BYD Dolphin Surf vs Dongfeng BOX

The Dongfeng BOX costs £1,350 more than the BYD Dolphin Surf. For that premium it adds 55 miles more WLTP range and 1 more seat (5 versus 4). The BYD Dolphin Surf is not just cheaper - it also offers a 1.4s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Dongfeng BOX comes out ahead overall.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is £1,350 cheaper to buy. The Dongfeng BOX is cheaper to charge, roughly £152 a year versus £184 for the BYD Dolphin Surf, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BYD Dolphin Surf comes out roughly £1,190 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 87 miles for the BYD Dolphin Surf and 160 miles for the Dongfeng BOX - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Dongfeng BOX goes roughly 73 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-30 minutes.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 90 mm narrower than the Dongfeng BOX. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 680 mm of total clearance for the BYD Dolphin Surf and about 590 mm of total clearance for the Dongfeng BOX.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the BYD Dolphin Surf and 90% for the Dongfeng BOX. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use LFP-type cells, which are happy charged to 100% every day.