The quirkily named Dolphin G DM-i sees BYD jump ahead of the competition to launch the first plug-in hybrid supermini in Britain.

With plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sales in the UK soaring 35 per cent last year, the Chinese giant has capitalised on the nimble manufacturing process that enables it to develop new cars in as little as 18 months.

And with petrol prices at a high on the back of the Iran war, the Dolphin G DM-i arrives at an ideal time for buyers seeking cheap running costs.

Prices start at £23,990, which gets you 24.8 miles of electric-only range and a total range of 633 miles, which massively outstrips what you would find on a pure EV at this level.

Upgrade to Boost specification at £26,990 and you get 65 miles of electric-only range, plus other goodies. 

It lacks the retro appeal of a Renault 5 and is less premium than a VW Golf. But with styling that’s neat and approachable – and a relatively cheap price – is the Dolphin G DM-i actually a car you’d want to buy and live with? Freda Lewis-Stempel test drives it to find out.

The UK’s first plug-in hybrid supermini, the BYD Dolphin G DM-i offers car buyers an appetising proposition: a huge amount of range and great fuel efficiency – but is it any good?

Why the Dolphin G stands out

BYD launched its first plug-in hybrid car, the F3DM, in 2008. Today it has seven ‘super hybrid’ models on offer in Europe, including the new Dolphin G DM-i.

The Chinese carmaker is laser-focused on market domination and has recognised a gap for small cars – a PHEV-shaped gap.

The B-segment it fits into is the UK’s second-largest, with a 27.5 per cent market share in 2024 according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). But there hasn’t been a B-segment PHEV on sale, until now.

BYD is in a strong position. It’s the world’s leader in battery electric vehicle (BEV) and PHEV sales at over 17.8 million units, with celebrated ‘Blade Battery’ technology.

The Dolphin G has the small-car looks of a Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10 rather than a stylish, retro-inspired Renault 5 or a much more premium-looking VW Golf

The front uses BYD’s ocean-influenced design with soft curves while the back has a full-width light bar along with a small roof spoiler and sculpted lower bumper

Is the Dolphin G a smart supermini?

The G DM-i is certainly unthreatening. It has the small-car looks of a Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10 rather than more stylish rivals.

Unthreatening and functional, the Dolphin features a look that BYD claims to be ocean-inspired. There are clean curves up front, a rising shoulder line and a full-width rear light bar. 

Overall, it’s most similar to a Cupra Born, only dulled down. More like a Cupra Born that’s hit middle age. It definitely looks better in blue than orange: both colours lined up together look a bit like a box of Tic Tacs.

The interior – what do you get for £24k?

For its cheaper cars, BYD does a well-kitted-out interior that does a good job of masquerading as premium.

Even in the base G DM-i, you get a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with intelligent voice control, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, along with an 8.8-inch digital instrument panel.

The Boost trim upgrades the infotainment screen to 12.8in, bringing in heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, ambient lighting, wireless charging and a better eight-speaker sound system.

Comfort builds on this with a head-up display, a panoramic sunroof, vegan leather and fabric mix seats, an electronically adjustable driver’s seat and Google integration within the infotainment system.

I drove the Boost trim, and the interior was what you’d expect in a car of this price. It was comfortable, with the seat and steering wheel easy to adjust for drivers of all heights, and pretty much everything was soft to the touch.

The infotainment system worked well, and I was pleased that BYD has introduced a new shortcut system. This allows you to drop your shortcut ‘widgets’ and arrange them on the home screen so that each time you get into the car, it remembers your preferences – reducing irritation while driving.

Apple CarPlay wouldn’t allow me to connect my iPhone unless I agreed to share my contacts, which was annoying. It might have just been an issue with my specific test car, but it took me a while to figure out.

On three of the trims you get a 12.8-inch central screen and an 8.8 inch driver display, along with ambient lighting, heated seats and steering wheel

The Dolphin G offers 425 litres of boot space and there’s 45 litres under the floor

It handled bends well without much body lean. Together with the competent steering, the Dolphin G instilled confidence. And the braking was responsive without being sharp

Overall, the Dolphin G offers a lot of tech and plenty of soft-touch materials. This makes the interior comfortable and tech-focused, though it doesn’t entirely fool you into thinking you’re in a more expensive model.

It can fit five adults  – although I’m not sure you’d want to drive down to Cornwall with three in the back – and offers 425 litres of boot space, plus a helpful extra 45 litres under the floor.

Fold the rear seats down (40/60 split) and you get 1,225 litres.

By comparison, an MG 4 Urban gives you 479 litres above the floor and 98 litres below, or  1,364 litres with the seats folded.

How does the Dolphin G drive?

The last car I drove before this was the Leapmotor B03X, and the steering was bad to the point of concerning. As a result, my threshold was perhaps lower than normal when assessing the Dolphin G’s handling.

While the Leapmotor’s steering is so light it didn’t even feel connected to the wheels, the Dolphin’s is noticeably heavy. However, I’d take heavy over wishy-washy and feather-light steering any day. At least with the Dolphin, you know that where you place the car on the road  – especially around bends – is where you’ll end up.

There are four trims to choose from: Active, Boost, Comfort and Sport. I drove the Boost.

While the Active gives you 174bhp, 24 miles of EV range, and 633 miles of total range, the Boost, Comfort and Sport trims increase power to 209bhp, bump the EV range to 55 miles, and slightly top up the total range to 646 miles.

The only real niggles for drivers who aren’t expecting a thrilling driving experience from a small PHEV are the ride quality and noise insulation

I didn’t have much of an issue with advanced driver assistance system interruptions thanks to the custom shortcuts, but some people disliked the ‘jazzy’ indicator sounds

I found the Boost had enough power to do everything I required of it – including plenty of driving on country roads – though it didn’t feel particularly engaging or spritely. The stated 0-62mph takes 8.3 seconds, but it doesn’t feel swift.

It handled bends well without much body lean. Together with the competent steering, the Dolphin G instilled confidence. The braking was responsive without being sharp, again giving the driver confidence.

The only real niggles for drivers are the ride quality and noise insulation. You feel rough surfaces quite harshly, making it uncomfortable at times, and there is a fair amount of road noise being picked up.

I didn’t have much of an issue with advanced driver assistance system interruptions thanks to the custom shortcuts. Personally, I quite enjoyed the ‘jazzy’ indicator noises, but I could imagine them driving some people mad, so you might want to switch those off.

Boost, Comfort and Sport use a larger 18.3kWh Blade Battery to deliver 65 miles of EV range and a total range of 646 miles. Official fuel consumption is rated at 201.7mpg

Trims, range, charging, and pricing

There are four trims: Active, Boost, Comfort and Sport.

Active costs £23,990 and gives you 16-inch alloy wheels, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, automatic rain-sensing wipers, a rear-view camera, an 8.8-inch driver’s display, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and fabric seats.

Boost (the version I drove) adds £3,000 to the price tag at £26,990. For this, you get a vegan leather-trimmed steering wheel, heated front seats, a larger 12.8-inch touchscreen, ambient lighting, and 15W wireless phone charging. It also adds vehicle-to-load functionality so you can power external devices from the car.

Comfort adds another £1,500 (£28,490), bumping the alloys up to 18in and adding part-fabric, part-vegan-leather seats, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, 360-degree cameras, and built-in Google services.

Read More

Five plug-in hybrids with the longest ranges and why these drivers love their PHEVs

Sport tops the range with the same features as Comfort but replaces the vegan leather with artificial suede upholstery featuring orange or blue highlights depending on the exterior colour. For that change, you pay an extra £1,000, taking the top-level Dolphin G to £29,490.

Active uses a 7.42kWh battery to achieve 24.8 miles of EV-only range and a total range of 633 miles. It uses a 3.3kW on-board charger to replenish the battery from 15 per cent to 100 per cent in just under three hours.

Boost, Comfort and Sport all use a larger 18.3kWh Blade Battery – BYD’s famous space-efficient, advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) EV battery – to deliver 65 miles of EV range and a total range of 646 miles. Official fuel consumption is rated at 201.7mpg.

These versions can charge at 6.6kW to 100 per cent in 2.9 hours, and can also DC fast-charge at 39kW to top up the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 26 minutes.

We’d recommend the Boost trim as it balances excellent range and interior features without hiking up the price too much.

Take away the plug-in aspect, however, and it’s a fair amount more expensive than a £20,995 Renault Clio E-Tech.

It’s an impressively affordable small PHEV and practical but will you actually use the EV range?

Verdict: Is the Dolphin G DM-i really a bargain?

The common argument about PHEVs is that you can save a significant amount of money if you cover most of your weekly miles in EV-only mode. The reality, however, is that few people do this, either failing to charge the battery regularly or pushing through longer trips once the electric range is exhausted.

However, I could see people running the Dolphin G DM-i solely in EV mode for everyday trips, given its suited role as an urban runaround. The price and compact dimensions target cost-conscious buyers: likely younger drivers, or older drivers whose children have left home and no longer require extra cabin space.

For those buyers, it’s an impressively affordable small PHEV with great efficiency gains and good practicality. We think the £26,990 Boost trim represents the sweet spot for value and features, though standard non-plug-in rivals such as the £20,995 Renault Clio E-Tech cost less upfront.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether you will actually charge it to reap the financial rewards; otherwise, you’re paying a premium over standard fuel-efficient alternatives.