Review: BYD Dolphin.
Our full review · Specs & price Belgium 2026
Real-world range = WLTP × 0.78 (Belgian winter conditions, motorway 130 km/h). Official BE configurator price, .
Our review of the BYD Dolphin
The BYD Dolphin is the compact EV that most divides the people I talk to about it. A 60.4 kWh Blade LFP battery, 204 hp, and 356 km of mixed real-world range measured by Automobile Propre at 13 °C: for a Belgian list price starting at €29,000, the sums add up. Its rapid charging is the problem. 88 kW peak, 40 minutes from 10 to 80%, where a Citroën ë-C3 sold at €23,300 accepts 100 kW. As a company car, the ATN (benefit in kind, the Belgian tax on private use of a company car) falls to the legal floor.
Driving & comfort
This is no longer the same car it was at launch. The 2023 Dolphin ran on budget tyres that made its rear axle frankly unnerving above 70 km/h; BYD fitted Hankook Ventus Prime4 in 205/50 R17 and revised torque delivery, and the chassis settled down overnight. The rear stays soft, and you feel it over the concrete slab joints of the Antwerp ring, but it no longer catches you out. One handling flaw remains, just one, and it's worth knowing: accelerate with the wheels turned and the front axle locks up, sending clear torque steer back through the rim. On a wet roundabout exit, it reminds you it's there. The 204 hp dispatch 0 to 100 km/h in 7.32 s in Sport, 7.67 s in Normal. For 1,658 kg, that's plenty. Inside, perceived quality has improved, but the ergonomics stay exotic: the drive selector sits where nobody looks for it, the buttons on the central roller are hard to reach on the move, and the menus are split between the touchscreen and sub-menus that take weeks to learn. The hard plastics sound hollow, especially the bin under the centre console and the boot trim: they will not age well. The boot holds 345 L with a large underfloor compartment, and the e-Platform 3.0 frees up no front boot at all: the charging cable lives in the back. On Automobile Propre's sound meter, the Dolphin is 2 dB louder than an MG4 at 130 km/h.
Daily charging
The Blade battery is LFP and cell-to-pack: 126 rectangular cells wired in series as a single large module. The upside is packaging volume and cost. The downside was confirmed by the brand's own engineers: the cooling circuit does not run between the cells. That is precisely why the charging curve collapses — 88 kW peak only, and a quoted 40 minutes for 10 to 80%. On the motorway the Dolphin uses a measured 23.5 kWh/100 km, which leaves 180 usable km between 80 and 10%. A Brussels–Paris run is 315 km: one mandatory stop, and a long one. Brussels–Luxembourg fits in a single hop, but only just, and not in January. At home the picture flips. The Design trim measured by Automobile Propre carries an 11 kW three-phase onboard charger, good for 0 to 100% in 6 h 12; the entry trim is quoted at 7 kW, closer to nine hours. Check the spec of your exact version before ordering a wallbox, because on a 7 kW Dolphin an 11 kW unit will never earn its keep. LFP chemistry, for its part, allows charging to 100% every night without accelerated degradation, unlike an NMC pack you'd rather leave at 80%. For a car covering 40 km a day, that's the right trade. Add a 3.3 kW V2L socket, handy for a camping fridge or a hedge trimmer. One specifically Brussels caveat: part of the Region's grid is still wired as 3×230 V without neutral, and not every wallbox delivers full power there. Have your connection and consumer unit checked by a certified electrician before ordering the charger, and budget for inspection of the installation by an approved body.
Total cost of ownership
As a company car, the Dolphin benefits from a rule almost nobody explains properly. On €29,990 of list value, the 2026 ATN (benefit in kind) works out at €1,028 a year on the scale — except the legal floor sits at €1,690. So €1,690 applies, or €140.83 a month added to taxable income, roughly €76 net a month at a 50% marginal rate plus municipal surcharges. The consequence is counter-intuitive: the crossover above the floor lands at around €49,300 of list value. Between a Dolphin at €29,990 and a compact at €45,000, the ATN is exactly the same. Picking the cheaper one gains you nothing on the payslip. Deductibility stays at 100% for any order placed before 1 January 2027, and the employer's CO₂ solidarity contribution falls to the minimum, around €42 a month. On energy, I cross-referenced the measured 17.0 kWh/100 km in mixed use with the Q3 2026 CREG rates (CREG is the Belgian federal energy regulator), which cap what an employer may reimburse for home charging: 32.22 c€/kWh in Flanders, 37.19 c€ in Brussels, 37.83 c€ in Wallonia. The result: €5.48 of electricity per 100 km in Flanders, €6.32 in Brussels, €6.43 in Wallonia. Over 20,000 km a year, that's €1,095, €1,264 and €1,286, a €191 gap between a Fleming and a Walloon, driven identically. At registration, the Flemish TMC (one-off registration tax) is a flat €61.50 since 1 January 2026, the Walloon annual road tax sits around €107 since the 1 July 2025 reform, and Brussels applies the bottom of its scale. Finally, the 6-year or 150,000 km vehicle warranty, backed by 8 years or 200,000 km on the battery, goes well beyond the statutory two years: on a brand still young in Belgium, that is not a detail.
- 356 km of mixed real-world range measured at 13 °C for 17.0 kWh/100 km, and 409 km in strictly urban use: mid-pack among European compacts, ahead of an MG4 Luxury
- 60.4 kWh Blade LFP battery, chargeable to 100% every night without accelerated degradation, where an NMC pack is best kept at 80%
- 6-year or 150,000 km vehicle warranty and 8-year or 200,000 km battery warranty, against a statutory two years
- ATN pinned at the €1,690 annual legal floor, roughly €76 net a month for an employee at a 50% marginal rate
- Heat pump, 3.3 kW V2L and a 5-star Euro NCAP rating from 2023, on a compact under €30,000
- Rapid charging capped at 88 kW and 40 minutes for 10-80%: the cell-to-pack Blade has no cooling circuit between the cells, and you pay for it at every motorway stop
- 23.5 kWh/100 km measured on the motorway against 15.9 homologated: only 180 usable km between 80 and 10%, so a long stop on a Brussels–Paris run
- Disorienting ergonomics: badly placed drive selector, central roller buttons hard to reach on the move, menus scattered between the touchscreen and its sub-menus
- Hard plastics that sound hollow in the console and boot, and will not age well; no front boot at all, and just 345 L in the back
Our verdictThe Dolphin now does what it was always supposed to do, which was not the case at launch. 356 real-world km, an LFP pack you charge without thinking, six years of warranty and an ATN at the floor: for commuting with home charging, the equation holds. On the motorway it falls apart. If you make more than two long trips a month, buy something else.
A Belgian driver covering 40 to 80 km a day, with home charging, who wants a well-equipped 4.29 m compact under €30,000, privately owned or on a company scheme at the ATN floor.
High-mileage motorway drivers, anyone without home charging, or drivers sensitive to ergonomics: the Dolphin's charging curve and menus will wear out your patience before its battery.
Full specifications
BYD Dolphin in Belgium — what you need to know
Typical Belgian trips
With 328 real km, the Dolphin covers Brussels–Ardennes (≈ 260 km return) without charging, Brussels–Coast (≈ 220 km return) without charging.
Tax benefit
For self-employed and companies, this model is 100% tax-deductible in 2026 (last year at this rate). No direct purchase grant for individuals. Road tax is greatly reduced for this EV.
Home charging
With 7 kW AC, a full charge from 20% takes approximately 7 hours on an 11 kW wallbox. On a 230V plug (2.3 kW): about 21 hours. Overnight charging easily covers the average 50–80 km/day.
Frequently asked questions — BYD Dolphin
What is the real-world range of the BYD Dolphin in Belgium?
Reckon on 356 km in mixed use at 13 °C, based on the Automobile Propre Supertest published 06/10/2024 and consulted on 21/08/2026, for a consumption of 17.0 kWh/100 km. The breakdown says more than the average: 409 km in town, 352 km on secondary roads, 317 km on dual carriageways, and only 257 km on a genuine motorway run at 23.5 kWh/100 km. In a Belgian winter, take off another 15 to 20% despite the standard heat pump. The 427 km WLTP figure is only approachable with very gentle driving in mild weather.
Why does the BYD Dolphin charge so slowly on the motorway?
Because its Blade battery uses a cell-to-pack architecture: 126 cells wired in series in a single module, with no cooling circuit between them, as BYD's engineers confirmed to Automobile Propre. A pack you cannot cool precisely cannot sustain high power for long. The result: 88 kW peak and a quoted 40 minutes for 10 to 80%, against 100 kW on a Citroën ë-C3 costing €6,000 less and 135 kW on a CUPRA Born.
What is the ATN for a BYD Dolphin as a company car in 2026?
€1,690 a year, or €140.83 a month added to taxable income and roughly €76 net monthly at a 50% marginal rate plus municipal surcharges. The scale applied to €29,990 of list value would give €1,028, but the 2026 legal floor takes over. A useful corollary: the crossover above the floor sits at around €49,300 of list value, so a compact at €45,000 costs exactly the same ATN as a Dolphin.
How much does 100 km cost in a BYD Dolphin, by Belgian region?
Based on the measured 17.0 kWh/100 km and the Q3 2026 CREG rates, electricity costs €5.48 per 100 km in Flanders (32.22 c€/kWh), €6.32 in Brussels (37.19 c€) and €6.43 in Wallonia (37.83 c€). Over 20,000 km a year that comes to €1,095, €1,264 and €1,286, a €191 gap between the two extremes. These are also the ceilings an employer may reimburse free of tax and social contributions.
Can you charge the BYD Dolphin's battery to 100% every day?
Yes, and it's actually recommended so the battery management system stays calibrated. The Blade is a lithium iron phosphate pack, a chemistry that doesn't mind sitting at full charge, unlike NMC which is better kept at 80% day to day. It's the Dolphin's most concrete advantage over an equivalent European compact: every morning you get the full 60.4 kWh back, with no trade-off to make.
Which wallbox should you choose for a BYD Dolphin?
It depends on the trim, and it's a common buying mistake. The Design measured by Automobile Propre carries an 11 kW three-phase charger and fills from 0 to 100% in 6 h 12; the entry trim is quoted at 7 kW, closer to nine hours, and an 11 kW unit will add nothing. Check the exact version's spec sheet before ordering. In Brussels, part of the grid is still wired as 3×230 V without neutral: have the connection and consumer unit checked by a certified electrician, and budget for inspection by an approved body.