BYD Dolphin vs Zeekr X (awd)

What's the difference?

Chinese manufacturers have been impressing us lately with the strides they’ve been making, and BYD is no exception with its Dolphin.

Not only does this hatch help bring the price down for prospective EV buyers, but it leaves a solid impression of a cohesive, well-built car, which is also quite a bit of fun to drive.

It’s not the fastest, nor is it the most practical, and there are a handful of downsides to its design and software, but when it comes down to it, this is simply a great value entry-level electric car.

The Zeekr X all-wheel drive surprised me in a great way. Not only is this the first Zeekr I've driven, it's also one of the best small electric SUVs I've ever driven. There's so much to like - from the good price and quality design to the high level of safety and how easy it is to drive.

You wouldn’t know it in Australia, but BYD has a huge and diverse range of vehicles with lots of different styling approaches in its home market of China.

The cars we get here, though, consisting of this Dolphin hatch, the Atto 3 small SUV, and the upcoming Seal sedan all seem to share more or less the same curvy, futuristic theme.

Contemporary touches on the exterior of the Dolphin include the bar light and full ‘Build Your Dreams’ typeface embedded in the rear, the blocky gloss black alloy wheels (17-inch on the Premium we tested), the two-tone colour scheme, and of course, the grille-free face.

Short overhangs and a tall body seal the EV deal, with the Dolphin looking closest in its aesthetic to something like the Volkswagen ID.3 than anything else on the market. It perhaps won’t be for everyone - it’s a little more experimental than the more conventional look worn by the MG4 - but then, for others this distinctiveness may be a selling point.

The interior look and feel is the biggest surprise. Somehow, the Dolphin, despite being more affordable than its larger Atto 3 sibling, feels a cut above when it comes to its design theme and build quality.

The weirdly organic touches designed to mimic muscle fibres in the Atto 3 have been traded out in favour of something a bit slicker.

I really like the material choices here. The use of neoprene across the lower half of the dash, in the doors, and down the centre of the seats feels a lot less pretentious than the standard synthetic leathers you usually get at this price-point, and there’s an agreeable mix of plastics as well as gloss and matt finishes. 

The nods to this car’s name which are present are a bit more toned down and fit with the design in a more subtle way.

The floating door handles, designed to resemble a fin, are a much nicer piece than the weird rotary ones in the Atto 3, and the wavy touches across the top of the dash aren’t too in-your-face and add an element of intrigue. I like it much more than I expected to.

It’s clear this space is designed around the giant multimedia panel, for better or worse. It looks spectacular, it’s nice and sharp, and the software, which looks as though it’s trying to emulate Tesla, does a pretty good job.

It’s quick, sharp, colourful, and has nice large iconography to jab at while you’re on the move, although some of the driving settings are ambiguously labelled and require clicking through to a sub-menu to alter. You’d get used to it, but it isn’t as slick as a Tesla operating system.

It also rotates, because of course it does, although one quirk I found with this is the polarised coating on the screen made it impossible to see when in portrait mode if you were also wearing polarised sunglasses.

Also, Apple CarPlay doesn't work in portrait mode. A gimmick? You decide.

The floating physical rotary controls jutting out below are a also a brilliant little piece of design. On one side you have your gear shifter, and on the other you’ve got your volume control, between them there are core functions, an on/off switch and an auto button for the climate, as well as the hazard light and drive mode controls.

It would be nice to also have a fan speed and temperature toggle, as these functions can only be used through the touchscreen, but there are worse offenders for clumsy climate controls on the market.

More than interesting, the design of the Zeekr X is intriguing with styling that ranges from 'ooohhhh' when you see it from the front to 'huh?' when you catch it in side profile. 

The nose design, to me anyway, looks exquisite - Porsche-SUV-like in its sporty and luxurious shape and the way the LED running lights are embedded into the bonnet is different and so special it probably makes some prestige brands a bit envious.

That side profile also looks pretty pleasing to me, until I reach that rear quarter where suddenly I feel I’m looking at panel shapes so oddly combined it’s like a puzzle with just five pieces and all of them in the wrong place.

The rear of the X looks good, but more importantly unique compared to the same templated styling many SUVs tend to safely stick to.

Zeekr and Volvo are owned by the massive Chinese car manufacturer Geely and the X is closely related to Volvo’s EX30. Once you know this you’ll see the similarities in the looks, although the less conservatively styled X is more appealing to me.

The X is also 100mm longer and all of that extra length is in the wheelbase which is 2750mm. As for the rest of the key dimensions, the overall length is 4432mm, the height is 1572mm and the width is 1836mm. So, a fairly small car.

The X’s interior is as intriguing as its exterior with the AWD version on test fitted with the no-cost option 'Mulberry & Rose' two-tone upholstery - a colour combination of maroon and off-white which you don’t see often unless it's a bespoke choice in a high-end car.

No, it’s not leather, but I don’t think this upholstery doesn't feel cheap or ‘plasticky’ as some synthetic leather interiors do.   

There are high quality touches throughout, from the dotted city scape of Hangzhou where Zeekr is headquartered that glows through the door trim fabric at night to the embossed Zeekr pull tabs on the seats.

The X’s interior feels luxurious and the styling is outstanding.

The clever design bits don’t end with the controls and themed motifs, either. While the Dolphin’s cabin feels a bit smaller than many of its rivals (because, physically, it is), efforts have been made to make it a versatile space. 

There are plenty of little storage areas throughout. There’s the floating one below the touchscreen, which suits wallets and sunglasses. There’s one with a roll-out cover set low below the controls which is good for smaller objects you don’t want moving around the cabin.

A large cubby is located underneath the armrest between the two seats for bigger objects and a slick wireless phone charger cut out from the top.

The two centre bottle holders are a little small, as are the cut-outs in the doors, so if you’re negotiating with an XL takeaway soft drink you might run into trouble.

The dark theme for the interior in our car doesn’t help the more closed-in feel, but the standard panoramic fixed sunroof (mercifully with a rolling shade) helps to keep the space airy.

I found it easy to set up my driving position, another clever touch being the little digital instrument panel perched on the steering column, so no matter how you adjust it you can always see it.

I was a little concerned the rear seat would be tiny, because this car doesn’t look big from the outside, but I was most definitely wrong.

Behind my own seating position, at 182cm tall, I had leagues of knee room and plenty of space for my feet thanks to the flat floor. I also had sufficient but not stellar headroom, and the soft-touch materials continue into the doors and seat trim.

I will say, the abundance of synthetic leather is much more evident for rear passengers, but it feels like a minor complaint.

Again, the bottle holders in the doors are tiny, but at least the ones in the drop-down armrest are generous. The middle seat is very useful thanks to the flat floor, although there are no adjustable air vents for rear passengers.

The backs of the front seats have a variety of pockets in different shapes and sizes, and there are USB-C and USB-A ports on the back of the centre console, alongside a bizarre centre bottle holder which is on an angle.

Boot space is 345 litres if you move the false floor to its lowest position. I was just able to squeeze in the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with a bit of fiddling around.

With the second row down, room expands to 1310L, and you can bring the false floor up in the boot to make the load area flat.

The space underneath is quite good for storing charging cables and such, but keep in mind the Dolphin doesn’t offer additional frunk storage.

What it does offer is a vehicle-to-load adapter, which lets you power household appliances via its external charging port. Neat, and rare at this end of the EV market.

Small cars don’t generally have the practicality of larger ones because of the obvious space limitations but the Zeekr X has a long wheelbase for the class (longer than the Mitsubishi Outlander’s) making it roomy compared to rivals.

Second row head- and legroom is good and even at 189cm tall I can sit behind my driving position. Back there are two cupholders in the fold down centre armrest, directional air vents in the pillars and bottle holders in the doors. 

Back seat downsides? No USB ports and the way the rear door sill kicks up means my two children (both under 10 years old) can’t see out of their windows well.

Up front space is good with plenty of elbow and foot room. Storage is good, too, with big door pockets, a couple of cupholders, a deep centre console bin and even a hook for a handbag or to hang a takeaway bag. There are USB ports up front and a wireless phone charger, too.

Front seat downsides? No glove box, and while we're at it the panoramic glass roof doesn’t have a sun shade and even though it is tinted I found that over summer in Australia the car heated up quickly and I’ve even had to wear a hat while driving to keep the sun off my head and face. 

The Zeekr X has a decent-for-the-class 362L rear boot capacity and a tiny 21L front boot which is where the charging cable lives.

The Zeekr X tested is the top-of-the-range all-wheel drive which lists for $64,900. The only other variant in the X model line-up is the rear-wheel drive which lists for $56,900.

Sure, $65K might seem a lot for what is a small SUV, but the X AWD is reasonably priced compared to rivals like the tinier Smart #1 for $58,900, its Volvo EX30 Performance Ultra twin for $69,990 and the Xpeng Long Range for $59,800.

We’ll get to the technical specs soon, but the all-wheel drive variant offers more than just AWD, there’s also more standard features than the RWD.

The RWD X comes with two-tone body colour with a black roof, a panoramic glass roof, a six-way power driver’s seat, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.6-inch media screen.

There’s also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a seven-speaker audio system, dual-zone climate control and wireless phone charging.

The AWD has all of the RWD’s features and adds 20-inch alloy wheels, a 24.3-inch head-up display, an intelligent B-pillar which provides information on charging, a power adjustable front passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 13-speaker Yamaha stereo and LED ambient lighting.   

The RWD has just one motor while the AWD has two and more power, which we’ll cover soon.

There’s the choice of two powertrains for the Dolphin. Both are single-motor front-wheel drive set-ups.

The base Dynamic can make use of 70kW/180Nm which sounds underpowered to me, but the car we tested for this launch review was the Premium which offers a much healthier 150kW/310Nm.

As well as the increase to battery capacity the Premium upgrades the suspension to a rear multi-link set-up.

While the base car seems like such a value buy, the increase in power, ride quality, and range seems to justify stretching to the Premium if your budget allows.

On test is the all-wheel drive version of the Zeekr X which has two motors while the rear-wheel drive has just one.

Two motors brings the AWD variant more power and torque than the RWD. A lot more. Zeekr’s specs state the combined output for the AWD is 315kW and 543Nm, while the RWD has 200kW and 343Nm.

Good traction and plenty of grunt means the AWD can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds, while the RWD gets there in a respectable time of 5.6 seconds.

Electric cars are known for their rapid acceleration but just to put those numbers in context, a new base model Porsche 911 ($280K) has 290kW and 450Nm and does 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds.

As previously mentioned, each variant also gets its own battery capacity. The entry-level Dynamic offers a 44.9kWh battery and 340km of driving range, while the top-spec car offers a 60.5kWh unit with a driving range of 427km.

Charging on a fast DC unit maxes out on 60kW for the Dynamic or 80kW for the Premium.

This sounds slow, with many rivals offering in excess of 100kW charging at a minimum, but because the Dolphin’s battery sizes are so trim, it still means an 80 per cent charge will arrive in a little over half an hour.

On the slower AC charging standard, the max speed is a disappointing 7.0kW. For a fully electric car, we prefer to see at least 11kW as it makes it worthwhile to plug-in to an AC unit at a shopping centre to add roughly 70 - 100km of range an hour.

Because the Dophin is also quite efficient, though, you can still expect about 50km an hour to be added on this charging standard.

Official energy consumption for the Premium as-tested is 14.2kWh/100km, and we saw an impressive 14.1kWh/100km on our brief test program, making it one of the more efficient EVs I’ve ever driven.

The Zeekr X all-wheel drive has a range of up to 470km (WLTP), but if anything under 500km already has you twitching with anxiety, the rear-wheel drive's 540km range might alleviate some of that.

We found the range of the AWD to be fine for the city, but also learnt that we chewed through a lot of energy at an average of 18.4kWh/100km according to the trip computer.

Zeekr says after a combination of open and urban roads you’ll likely use 15.5kWh/100km, but you’d need to be a smooth driver that’s not tempted to test the acceleration at every traffic light and drain the battery.

Speaking of which, the Zeekr X has a 66kWh battery with a DC charging capacity of 150kW and at that rate can be charged from 10-80 percent in about 30 minutes. 

The Dolphin is immediately impressive. From the get-go I was greeted with a feeling of quality from the car in ways I didn’t expect. The steering feels nicely balanced and not too artificial like it can be on some EVs, while the interior is refreshingly ergonomic.

The ride might be the Dolphin’s most impressive trait, with a feeling of balance across both axles, and a spritely feel to the whole car.

It is trim for an EV, with a kerb weight of 1658kg, which no doubt helps the steering feel, and the efficiency.

As it is, I didn’t experience the kind of crashing and wallowing many EVs suffer from on larger bumps, and smaller bumps seemed to be filtered out with ease.

It even feels nicely balanced in the corners, pairing nicely with the great steering feel which is not something we’ve come to expect from Chinese cars.

The motor is also willing, with software tuning keeping power delivery on the right side of overwhelming, although the warm-hatch equivalent's seven second 0-100km/h sprint time is a hint at what it’s capable of.

Unfortunately, it is let down by a pretty sub-standard factory tyre package. The LingLong Comfort Masters are designed for the Dolphin, complete with little Dolphin markings on them, but are hardly inspiring for traction when you plant the accelerator or tip it into a corner with enthusiasm.

They are better than the pretty much no-name Atlas Batman A51 tyres which came on the Atto 3, but even MG has wised up to putting tyres from renowned manufacturers on its Australian-delivered cars.

The Dolphin is also easy to park, thanks to its excellent surround camera suite and tight footprint, but visibility out of the tiny rear window is limited and made worse by the huge headrests for the outboard back seats.

In terms of electric driving characteristics the Dolphin offers two levels of regen braking, one which is virtually non-existent, and another mild tune.

Surprisingly, there’s no single-pedal mode, and the Dolphin leans on blended braking more than some of its rivals. It feels a lot more traditional to drive in this sense, so may be well suited to someone hopping out of a combustion car.

The drive modes are quite dramatic, with 'Eco' mode limiting motor torque and even switching off the climate control, while 'Sport' will make bouts of wheelspin a bit too easy by upping the response time from the motor. I found it best to stick to the nicely-balanced 'Normal' setting.

Tl;dr? The Dolphin is impressive. It’s responsive, relatively light, and has a sense of quality to it through its great ride and decent handling. Not bad for the cheapest EV in Australia.

In short, the Zeekr X is outstanding to drive for the class - it’s composed, comfortable as well as easy and fun to pilot. 

Everything feels good - from the steering and the pedals to the seats and visibility.

The tech works well - the head-up display is large and shows directions and speed clearly, and the shifter being on the steering column makes three-point turns and just getting out of car parking spaces easy.

The acceleration is ridiculously good, but that novelty wears off after you’ve shown everybody in your family, which is why it’s lucky it's not the only thing this small SUV does really well.

While it’s not as spacious as the other large SUV I was testing at the time - the Zeekr X’s short length means it was the car I picked if I needed to go somewhere close where I knew parking spaces would be a bit squeezy.

The Zeekr X scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating under the stringent 2024 criteria with a high 91 per cent for adult occupant protection and an impressive 87 per cent for child occupant protection.

The advanced safety tech is also impressive with AEB that not only detect pedestrians, cyclists and other cars on a straight road but also while turning at junctions and T intersections.

There’s lane keeping assistance, blind-spot warning, front and rear cross-traffic alert and airbags covering the front and rear occupants including a front centre airbag.

I used the Zeekr X to drive my own kids around and for child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row. 

The Dolphin is covered by a six-year or 150,000km warranty, which beats a lot of mainstream rivals for its duration, but not its distance.

In the EV segment it plays in, though, things are a bit tougher, as its primary Chinese rivals, GWM and MG, are offering seven year and unlimited kilometre warranty promises.

Service pricing is available all the way out to 96 months or 160,000km, averaging $299 per year for the duration, which is pretty good.

Many rivals are offering free servicing for several years, and there are also many electric cars which only need to see a shop once every 24 months or 20,000km, compared to the Dolphin’s more traditional 12 month intervals.

The X is covered by Zeekr’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty while the drive battery has an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. Roadside assistance and connected services are also offered for five years.

Servicing is recommended every two years or 40,000km. 

Service pricing is $690 at two years/40,000km and $1420 at the four-year/80,000km mark, which covers the warranty period. For reference, the same $690/$1420 sequence is repeated at the six-year/120,000km and eight-year 160,000km intervals.