some of these hard plastics

01:58 and they feel like they're gonna last

02:00 all of about 10 minutes.

02:01 This doesn't, it feels robust.

02:03 It feels well screwed together.

02:05 You've got this lovely sort of suedey,

02:08 leathery material up here.

02:11 A handy little holder there where you can put a phone

02:13 or maybe some loose change.

02:15 We've got three USB-C sockets

02:17 and a 12 volt charging socket under there.

02:20 A useful little cubby, a couple of cup holders,

02:22 which are quite small.

02:24 Nothing particularly flash going on with those.

02:26 We've also got a wireless charging pad here.

02:28 Really nice arm rest in just the right place for me.

02:31 And quite a lot of storage underneath

02:33 this center console as well.

02:35 And under here, we've got a handy little gadget

02:39 to cut your seatbelt with in case of emergency.

02:42 The steering wheel is very well designed.

02:44 It feels great under the hand.

02:45 Nice use of different materials.

02:48 Thumb controls are all sensible

02:50 and laid out in a fairly intuitive way.

02:53 We've got a nice high res little driver

02:55 information display here,

02:56 but the real star of the show, of course,

02:58 is this large central screen.

03:00 Now, there are those that like the sort of

03:03 landscape approach to these things,

03:05 as you would find in something like a Tesla.

03:07 And I think we can definitely tip a hat to Tesla

03:10 when we look at this.

03:11 And there are some that prefer it the other way round,

03:14 like in a Ford.

03:15 So,

03:16 they're both catered for here, folks.

03:20 You might feel that's a bit of a gimmick,

03:23 but there are people that prefer one way or t'other.

03:26 And certainly for some applications,

03:28 it's just more natural to have it one way or t'other.

03:32 It also gives you a little bit of theater

03:34 that you don't get in many modern cars.

03:36 So, I'm all for that.

03:38 I think it's a great idea.

03:39 The screen's actually nice and crisp and bright and clear.

03:42 And despite the fact that things like your air con controls

03:45 are built into the screen,

03:46 rather than having separate physical buttons

03:48 and dials for them,

03:50 and your volume, you know,

03:51 the only place you can adjust that

03:53 is sort of up here on the steering wheel.

03:55 Despite all that, this works very, very well.

03:59 And it's certainly one of the more intuitive systems to use

04:03 on the market at the moment, I would say.

04:05 BYD have done really, really well with this interior.

04:09 A number of companies have failed.

04:11 They've either produced interiors

04:13 that are really dull and bland and boring,

04:16 or functionally, they're a disaster.

04:18 You know, they're a nightmare to use.

04:20 BYD have done very well with this.

04:22 It's really well considered.

04:24 It's really put together, and I'm a big fan.

04:27 As we jump into the back, it's another good news story.

04:30 In this model, we've got this huge panoramic roof,

04:33 which lets in loads of light.

04:35 Otherwise, it might be a little bit dark in here,

04:37 but it's really nice and bright because of that.

04:40 You've got two USB-Cs down here.

04:43 No rear air vents, which is a little bit odd, possibly,

04:46 but there we go.

04:47 As you really get to appreciate

04:48 those nice sort of racing bucket-type seats

04:51 from the back here as well.

04:53 You've got individual pockets there

04:56 to put mobile devices in, plus a larger pocket.

04:59 Once again, quite hard,

05:01 but interesting materials and textures have been used,

05:05 and it really just feels a little bit different in here,

05:08 but not different in a look-how-crazy-I-am kind of way,

05:11 different in a good way.

05:13 We've also got a nice big central armrest here

05:16 with a couple of cup holders built in,

05:18 completely flat floor,

05:20 which means you could sit three adults in here,

05:23 although you are gonna be fighting

05:24 for a bit of shoulder room, folks.

05:26 BYD are currently opening

05:28 a number of franchise dealerships in the UK,

05:31 just like this one, BYD Southwest in Exeter.

05:34 Now, once we get the little dolphin out onto the road,

05:43 you're immediately impressed

05:45 by just how effortless this thing is to drive,

05:48 and it makes town driving an absolute breeze.

05:52 Some modern cars with their fly-by-wire steering

05:54 can feel a bit disconnected for the driver.

05:58 You know, it can feel like,

05:59 although you're pushing the car in the general direction,

06:02 it's making the finer adjustments for itself at times.

06:06 That's certainly not the case in the Dolphin.

06:08 It's very light, but it is direct.

06:11 You do feel like you're in complete control of the car.

06:15 The front end feels a bit light,

06:16 and that takes a little bit of adjustment

06:18 when you first start driving the Dolphin.

06:21 Not necessarily in a negative way,

06:24 but it's just something to be aware of.

06:26 Maneuverability's brilliant,

06:27 so you've got no problems parking this

06:30 in even the tightest of spaces,

06:32 and it's got a very decent turning circle,

06:35 something that seems to be lost

06:36 on quite a lot of modern cars.

06:38 Something else that's been lost

06:40 on a lot of modern cars is a rear wiper.

06:42 Luckily, we've still got one here.

06:45 Generally, this is a very impressive little car.

06:48 Perhaps on the driving side of things,

06:50 where it lets itself down a tad

06:52 is with the amount of cabin noise you get.

06:54 There's a fair amount of noise coming from the tires.

06:57 Obviously, there's no engine noise

06:59 because there's no engine,

07:01 but certainly if you get this out

07:03 onto the 60, 70 mile an hour roads,

07:05 you will find wheel noise and wind noise

07:08 a tiny bit intrusive, but in fairness,

07:11 that's the case with a number of cars in this class.

07:14 Now, I set off this morning

07:15 with 265 miles of range predicted by the car.

07:19 It's very rare that you charge an EV up to 100%

07:23 and actually find it quotes the stated range figure,

07:26 and it did in this.

07:27 I expected that to fall away almost immediately.

07:31 Now, admittedly, I haven't got air con on,

07:34 and that would affect the range normally,

07:36 but I expected that range to drop down

07:40 basically as soon as I started driving.

07:41 It hasn't.

07:42 I actually arrived 12 miles later at my destination

07:46 with 253 miles of range.

07:50 That's right, the range figures are very accurate.

07:55 I have to say the suspension in this car is brilliant.

07:57 I'm going over some really quite crashy,

08:00 bumpy road at the moment,

08:02 and you only really feel

08:05 the absolute biggest of divots in the road.

08:09 I'm going over a little speed hump here,

08:11 and you can feel it,

08:13 but it really doesn't throw you around at all.

08:15 It soaks up the bumps really well,

08:17 but it's still not really wallowy in corners.

08:22 They've done well with this one, folks, really well.

08:25 Whilst you'd never really call this a driver's car,

08:28 it certainly gives you a bit of fun,

08:30 and it's a more enjoyable driving experience in my book

08:33 than something like a Corsa E, a Renault Zoe,

08:36 or an ID.3 for that matter.

08:39 (car engine roaring)

08:42 So in summary, folks, we've got a small EV

08:46 that's great fun around town.

08:49 It's more than capable of taking on those longer journeys

08:51 with that 265 miles of range.

08:54 It's not gonna cost you the earth to lease, to buy, to run.

08:58 What's not to like?

08:59 Well, as I said earlier on,

09:01 the cabin noise can be a little bit intrusive,

09:03 particularly when you're on faster roads,

09:06 but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

09:08 Aside from that, there aren't too many downsides

09:11 for this car.

09:12 It's got a really well-specced, well-put-together interior.

09:17 It's just nice and easy to use.

09:19 The word I keep coming back to is easy,

09:22 because living with this car is a piece of cake.

09:24 It's really easy to drive, really easy to park.

09:27 The infotainment system works brilliantly well.

09:29 It's a massive thumbs up from me on this one.

09:31 And if you ask me, would I take one of these

09:33 over an Aura Funky Cat?

09:35 Would I take one over a Corsa E?

09:37 Would I take one over a Zoe?

09:39 Over an ID.3?

09:40 Yes, I would.

09:41 Thanks so much for watching, folks.

09:43 Please give this video a thumbs up.

09:45 Please leave a comment in the video description.

09:47 What do you think of this two-tone paint?

09:49 Let me know.

09:50 And please subscribe to Men & Motors

09:52 if you haven't already done so,

09:54 and look out for more great car reviews coming up soon.

09:57 And also, go and check out this video over here.

10:00 You're gonna like it.

10:01 I know you are.

10:02 (dramatic music)

10:05 [MUSIC]

The BYD Dolphin Review - The Next Wave in Electric Vehicles!

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