BYD Dolphin Surf Review 2025

Exterior Design

One thing that can't be said about BYD is that it produces uninspiring designs – most of its vehicles are pretty eye-catching. Take the Seal saloon, for instance; it seems to draw significant inspiration from the Porsche Taycan.

Fortunately, the Dolphin Surf continues this trend.

While it doesn't bear any resemblance to a Porsche, its front end exudes a menacing vibe, characterised by sharp headlights positioned atop the bonnet, a trapezoidal grille beneath, and a substantial black panel that gives off an aggressive frown.

On the flanks, there's cladding around the front wheel arches, which extends into the lower third of the doors before circling back to the rear wheel arch.

The rear side windows also boast a distinctive design, tapering towards the back of the car, with a black trim piece filling the gap between them and the rear windscreen, almost as if the bodywork has been sculpted.

At the rear, you find a sizable roof spoiler, a horizontal light bar just under the windscreen, and a prominent expanse adorned with a crease that runs across the centre of the boot lid.

The overall aesthetic is bold, trendy, and sporty – perhaps only a step away from being classified as a ‘warm' hatch.

Once again, BYD has shown why it stands out in terms of automotive design among the flurry of new Chinese manufacturers.

Interior Comfort

When you first get into the Dolphin Surf, it becomes apparent that it's a budget vehicle; however, BYD has made commendable efforts to give it an appealing aesthetic.

While there are some softer surfaces and fabric accents, much of the interior is crafted from more rigid plastics, selected for their cost-effectiveness.

It feels somewhat unjust to criticise this aspect, considering the car's price point – BYD needed to implement measures to maintain affordability, after all – especially since it has clearly put in significant effort to enhance its overall charm.

The steering wheel is well-designed, featuring thumb grips, a flat bottom, and plenty of silver accents, including a double-spoke design at the base. The multi-function buttons also appear quite satisfying to press.

In the centre of the wheel, there's a sizeable piano black circle showcasing BYD's logo.

The dashboard is organised into three sections: the top and bottom are a dark grey, while the middle section has a lighter, whitish grey tone.

The seating mirrors this colour scheme, with the outer portions in the lighter shade and the core upholstered in dark grey.

Not many small cars come with electric seat adjustment, but the BYD Dolphin Surf offers this feature in the Comfort trim. This makes finding a comfortable driving position easier, although adjustable lumbar support is not available.

Front visibility isn't ideal, as the slender windscreen pillars are offset by protruding door frames. The rear visibility is even worse due to the inward taper of the rear side windows and a shallow windscreen, although a rear-view camera and parking sensors help.

Inside, legroom and headroom are adequate, but the centre console can make you feel cramped. The back seats provide surprising space for a small car but keep in mind it's a four-seater with no middle seat. All seats come equipped with Isofix points for child seats.

Storage and Load Carrying

The boot offers 308 litres of capacity, expandable to 1,037 litres with the rear seats folded.

While there aren't many additional storage spaces due to small door bins, BYD claims there are twenty spots for personal items. However, space can be limited once you fill the cupholders and use the wireless phone charger.

The 10.1-inch infotainment display sits on the dashboard, resembling a tablet. While it isn't huge by contemporary standards, it's a bit disappointing to have so much of the screen space taken up by rather thick black borders.

That said, the system within is impressive, showcasing clean and attractive graphics, a responsive interface, and a relatively intuitive menu layout – it surpasses some of its rivals.

Interestingly, the screen can be rotated electronically, allowing for portrait viewing if that's your preference; however, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto necessitate landscape mode to function correctly.

The seven-inch digital instrument panel may be on the small side, but it provides ample helpful information, even if customisation options are limited.

It is frustrating that climate controls are accessed via the infotainment touchscreen instead of having physical buttons. Although shortcut icons for various air conditioning settings remain visible at the bottom of the screen, their small size can make them a bit cumbersome to operate while on the move.

While there's an element of style that somewhat overshadows practicality, BYD has made an economy-class interior feel deserving of a higher price point despite some materials giving the impression of cost-cutting.

Performance and Driving

Considering that the entry-level Active model generates only 87PS, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it can sprint from 0 to 62mph in just 11.1 seconds, which is faster than we anticipated.

However, if you opt for the mid-range Boost model, that time increases to 12.1 seconds due to its larger and, consequently, heavier battery.

While these figures seem more impressive than the power output suggests, they're still rather lacklustre and outperformed by most EV competitors.

If these times don't quite meet your expectations, you can achieve a 0 to 62mph spring of 9.1 seconds by choosing the flagship Comfort trim, which we tested.

Though this model isn't exceptionally fast, it feels adequately sprightly, providing reasonable acceleration.

The power feels particularly accessible at lower speeds, delivering a noticeable boost up to approximately 20 mph.

As a result, the Dolphin Surf is particularly suited to urban driving, seamlessly navigating through suburbs and tight streets while being nimble enough to weave in and out of traffic on ring roads.

When it comes to the overall driving experience, it presents a mixed picture.

Ride comfort is decent in town, but as speeds rise, it becomes somewhat bouncy and less refined, showing a lack of composure and grip, with noticeable body roll in corners compared with similarly sized rivals.

You'll probably be fine on smooth motorways, but on roads that have seen better days, the Dolphin Surf can struggle, although it retains a reasonable level of agility.

The Surf's steering is well-weighted, feeling lighter at lower speeds but becoming heavier around 40mph, which can enhance your confidence during cornering.

However, it isn't particularly engaging to drive and doesn't quite live up to the sporty, eager nature suggested by its design.

In summary, it's not a bad option, but unless you want to invite frustration, opting for the top-of-the-range model for its additional poke would be advisable. As for its handling, its sporty appearance doesn't accurately reflect its dynamics in practice.

Range and Charging

The entry-level Active model accomplishes a range of 137 miles from its 30kWh battery.

That compares with a 43.2kWh battery in the mid-range Boost, which can do an official 200 miles.

The flagship Comfort features the same 43kWh battery, but because of its increased clout, this cuts the electric range to 193 miles.

Real-world range depends on your driving style and the ambient temperature, as well as other factors. So, if you’re getting around two-thirds of the quoted figure, that’s generally about in line with expectations.

The Active model is capable of charging at a maximum DC speed of 65kW.

While that might not be considered particularly swift by contemporary standards, the smaller battery capacity allows for a 10-80% charge in roughly thirty minutes.

True to its name, the Boost variant increases the charging rate to 85kW, enabling it to achieve a similar top-up duration despite accommodating a larger battery.

The Boost's specifications are identical to those of the high-end Comfort model that we drove.

Running Costs

As the Dolphin Surf is an entirely electric vehicle, you won't have to be concerned with its fuel costs or carbon dioxide emissions.

While small hatchbacks aren't typically the go-to option for company cars, the Surf is positioned to be just as appealing as any other electric vehicle, especially considering the extremely low Benefit-in-Kind tax rates.

Road tax isn't free these days, but you'll benefit from a mere £10 charge for the first year.

When it comes to reliability, BYD is still a relatively new player in the market, which makes it challenging to assess its dependability accurately; however, the initial feedback has been promising.

Service intervals are set every two years or after 20,000 miles, whichever arrives first.

Safety

The Dolphin Surf has yet to undergo crash testing by Euro NCAP. However, six other models from BYD have been evaluated in the past, all achieving a commendable five-star rating.

The slightly larger Dolphin (which shouldn’t be confused with the Dolphin Surf under review) is the most relevant comparison.

In its 2023 assessment, it received scores of 89% for adult occupants, 87% for child safety, and 79% for safety assistance features.

The Dolphin Surf is equipped with automatic emergency braking, a driver monitoring system, a tyre pressure monitoring system, intelligent adaptive cruise control, emergency lane-keeping assist, intelligent power braking, and intelligent speed limit regulation.

Additionally, all Surfs come with lane departure assist, forward collision warning, and traction control, plus rear parking sensors.

The Active and Boost variants include a rear-view camera, while our top-spec Comfort model is fitted with a 360-degree surround view camera for enhanced visibility.