Leaked sometime in December, the facelifted BYD Dolphin has been launched in China, bringing with it new looks and some upgraded features. A key new feature is the company’s latest God’s Eye automated driving system, which comes as standard.
As the Dolphin is on the lower end of the price spectrum, it gets the base God’s Eye C (DiPilot 100) system, bringing with it highway autonomous driving, automated lane changes, obstacle avoidance and a route memory function that enables the system to learn frequently-used routes. Automated valet parking is also fitted, along with the usual features like autonomous emergency braking and blind spot monitoring.
The revised styling is as was seen in the leaks, with a sleeker front end featuring swept-back triangular headlights and a cleaner air intake and air curtain design. At the rear, you’ll find new wave-like taillights first seen on the Seal 06 GT (now with the illuminated BYD badge instead of the “Build Your Dreams” script) and a sportier rear bumper design with fake air vents. There’s also a new design for the 17-inch wheel option.
Of more significance are the interior changes, which includes a display upgrade. The 12.8-inch touchscreen (now fixed in landscape orientation, no longer rotating) remains, but the current car’s minuscule five-inch digital instrument display has given way to a much larger 8.8-inch unit.
The centre console has also been redesigned – the gear selector dial has been ditched in favour of a column-mounted stalk, freeing up space for larger cupholders and a Qi wireless charger that’s been moved further forwards. The open storage tray under the touchscreen has also been removed, and the top-spec Knight Edition variant gains a fridge under the centre armrest. A new steering wheel from the Seal has been added as well.
Powertrain options in China remain the same as before, all front-wheel drive. The 99,800 yuan (RM59,900) base model produces 95 PS (70 kW) and 180 Nm of torque and has a 45.12 kWh (international markets like Malaysia get a slightly smaller 44.92 kWh unit) Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a claimed range of 420 km on China’s incredibly lenient CLTC cycle.
The mid-spec 109,800 yuan (RM66,000) Fashion Edition boosts outputs to 177 PS (130 kW) and 290 Nm and drops the range slightly to 410 km. The 125,800 yuan (RM75,600) Knight Edition receives the bigger battery that was introduced in China last year, already offered in Malaysia as the Premium Extended Range. This one makes 204 PS (150 kW) and 310 Nm of torque, while its 60.48 kWh battery delivers a CLTC range of 520 km (427 km WLTP).
Given that the original domestic-market Dolphin was different from export models in terms of design and powertrain, it’s unclear if this facelift will make it to our side of the world. Even if it does, don’t expect the car to arrive here until next year at the earliest.
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