When the government recently announced a massive hike in fuel prices, drivers of electric vehicles were unaffected. In South Africa, though, opinions are strongly against electric vehicles simply because we do not have a stable power grid, and the places we visit are far apart. I get it, and I understand. But what if there was an option to buy an affordable electric vehicle just for your daily school run and shopping duties? BYD seems to think that they have exactly that: the BYD Dolphin Surf.
We have reviewed electric cars and even a few electric motorcycles, and they are definitely becoming more popular—no doubt about it. I got to spend some time with the little Dolphin Surf, and I came away suitably impressed.
In South Africa, electric vehicles are usually found in the higher price brackets. In chasing longer range, EVs were getting bigger and bigger to accommodate the larger batteries. With that came the cost. But imagine you are a student or a pensioner who hardly travels more than 300 km per week. You don’t need that ridiculous range. You need something small and compact with an adequately sized interior that will do that sort of range, but at a reasonable price.
The BYD Dolphin Surf comes in under the R400,000 mark, and that is indeed good news for our cash-strapped consumers. There are two variants available in South Africa: the Comfort and the Dynamic. Both models share the same 55 kW electric motor with 135 Nm of torque, driving the front wheels. What differentiates the models is the size of the battery. The Comfort has a 30 kWh battery, and the Dynamic has a 38.8 kWh battery. This gives a claimed range of 232 km and 295 km, respectively. To make this figure realistically attainable, the BYD is limited to a top speed of 130 km/h. This might be a deal-breaker for some, but you need to understand the intended purpose of the Surf. It serves as a little run-around vehicle and is definitely not designed with racetracks in mind; however, this is not some cheaply made EV. BYD’s Blade Battery ensures a rigid body, and the car even scored five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test.
I love the funky design of the car, and it is quite tall. This translates to a cabin that feels roomy thanks to the high roof. Inside is not a bad place to be, either. The seats are extremely comfortable and look rather sporty. The centre console is split into two levels. The top part has a padded armrest, two cup holders, and a wireless charging pad for your phone. On the bottom part, there is another storage area with USB sockets. There is no storage under the armrest because the armrest is hollowed out at the back to give the rear passengers some storage space. Even the boot is quite roomy, but there is no spare wheel.
The BYD has a small instrument cluster in front of the driver, and a larger infotainment screen in the middle. The latter can handle both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Apple users can even lock and unlock the BYD via the NFC reader on the driver’s side mirror! Tap your Apple watch, and off you go—they are definitely targeting the younger crowd. There is even a karaoke function, in line with the youthful vibe of the Surf.
Once I made myself comfortable on the electrically adjustable front seat, it was time to set off. Drive, Neutral, and Reverse are selected from a simple rocker switch under the centre screen. I am happy to report that most of the major functions of the car, like the air conditioner and fan speed, have dedicated switches, rather than forcing you to refer to the touchscreen. There is also a dedicated volume wheel for the audio.
Driving the Surf is a much more sedate affair than other electric cars I have driven. That instant kick you usually get from an electric car isn’t as pronounced in the Surf. With the smaller battery, the priority was obviously to be economical. It does pull smoothly, however, and once you are on the road, it feels no different than a normal car. I did the airport run to pick up family, and on the highway with the cruise control set at the speed limit, there is no difference between this and a conventional car.
The Surf has three driving modes available: Eco, Normal and Sport. For driving around town, I found Eco to be more than enough, but once you hit the highway, you are limited to around 100 km/h in this mode. I tried to drive as economically as I could, only switching to Sport mode when I was free of the city congestion.
This particular Surf had been in the press fleet for some time now and had close to 10,000 kilometres on the clock. What was noticeable was the total lack of rattles and squeaks. All the panels were holding up nicely, apart from the wireless charging pad, which had a few scratches on it from months of use.
The BYD Dolphin Surf is a delightful little car for the purpose it was intended for. This is not a car to go on extended road trips with, but rather, the perfect little run-around for pensioners and young couples alike. If you have a solar installation at home, charging the car is simple. It comes with a normal AC plug charger, and although that is painfully slow, if you plan well, you will always have some charge in the battery to do your rounds. Even if you don’t have solar, you can still top up the BYD for far less than that of a petrol-driven car. Interestingly, the Surf has another cable with a household plug point attached. This means that you can use the Surf as a power source to power household appliances, should you experience a power cut.
This car was, until recently, the most affordable all-electric car in South Africa. It has subsequently been undercut by the Geely E2, but only by a few hundred Rand. As the competition is driving the prices down, there can only be one winner – the consumer! Maybe now, people will start changing their opinion of EVs!
The Dolphin Surf is backed by a 3-year / 100 000 km warranty and a 3-year / 60 000 km service plan, and the battery has an 8-year / 200 000 km warranty. At the time of writing this, BYD were offering a free wall charger with your purchase. This will drastically reduce recharging times. So head over to your nearest BYD Branch and take the little Dolphin Surf for a spin, you might be pleasantly surprised.
