BYD Dolphin Premium Variant Australia Walkthrough and Test Drive

[@LudicrousFeed]

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[@kosmokramer9502]

Nothing for those of us who do high mileage😢😢

[@GaryHowlett-c4w]

Hello Tom Thanks for the info on the Dolphin. We have had the same car as you reviewed for 3 months. We also drove the MG4 but only the 51 model as it is the only one with the LFP battery. The Dolphin with more safety features, the glass roof, lights and arm rest in the back, better range and the 360 camera made the choice easy. This is our city car and it drives just great for us and slow rapid charging is not a problem as we have so far always charged at home. So far we have traveled only 4000kms of freeway and city driving around Perth and we are getting 14kwh to 100Kms. In WA we have a time of use power rate for EV owners during the day of 8c per kWh so $1.12 per 100kms. On the beeps and bongs I prefer to have the navigation voice turned right down. When I have done this I find it also reduces the beeps and bongs. Not sure if it will work on the Seal but in the dolphin this setting is remembered between startups. Would love to be able to set the max charge to 80% on the car. We have been charging the car to 100% once a month and find that this works for making sure the range estimate stays ok. We also had someone back into the car while it was parked. This required a bumper replacement and a blind spot sensor to be replace. It took BYD 4 weeks to send the part from Brisbane to Perth. Was told by the panel shop they have an atto 3 waiting on parts from China ETA 12 to 15 weeks. We are very happy with the car as a city runabout but will be looking at including a hire replacement car in our insurance. Regards Gary

[@LudicrousFeed]

Sorry to hear about your prang and it’s concerning that parts are taking so long to arrive for repairs 🤔 Imo when comparing the entry level variants ie. Dynamic vs Excite 51, the MG4 wins but the specs and features are more comparable when comparing the respective mid range variants ie Premium vs Essence 64

[@GaryHowlett-c4w]

Thanks Tom. Yes I agree with the price and spec comparison but we were only willing to compare cars with an LFP battery and MG4 51 was the only one with this. Cheers Gary

[@jackiedines5229]

Would be so good to have some technical info in these sort of reviews. Things like what is involved with servicing, why is servicing even an issue? how is the battery cooled, is it cooled? Is there any engine cooling?

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@jackiedines5229 Thanks for the suggestions. It is almost industry standard that all new EVs have liquid cooled HV batteries nowadays. You can generally look up the servicing schedules online if required. Here’s an example of what happens at a BYD service: First BYD Seal Service at 3 months in Sydney Australia Premium Variant kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJbVaZmuiq5kfaM There’s no engine in an EV Hope these points help

I own exactly this version since 6 months and after 15,000 km I am really happy with the car. It rides very well and the quality is good. I looked first at the Atto 3 which has the perfect size for replacing our Mazda CX-5, but I really don't like that interior, especially the white surfaces which are not very practical.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Great to hear you're enjoying it!

[@ZurOhki1]

My Atto 3 will fully open or close the sunroof with one press. It looked like you're holding the sunroof buttons for too long, you want to just tap them.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Ok my bad then 😬

[@budawang77]

Nice video as usual. Small clarification: the reason EVs are not as efficient on the highway is not because regen braking isn't being used. The reason is that, because they are so much more efficient than ICE, the relative impact of friction at higher speeds is much greater.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Cheers and also because of other factors affecting aerodynamics eg wind resistance and elevation on the highways

[@raypalmer7733]

Anyone who says 'Full Self-Drive' exists should really be calling it 'Driver Assist Only' as the software is never faultless.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes they’re really only “Driver Aids” at Level 2 Autonomy

[@vasil7410]

To be fair to Tesla, FSD in the US is in a completely different league to lesser "driver aids" in other cars or even Telsa's own autopilot system.

[@gregb1599]

The voice control is so fun to use, can half open windows full open, same with the sunroof shade as well as setting AC it all just works well. We have a ridiculously expensive Kia EV6 and that even does not have a voice control system for the car functions!

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes I should do a voice control vid with my Seal to test its limits

[@MarksElectricLife]

Hey Tom, great review, covering all the important details. I was at a 250kW Tesla station the other day and a guy was charging his Dolphin. All good. But then another guy turned up in his Atto 3 and it wouldn’t charge. Then a third guy turned up in his Tesla. He said that his company fleet has both Teslas and Atto 3s and that the Atto won’t work with 250kW Level 3 Superchargers. Is that correct?

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes there's an issue with [Atto 3 + V3] & [Seal + V2/V3]. Dolphin seems to be compatible with all for now

[@kosmokramer9502]

@@LudicrousFeed No issues charging my Dolphin at Blaxland, Bathurst & Dubbo NSW superchargers.

[@sydjaguar]

As always, Tom at his best. Really detailed. BYD's after sales service via Eagers is a concern. BYD should directly sell cars in Australia.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Stay tuned for my first servicing video coming up later this month (Mar 2024) via MyCar

[@noodlefoo]

@@LudicrousFeed Won't MyCar know you well with your EV KZbin channel and give you special attention for your service? Will have to get your car serviced anonymously, but I don't know how you are able to do that? 😁

[@LudicrousFeed]

You will eventually be able to use that video as a reference / baseline for MyCar servicing

[@noodlefoo]

@@LudicrousFeed Great. The reason I asked is one owner of Dolphin had his car serviced at the Sutherland dealership, his dash cam captured the video and they only spent less than 7 minutes doing the service. He complained to the BYD management and they arranged his car to be serviced again at Mascot. I won't be buying and servicing a BYD EV from Sutherland dealership from now on.

[@therealjeffg]

Another fantastic detailed review…thanks Tom

[@LudicrousFeed]

Pleasure 👍

[@kosmokramer9502]

Have had my Dolphin Premium for 2 1/2 months & 10,000kms. Car has been absolutely flawless. It even managed a return trip to Sydney from Broken Hill in a single day. The LingLong tyres are surprisingly good and with some really spirited driving. My only gripe with the car is a few small software quirks. DC charging is actually closer to 90kW. I do not have the BYD Store on my infotainment screen. @Tom, I ran into the new owner of your old Red Model 3 the other day.

[@gregb1599]

Yeah, so many are happy to buy a Chinese EV but then rubbish the Chinese tyres. Ling Long brand are sold in Australia and are as good as any so called premium. Just look at owner reviews of Ling Long tyres they are up there with other similar brands. I see the main problem of being 150kw and thin tyres 205 is just too thin when the less powerful MG4 64kwh have 235 tyres.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Sydney to Broken Hill return in one day?! That’s over 1100km 😱

[@noodlefoo]

Damn how many hours did it take you to drive this return trip?

[@kosmokramer9502]

⁠@@LudicrousFeed 1,186km to be exact. Have done the trip a few times before in my previous ICE cars.

[@kosmokramer9502]

@@noodlefoo Approx 15.5-16 hours. Mostly using the NRMA charging network, but the Tesla SC in Dubbo & Evie in Bathurst.

[@ADudesRotary]

It's interesting how the ADR for speedometers allow for plus/minus 10% variation to actual speed on display, yet somehow in Victoria they can fine you for being 3% above the speed limit. I think with centre screen I would run it in portrait on a hot day to reduce interference from the screen. Big advantage here in Australia if cars came with rear aircon vents.😊

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thankfully my Seal has rear vents 😅

[@TB-up4xi]

That's not correct ADR requires that a speedometer does not register a speed slower than the actual speed, it can register a speed up to 10% faster than the actual speed but almost all manufacturers are beetween 0 and 4% (speedo registers faster than actual).

[@ADudesRotary]

@@TB-up4xi Yes you are correct

[@GeorgeW-g5j]

I had a good look at all cars in this price range - went for the premium Dolphin. Key reasons were the battery LFP battery range (at 100% vs 80% for the MG4), rear space (amazing considering the exterior dimensions), additional features/technology vs the competition, Apply Carplay availability and of course pricing. The negatives have been the ADAC system, especially TSR traffic sign recognition (as noted in the review). Just upgraded to version 1.3 via OTA, and all this is much better, with TSR etc able to be permanently turned off. Also other enhancements such as wireless Carplay (which I use for navigation etc). Also I am sure rear wheel drives such as a Tesla or MG4 handle a bit better when pushed - but I really don't care, my days of hooning around are long since gone. I found it handles perfectly well around town and has plenty of power.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Good summary 🙏 Lots of inclusions for the price and as you said the ADAS has been improved with subsequent OTAs 👍

[@vhol93]

Does your Seal have Matrix headlights? Can't seem to find the answer anywhere :( Thank you, and great video as always!

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thanks! From my reading I don’t think the headlights are matrix

[@vhol93]

@@LudicrousFeed thank you ! :)

[@joelkeane8740]

Great review. It will be interesting to see BYD try and enforce some of those warranty limitations. The ACCC say in their warranty legislation that goods must be of merchantable quality. I think a brand new vehicle would be expected to have components last longer than some of the restrictions they have.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Indeed. Only time will tell I guess

[@adamdukat3693]

Hi Tommy! I did drive Atto 3 for one year (and 41 K km.) and am now in the Seal for 11 K. My opinions? Love them both! But - as there are always some "buts" - Seal beats them both ( Dofphin and ATTO 3) by head and shoulders! Under any consideration. When the price paid for Seal was almost the same as for ATTO. Much more bang for your buck in the Seal. My opinion. What remains is your personal tastes of course. Yes, a Dolphin might be the smaller cousin of an Atto, but The Seal? Has very few similarities. To me, it is the splendid price of the Seal. And not for long (I think?) And that makes us both "the lucky ones". Greetings.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thanks for sharing! I agree that the Seal is in a class of its own 🥂

[@TassieEV]

Your Seal should have the BYD Store as well probably in a upcoming software update as that is the feature all BYD's will get. The Renault Megane e-Tech and new Renault 5 and Volvo cars also have the Android Automotive system the same as Polestar. I'll be driving a Polestar 2 AWD up to Launceston this coming weekend with Tazzy Thyalcine to an AEVA event which includes ability to drive various EV's.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Can’t wait for the update! Good to see more cars getting the built in Android Automotive with the semi-decent EV trip planning

[@azzanz]

​@LudicrousFeed The replacement Seal I got has this, and they have also toned down the lane assist from trying to kill you. It's much better now, and has a moderate setting that is enabled by default.

[@psychohugtime4150]

A detailed review and quite informative. I've ordered one myself via novated lease. Because they're in stock I think I'll get it before I can even test drive it! {end of April and I'm writing this on ANZAC Day} It's this reason why this video is a pretty good substitute.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Congrats! You’ll enjoy it for sure 🤩 I’m glad you found this video useful 🙏

[@Damadchef]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the dolphin Vs the Atto 3.... Is it a close call between the 2 or is one a definite winner

[@LudicrousFeed]

If you need more space go the Atto 3

[@noodlefoo]

If you want smaller hatchback choose Dolphin. If you want bigger SUV choose Atto 3. If you want luxurious sedan choose Seal. However things will get more complicated if and when BYD brings in more models to Australia in the future.

[@davidpearn5925]

I don’t want OTA updates in quantity but I DO want them in quality.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes me too

[@rosswalters3788]

Hi Tom. I found that my Atto 3 was doing 3-4km/h slower than what Google Maps said as well. Then I changed my tyres and the speeds almost matched exactly.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Huh?! I’m trying to work out if that can make logical sense …

[@rosswalters3788]

Yeah. I didn't realise it until several weeks later. Don't really know why.

[@noodlefoo]

The only way I can see your new tyres increasing your actual speed to match the speedometer reading is if your new tyres have bigger diameter.

[@davidpearn5925]

Our late Feb Seal has the BYD Store icon, Tom.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Awesome, I'll hopefully get the update at my upcoming service

[@dingbatt]

Bit of a head-scratcher that the Atto and Dolphin have an automated sunroof shade but the higher quality Seal doesn’t. I guess it may be to do with the Seal’s roofline and a lack of space to stow the blind. BYD could fix the annoyance of the AVAS (speed sign) by giving the option of a visual warning permanently selectable rather than the audio one. My Tesla does this by the Speed Sign symbol pulsing rather than BYD’s “donk, donk, donk….” audio warning. Still provides a warning to satisfy NCAP but not an annoying one. The Dolphin is definitely a city commuter. Built to be an appliance, not a Grand Tourer. Fits the bill pretty well for that.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Agreed, an option for a visual alert witch stays on would’ve been better

[@psykar8842]

Enjoying my Dolphin Premium - had it for around a month, although got rear ended 2 days ago, so that's not fun. Quite a wait for parts it seems, but at least it's still driveable for now. I love it! Although I'd love it even more if it had a speed limiter (which the MG4 does have, but it's hidden away in menus and you have to enable it each time). Our choice came down to the buggy entertainment system in the MG4 - and the android auto didn't work for my wife in the MG4, whereas the dolphin infotainment has been working perfectly for us (and is wireless for android auto! wired for apple car play still)

[@LudicrousFeed]

Sorry to hear you were involved in an accident but glad you’re ok 🙏

[@psykar8842]

@@LudicrousFeed thanks. It was pretty low speed luckily, but rear bumpers are fragile nowdays (for good reason!)

[@catherinegrimes2308]

I thought that it was amusing when the man with his dog suddenly disappeared when you got out of the car.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Tada!

[@vasil7410]

Tom, the Atto 3 is also based on the e-Platform 3. Not sure if of you realise this, after your comparison to the Seal and Atto 3.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Then I learned something new today 🙏 I still stand by the fact that it feels more like the Atto 3 than the Seal

[@vasil7410]

@@LudicrousFeed Absolutely, the Seal is in a class of its own.

[@davea691]

Hope this car gets to Canada eventually.

[@LudicrousFeed]

I think the North American market will eventually see these as good value

[@mrg4847]

Perfect size for parking in urban areas.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Absolutely

[@qilu2004]

At 45k why not add 5k to get seal？

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yup it’s an option for some

[@gigga8948]

Hi Tom I remember you looked at this type of setup a while ago have you checked these out? INCHARGEx daisy chain cable. Cheers Russell

[@LudicrousFeed]

I haven’t but there is a similar range at EVSE Australia | code TESLATOM will get you 5% off site wide

[@gigga8948]

@@LudicrousFeed this one is for extended type 2 lead. Evse doesn't do an extension lead that I could find .

[@gigga8948]

@@LudicrousFeed it adds 5m to your charger easily.

[@gigga8948]

@@LudicrousFeed it turned my mg4 charger from a 5m lead to 10m lead simply just plug together and use

[@LudicrousFeed]

I’m slightly concerned about using an extension with so much current running through the cabling

[@lowguidoschopshop]

don't believe the spec sheet. its got 165kW and 0-100 in 6.5sec on cheap economy tyres.

[@honestjohn6222]

I agree with you , I also have driven both, the finishing on the BYD eg. Speedo on steering wheel you can see seems which looks cheap , but the nmc battery life long term isn’t as good or safe as the Blade battery , but looks and driving definitely Mg 64kw , , ps how is the seal going , I drove the basic seal after the dolphin premium, its fantastic to drive

[@LudicrousFeed]

The Seal is in a class of its own for sure 🥂 Stay tuned I'll have some more Seal content in the coming weeks

[@fatdoi003]

add $5k for Seal Dynamic instead?

[@LudicrousFeed]

Certainly an option

[@kasmstamps1897]

Yup. Seal Dynamic on order although the Premium for 59k the sweet spot. But I need to put solar on first.

[@fatdoi003]

@@kasmstamps1897 of course premium is the best option but just want to keep the comparison more relevant without too big of price difference

[@vasil7410]

No brainer.

[@fatdoi003]

@@vasil7410 yeah imo any EV around $45k just get the Seal Dynamic... So much car for such a price...

[@TB-up4xi]

15:00 BYD seriously understates the actual kwh per 100km - WhatCar did a full range test and the BYD Dolphin said on the screen it was getting 3.9miles per kwh and the actual was 3.1miles per kwh - that's an overstatement of efficiency of 26%.

[@kosmokramer9502]

Around town, I get on average 11-12.5kWh/100km. Constant freeway drives at 100-110kmh will consume as average 16.5-18kWh per 100. So the claimed BYD WLTP range is pretty accurate. I sometimes even beat the quoted WLTP range.

[@gregb1599]

EV sales in NZ have been hit hard! The used Dolphin market has seen massive loss. We just got a sell price for our Kia EV6 GT Line with premium Moonscape colour and factory towbar. If we had brought this car new it would have been $118k! In just 18 months we just got offered $60k from a Kia dealership! We brought it just a few months ago so we thought we got the depreciation already removed but in just 3 months we have lost $28k lol. They said they did not see EV prices falling off the cliff! Its funny I did! As soon as the rebate was axed and RUC announced EV sales nosedived! Its just lucky we owe nothing on our EV6, but most will have finance on their EV and to lose that much in such a short time is scary!!

[@LudicrousFeed]

Wow that is quite a big drop! I guess that’s the problem with generous incentives in that it can artificially inflate prices

[@gregb1599]

@@LudicrousFeed Well the $76 per 1000km RUC will not help either starting on April fools day, without the funny part!

[@noodlefoo]

Wow, I wonder if we will see similar big drop in EV after sale value in Australia? NSW government ended their $3000 EV rebate end of last December, I think EV sale will have dropped this year in NSW.

[@Stan-at-KangarooIslandTV]

Good review! I don’t share your strict views on LFP and therefore I’d go the MG4 for its better driving, range and charging. Happy charging!

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thanks! I'd be tempted to break my own rule and possibly make an exception for the MG4 Essence 64 or X-Power ... 😬

[@gs-xmastree7013]

Did that Dolphin eat a Leaf for breakfast? 🤪

[@69memnon69]

This may be cheap by ev standards but it would be hard for me to spend Mazda 3 money on a car that looks like a Mazda 2 inside.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Fair call

[@rodrigobatistaguerra7991]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@LudicrousFeed]

👍

[@forgetfulduck]

Ahhh LingLong tyres. They were always the joke tyre in the local wrx community back in the day.

[@kosmokramer9502]

I’ve had no issues with spirited driving on twisty country roads. The only issue is quick takeoffs in sport mode.

[@johnbgood3488]

If the Dolphin has a price of A$30k driveaway..no more to pay....then it will be the end of Toyota Corolla...

[@LudicrousFeed]

👍

[@robertcudlipp485]

Please note that not everyone owns an iPhone.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Very true

[@katelights]

its nice but i think it looks a bit meh. much prefer the seagull

[@LudicrousFeed]

We'll see if the Dolphin Mini / Seagull makes it to Aus

[@sun-man]

The 2 tone is hideous. I would not buy a vehicle with a black or dark bonnet. It looks like the BMW fugly offering, yuck. Overall it's a bland, uninspired little front wheel drive car.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yeah I’m personally not a fan of two toned either

[@kosmokramer9502]

It looks much better in the Surf Blue & Urban Grey combo.

[@carlishiggins]

boring design

[@LudicrousFeed]

Not everyone’s cup of tea ☕️