How do they sell this so CHEAP? BYD Dolphin (2024) Review

[@Lolo-uk4rb]

According to what the dealer said, all BYD cars don't have high DC-peakcharging because of a flat charging curve and mostly to ensure that the battery doesn't degradate. Thus the reason why they have a 8 year battery warranty. Although it's 8 years or 200.000 km. But either way it's more then other manufacturers at this moment.

[@autoraiinternational]

Hmm... LFP battery should be able to take a beating. Thanks for the info!

[@robertmuster1350]

Why would any owner. Want to give the battery a beating? Honestly, it more about the charge over time that is important (a flat curve) rather than high peak at lower capacity driving the charge rate lower later in the charge cycle because the battery was flogged in the earlier charging. Keeping the charge rate even over time will benefit the battery charge time and result in less degradation in the long run.

[@kevindgillam]

Good, sensible review highlighting the pluses and some minuses of this remarkably accomplished little car

[@Joram0611]

LFP batteries (which are in all BYD cars) have the downside of not being able to charge as fast as their NCM-alternatives. They also don't have the energy density like NCM-batteries. On the upside, LFP batteries are cheaper, safer, are less sensitive to charging and discharging from 0-100%m and last a heck of a lot longer (up to about 5x I believe)… for me personally, I prefer the LFP batteries because of these reasons and would never consider NCM batteries. And that's aside the fact that LFP batteries don't use Cobalt anymore. The reason BYD cars charge slower compared to Tesla 3/y with the same LFP-type battery in them, is because Tesla is using smaller packs and have them charge separately (for example, 4x 30kW instead of 1x 88kW). It's a more expensive setup, which is why BYD didn't include it in their Dolphin. They did include it in their Seal though, which is why it charges around the same speed as a Tesla 3/Y. On a sidenote regarding the price of the entrylevel Dolphin compared to an ID2 and Renault 5: the starting price of these two will be a little lower, but that will most likely also mean a relatively barebone car… a similar range to the base Dolphin, but less gimmicks and gadgets, and of course a smaller car altogether compared to the Dolphin. If you add the accessories like cameras and an upgraded infotainment system in the ID2 and R5, they'll probably end up costing around €30k as well. I think for what it offers, even the base model Dolphin will do quite well against the smaller and competitors.

[@autoraiinternational]

Thanks, this is very helpful. How do you know they use smaller modules? Very interesting.

[@discoverkenya]

Great review buddy. Sound and footage is very impressive.

[@peterarmstrong3853]

If it has ling longs tyres then thats the issue! When i time mine to 60 in cold uk road's I achieved 6.3 seconds with hankook tyres.

[@autoraiinternational]

It had Hankook tyres :)

[@robertmuster1350]

The reason the car had wheel spin from a standing start is three fold: 1. The car is an EV with instant torque. 2. The road surface was very slippery. 3. The driver hasn’t learnt how to use the accelerator progressively to maintain traction. Wanting the manufacturer to limit torque through a software modification would have other reviewers and possibly this one critiquing the car for having a lack of instant torque delivery. I have come across this criticism with reviewers of Dolphin already talking about the slow response from the car when the accelerator is pushed. Go figure.

[@peterarmstrong3853]

@@robertmuster1350 the 4th reason is tyres. This needs to be factored in regardless of the power ... It's like buying cheap tyres and flooring a rwd M series 😂

[@robertmuster1350]

@@peterarmstrong3853 The tyres fitted to the vehicle being tested were the Hankooks tyres, not the Ling Long tyres, so they were an upgrade to the original tyres. Again, your 4th reason is closely related to my 3rd, namely, have a sense of how the vehicle is behaving and use the accelerator appropriately.

[@honestjohn6222]

$46000 aus dollars isn’t Cheap

[@AlexTrevelyan]

This car sells for approximately $13-14K in China, but you're looking at a price estimated to be in the $30K range if sold in the US. Not affordable, certainly not cheap and from the reviews I've read, not worth anywhere close to that price point. Back to the drawing board. Note to car manufacturers: $20-25K in America is considered "affordable".

[@badboy250984]

The BYD Dolphin export to Europe has a different spec compare to the one that sells in China because they need to meet requirements set by the EU. Not to mention EU probably prevent them from selling the car too cheap to kill the Europe brands. As for the US, you have no chance of getting BYD in the US for political reasons.

[@christophe9602]

Low labor costs and no self-imposed taxes and credits that are supposedly going to stop the weather from changing, that's how

[@discoverkenya]

So woke.

[@christophe9602]

@@discoverkenya Not sure what "woke" has to do with any of this but ok.

[@robertmuster1350]

The term woke has no real meaning. It is thrown out there when people want to degrade what people are saying and cannot think of what to say. It’s the most annoying and meaningless put down.

[@MB-wl2bm]

This car is worth MAX 20,000€. €30,000 is madness.

[@autoraiinternational]

In a perfect world: yes. But for now, it's not a bad deal.