BYD Dolphin Surf vs VW e-Golf

The VW e-Golf costs £12,195 more than the BYD Dolphin Surf. For that premium it adds 1 more seat (5 versus 4) and lower energy use, 150 versus 170 Wh/km. The BYD Dolphin Surf is not just cheaper - it also offers 25 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BYD Dolphin Surf comes out ahead overall.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is £12,195 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £168 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BYD Dolphin Surf comes out roughly £12,115 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 71 miles for the VW e-Golf - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BYD Dolphin Surf goes roughly 16 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 30 minutes in the BYD Dolphin Surf and 22 in the VW e-Golf, so the VW e-Golf loses less time at each stop. So the BYD Dolphin Surf stops less often while the VW e-Golf stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 79 mm narrower than the VW e-Golf. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 680 mm of total clearance for the BYD Dolphin Surf and about 601 mm of total clearance for the VW e-Golf. The BYD Dolphin Surf also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the BYD Dolphin Surf and 84% for the VW e-Golf. That gives the BYD Dolphin Surf a modest edge in retained real-world range. The BYD Dolphin Surf's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the VW e-Golf's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.