BYD Dolphin 2026: B-sized electric hatchback with 50.25 kWh Blade Battery and 435 km range

The B-size hatchback has a colorless design, with an operating style that follows the trend of a gasoline car, instead of prioritizing immediate power.

As one of BYD's first car models entering the Vietnamese market, Dolphin is not a name covered in a lot of electrification technology or heavily equipped for marketing, but the B-sized hatchback is a product that shows just the right combination of use value and selling price. The 2026 mid-life upgrade brings a number of plus points to customers compared to before with slight changes to the exterior, increased size, and the addition of some comfort and safety equipment, while the powertrain remains almost the same.

On the exterior, the BYD Dolphin 2026 has some tweaks to the front bumper, rear bumper, headlight cluster and additional rear wiper. Length increases by 165 mm to 4,290 mm, while width, height and wheelbase remain unchanged. In reality, these adjustments help the car look more balanced and modern, but do not make a big difference compared to the previous model.

In the cabin, the more notable change lies in the user experience, with a 6-way power-adjustable driver's seat, 4-way power-adjustable passenger seat, multiple storage locations and a 345-liter luggage compartment. The rear seats have a flat floor and quite comfortable legroom, even though there are no air conditioning vents. These are equipment that do not make the cabin newer, but more practical in daily use.

Operation: Smooth, easy to drive and enough to use in the city

Similar to the previous generation, the car uses a motor located on the front axle, with a capacity of 70 kW, equivalent to 94 horsepower, and a torque of 180 Nm. The Blade Battery has been upgraded to a capacity of 50.25 kWh, allowing the car to travel 435 km according to NEDC standards and accelerate 0-100 km/h in 12 seconds. If we take the relative figure of about 400 km per full charge, a car owner can charge it every 10 days, if only using the car in the city about 40 km per day. Of course, if there are charging conditions at home or in an apartment basement, the driver almost doesn't have to think about running out of capacity if he plugs in the charger overnight every day, like a phone.

Dolphin's 94 horsepower capacity is not as impressive as electric car companies from China are doing today. However, BYD is right to set this power level. In actual operation, Dolphin is powerful enough in urban environments. In Eco mode, the car accelerates slowly and is easy to control when moving in crowded traffic, like the experience of a small gasoline car in this segment. Switching to Sport, the response is noticeably faster, enough for the car to jump when needing to merge into a lane or overtake a slow-moving vehicle. Of course, that power does not create the same overwhelm as the high segments.

The difference in power of the Dolphin compared to more powerful models is not too noticeable in normal use situations. Only when regularly using the car on the highway, the driver may need more torque in the hatchback to overtake vehicles or carry heavy loads. But if a female driver has a slow driving style and chooses the right lane to drive at a speed of about 80 km/h, this is not a big problem.

Dolphin's advantage lies in the city. With a light steering wheel and a turning radius of 5.25 m, the Chinese car is quite easy to turn and park. The suspension system is soft, handling speed bumps and bad road surfaces relatively smoothly at moderate speeds. In return, the car's body tilts when cornering quickly and the steering wheel has little feedback, so the driving feel is not a strong point when placed next to performance-oriented cars. With the Dolphin, comfort and ease of handling take precedence over sporty cornering or acceleration.

Soundproofing is also at a level suitable for an urban car model. When driving slowly, the cabin is quite quiet thanks to the lack of engine sound, while at high speeds the sound of tires and wind begins to become clearer. This is not a car with a particularly quiet cabin, but the noise level is generally not annoying under normal usage conditions.

Dolphin supports 7 kW AC and up to 60 kW DC charging. This DC capacity is not in the fast group, but is enough to meet the needs of a mainly street car. If using the car for long journeys, the car owner will need to calculate a more reasonable charging stop time compared to car models that support high-capacity fast charging. In addition, the network of third-party charging stations for electric vehicles in Vietnam is not really thick, although it is gradually expanding with the participation of many units. However, according to BYD's calculations, about 90% of the company's customers charge at home, with residential electricity costs of more than 40,000 VND/100 km. This number is significantly lower than gasoline models in the same segment.

The price of Dolphin 2026 is 569 million VND, (the program of 499 million VND for the first 1,000 cars has stopped because the company has received over 1,000 applications), putting the car in the middle of the small electric hatchback group in Vietnam. Cars with the same size and hatchback design as the Geely EX2 cost 459-499 million VND, have a 39.4 kWh battery and a range of 395 km NEDC. Wuling Bingo costs 399-499 million VND, range is 333-410 km.

Dolphin 2026 costs more than Geely EX2 and Wuling Bingo but in return has a larger battery and longer range. In the near future, BYD will stimulate demand with a promotion of 125 million VND in September, which means the price will reach the threshold of 444 million in the BYD Fest 102 program in Hanoi. Dolphin's warranty policy of 6 years or 150,000 km for the vehicle as well as 8 years or 160,000 km for the battery and motor is among the best on the market.

Dolphin 2026 is suitable for people who mainly travel in urban areas and need an electric vehicle that is compact, easy to drive and has a relatively long operating distance. This model is also suitable for people switching from gasoline cars to electric cars but does not place much emphasis on acceleration or sporty driving feel.