Auto tested more than 90 cars in 2025. As is tradition, having just re-published our favourite tests of the year as our six Best Tests through the first weeks of December, we now present three Auto Special Awards in this Best EV, followed soon by Best Bakkie and Performance car of the year 2025. We announce the overall Best Test 2025 on 19 December. So come back for your daily Auto entertainment!
AUTO BEST ELECTRIC CAR 2025: BYD DOLPHIN SURF DYNAMIC
BEST EV: How cheap could they make the Dolphin Surf?
Right now, nothing in the world challenges my moral compass as hard as an EV. Even worse, a Chinese EV. It’s becoming utterly impossible to keep up with the onslaught right now. Us muttering rotters’ inboxes are jammed full of new Chinese car, brand and EV emails. Every hour. Every day. Every week. So please excuse us, if we occasionally forget what the next one is…
It may as well have been called the Good Hair Day Seaweed, but for once, I recalled that this one’s the Build Your Dreams Dolphin Surf. Because it’s among the most memorable, and discussion worthy cars we’ve had in a while. South Africa’s most affordable EV, it’s said to be a milestone in accessible electric mobility. A car that’s ready to transform the mass-market South African automotive landscape. Or is it?
Sold in two Dynamic and Comfort models, the BYD Dolphin Surf is designed to be a fun, safe and practical car that takes zero (end user) emissions driving to a wider market. Surprisingly sleek, playful and sporty, Dolphin Surf’s purpose-built BYD e-Platform 3.0 is also said to deliver unmatched safety, efficiency, and performance. Its body structure uses high-strength steel for maximum protection without bothering comfort.
Even has the Kitchen sink. And Karaoke!
This Dynamic model has a 38.8 kWh blade battery to deliver 55 kW to the front wheels and should reach 300 kilometres on a full charge. It supports DC charging up to 40 kW, allowing for a 30 to 80 percent charge in half an hour. Fifty-five grand cheaper still, the Comfort model features a 30 kWh blade battery with a 30 kW maximum DC charging rate also powering a 55 kW motor for 232 kilometres range.
A mobile energy source, this little BYD has so-called vehicle-to-load to power external devices. It comes with a 7 kW Home Charger Wall Box, a 3-7 kW Charger and a vehicle-to-load socket for seamless charging and operation. Significantly, not having a huge battery makes it relatively easy to charge the car overnight on your regular 240V Eskom garage socket. Real world charging is plausible when you’re out, or stop for a coffee. Remembering South Africa’s dire EV charging infrastructure, of course.
It may be cheap in an EV sense, but Dolphin Surf certainly isn’t nasty. In fact it’s so far from that, it’s actually alarming. And therein lies the rub. Featuring a smart, connected cabin with keyless access by either its NFC key or the BYD App, it quite literally packs everything into the surprisingly roomy space. Build quality is exceptional. Featuring 7-inch digital instrumentation, the ‘vibrant’ 10.1-inch central, touchscreen is pleasingly not too dominant.
Dolphin Surf has a smart, connected cabin
It packs CarPlay and Auto, tech and ‘Hi BYD’ voice control, a chunky 15W wireless charging pad and even a karaoke function! There’s something new. Sing and drive! There are even a few buttons and rotors on the dash, but you must still go into the depths of the screen to find most menial buttons. Nothing new there, the Chinese have an aversion to proper buttons.
And then it’s almost impossible to both see what’s on the screen. Unless you have twenty-twenty vision and a magnifying glass. Way off the mark of leading systems. But quite a bit better than most of the Chinese. Also, you must really apply your mind to operate it, although like any car, you will soon be au fait with it all. It’s practical too. With twenty smart storage solutions across the cabin. And handy 230 litre capacity boot that expands to 930 litres.
On the road, we were gobsmacked by this little car’s ride. Like build quality, its exceptional. Another area Dolphin Surf excels is that it actually delivers the kind of range it promises. Most, if not all other EVs lie through their teeth about how far they will take you on the charge remaining. Not this car. It actually manages its claimed 290 kilometres with ease. Regen is good, but like any EV, it does not enjoy the freeway. Then the range does slip.
The slowest car tested this year
Interestingly while EVs in general are fast, El Cheapo over here is not just the least expensive EV, but it is also the slowest vehicle we’ve tested this year. And by quite some margin too. Even if we were still a second and a half quicker than claimed! But that’s not a bad thing. Because this is not really a car you expect to rush around breaking speed records in. In fact, it doesn’t even feel that slow. If anything, it’s a pretty pleasing driving companion.
The BYD Dolphin Surf certainly does bring a truly affordable and supremely equipped little urban electric vehicle to market. But there’s still an elephant in the room. Allow me to elaborate: If this truly top spec little car can be the cheapest EV, then what would a stripped down truly cheap little EV cost? Take out the trinkets, slash the unnecessary luxury and give us a rental spec version of this car’s Comfort model. And then let’s see how cheap an EV can really be.
Right now, a Toyota Vitz is the cheapest car in South Africa at just under a hundred and eighty grand. It has plenty competition too. Like the Suzuki S-Presso, Tata Tiago, Renault Kwid and others. All well under R200K. And over a hundred and fifty grand shy of an average BYD Dolphin Surf Comfort.
But is Dolphin Seal really mass market cheap?
So, in its own right, the BYD Dolphin Surf is a brilliant little EV that will surely satisfy a nice little niche with an exciting ‘green’ prospect. But the real mass market wants an EV that chases the R200K mark, not R385K. Give us a truly ‘cheap’ EV, BYD, and then Msanzi will really have reason to be truly impressed. For now, however, let me tell you this: South Africa’s cheapest EV is actually a little gem. – Michele Lupini
Images & testing: Giordano Lupini
AUTO BEST EV 2025
ROAD TESTED: BYD Dolphin Surf Dynamic
Motor: 55 kW 135 Nm permanent magnet synchronous
Drive: Direct FWD
Battery: 301V 38.8 kWh blade li.iron phosphate
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 5.30 sec
0-100 km/h: 14.01 sec
0-120 km/h: 22.44 sec
400m: 19.1 sec @ 113 km/h
80-120 km/h: 13.13 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 130 km/h
Fuel: 12.5 kWh/100 km
CO2: 0 g/km tailpipe
Range: 290 km
Warranty/Service: 100K car / 3 year 60K km
Battery Warranty: 8y 200K battery
LIST PRICE: R389K
How does it compare?
Check with Auto's Test Data right here