Saturday Review: Budget or range – which compact EV will you Build Your Dreams on?

Most people, I feel, are always thinking about buying. It is probably more accurate to say they are interested without commitment.

I just hope the following exercise may be of assistance if you are thinking about buying a compact electric vehicle.

Simply put, the question is: should you go ahead and buy a well-equipped compact Chinese hatchback costing around €30,000 now or wait until June for a cheaper, entry-level model costing €5,000/€6,000 less.

The car in question is the BYD (Build Your Dreams) Dolphin, a smartly designed auto that leaves no doubt that its maker wants to take potential buyers away from Volkswagen’s ID.3 and the likes of the Chinese popular MG model.

Essentially the Dolphin has four trim levels: Active, Boost, Comfort and Design. Comfort and Design are already here (I have driven the latter extensively), while the entry-level Active doesn’t get here until June. It has an official price of €25,570.

Meanwhile, the Design model I had on test costs €31,192. So I hope you see where I am coming from. For your information the Comfort model costs €29,318.

There are a couple of deal makers, or breakers, depending how you look at it.

The first, and for me the most important, is the fact that the June arrival will have a smaller battery bank of 44.9 kWh. That means you won’t be able to travel as far between stops to replenish. Its range is a claimed 340km. The Design and Comfort versions have a range of 427km with the larger 60.4 kWh battery.

I’m always careful with my imaginary money and €5,000 has to be put in the context that most PAYE workers would have to earn €10,000 to have that much disposable income.

It is profitable too, I think, to look at the level of standard spec that underpins all models. As we’ve come to expect from every new car now, there is an abundance of safety and driver assistance systems, adaptive cruise control and intelligent cruise control. There is 360-degree panoramic visibility, blind-spot detection system and so on.

On the face of it, the Active would not be a bad choice if you feel you don’t need longer range. But I think it enhances the top two trim models – not to mention the bits and pieces of extra equipment they carry with them.

The Comfort trim looks good and only trails the range-topper Design by virtue of the latter having a panoramic roof, smart-phone wireless charger, and tri-colour alloys to name the main ones.

That might shift the focus a bit more on to the upper echelons where there is a matter of around €1,800 between the top two. I wouldn’t give you tuppence for the sunroof, though I know people who must have them. Yes, tri-colour alloys look well and a smart-phone wireless charger is always welcome. Not sure how much having privacy glass at the back adds to the overall package either.

Driving the Design version, on 17ins alloys (as opposed to 16ins on the Active and Boost models), conveyed a sense of lightness in that it was easy to drive and did everything you’d expect but I thought it jarred a little with poorer road surfaces.

The central infotainment display can be rotated to provide upright or landscape viewing and in the main it worked well.

The cabin favours the front two occupants with plenty of room for them; rear-seat passengers fared all right but, being tall, I would probably have liked a bit more. Wouldn’t we all? The front seats have six-way electric adjustment for the driver and 4-way for the front passenger.

In contrast to the ‘sport seats’ and head rests that are made from vegan ‘leather’, some of the lower-down plastics were a bit hard and bland. I was still unused to the little gear knob’s location even after a week – it’s down to the driver’s left in a row with other dash buttons.

The 345-litre boot stretches to 1,310 litres when both the rear seats are folded flat. BYD reckons that’s enough room to carry four standard 20ins suitcases. There are several stowage spaces too.

Not bad at all in a car measuring 4,290mm long, 1,570mm tall and 1,770 mm wide on a long 2,700mm wheelbase. The presence of a heat pump is important as it takes some of the load off the battery.

So where does that leave us? If you want a €25,000 EV then the June arrival may be for you.

I suspect, however, that the allure of the 427km range (it was reasonably accurate over my test) will win out for most buyers.

For me, it comes down to the €1,800 difference between Comfort and Design and I’d plump for the Comfort.

I’m sticking with that.​

Factfile

​BYD Dolphin EV Design trim: 60.4kWh battery, 427kms claimed range. Charging times vary from 6hrs 12mins to 30pc-80pc in 29mins depending on charger and model.

Standard spec across the range includes: rear collision warning, rear cross traffic alert and rear cross traffic brake, adaptive/intelligent cruise control; panoramic camera with 360-degree visibility, special night-time lights.

Price of range starts with Active at €25,570.

Car tested, Design, €31,192