If my first long term report on the BYD Dolphin sang the praises of over-the-air updates, this one is going to be all about the potential downsides of the very same thing.
While the initial OTA update our Dolphin vastly improved the irritating fake engine noises and gave you an option to turn them off, making it a far better car than when we first got it, the latest one has basically done the opposite of that.
One of the changes BYD made with the latest update was to inexplicably make the Dolphin WAY more irritating by making the speed limit alert much louder and way more insistent, while failing to improve the already inconsistent road sign recognition system.
While the shouty intrusion when you fractionally go over the signposted limit is irritating, the biggest problem is that there is a very good chance that the Dolphin has a wildly different interpretation of what the speed limit is than you do thanks to the flaky sign recognition.
For example, our office car park has a 10km/h speed limit sign, which the Dolphin recognises, but will then insist that the speed limit through the city and all the way over the harbour bridge and to the North Shore where I live is also 10km/h, so will shout loudly at me the whole time because it simply hasn't seen the other speed limit signs after leaving the car park.
It will also randomly decide that the speed limit is, say, 30km/h when you are on the motorway and start shouting at you again. But on the other hand, it also often decides that the speed limit on an urban street is 100, so will mercifully shut the hell up for a bit.
I am sure you are wondering if this hellish annoyance can be turned off, and the good news is; it can, but you do need to set it up properly.
Like most cars with assists like this, the Dolphin defaults to having them turned on every time you start it. Unfortunately, the option to turn off traffic sign recognition is hidden deep within several layers of menus, making it quite the slog to get to every time you start it.
The biggest problem is that there is a very good chance that the Dolphin has a wildly different interpretation of what the speed limit is than you do.
However, there is a sneaky little customisable menu that appears when you swipe down from the top of the homescreen where you can set a shortcut to turn it off, making it a simple two step operation instead of the multiple swipes and prods it normally takes.
While there is a thankfully simple fix for this new irritation, it highlights the perils of the whole OTA thing and how one seemingly innocuous update (which I am sure BYD considered it - the previous alert was painfully brief and almost inaudible) can tarnish what is an otherwise excellent car - the Dolphin was a top three finalist in our AA DRIVEN NZ Car of the Year and it also scored the best EV category win.
But this isn't an issue solely with BYD, as I personally know of at least two former Tesla owners who ditched Model 3s because they simply got sick of their car changing on them after an update.
On the upside, BYD does seem to be very responsive to this and open to making improvements based on customer feedback - the engine noise issue was resolved very quickly after the local launch - but it does highlight the potential for your car to suddenly start doing something new that you really don't like. Your phone doing something new after an update is one thing; your car doing it is quite another...
Still, potential issues aside, the Dolphin remains a fantastic little runabout that is superbly comfortable, delightfully responsive and impressively practical (even if the boot is quite tiny).
The removal of the CCD has seen the Dolphin lose its status as a sub-$50k car, but it still represents good value for money and is a thoroughly satisfying package to live with on a daily basis.
Spending a more time in the more dynamically engaging MG4 (our COTY winner) has made me appreciate the Dolphin's interior even more, with its far more sensible storage options, a wireless charge pad that actually holds your phone in place (rather than sending it flying across the car every the first time you take a corner, like the MG does) and noticeably higher quality materials throughout the cabin.
It is also superbly comfortable, while the fact that it is unashamedly a small hatch (and not a small hatch pretending to be an SUV) means you get a nice traditional driving position, sitting down in the car, rather than higher up. Which is a refreshing throwback...
Wet conditions do show up a weak point, albeit an easily corrected one: the tyres the Dolphin comes on struggle to deal with the instant torque if things start getting a bit wet, even with a gentle right foot, leading to much scrabbling for traction. Putting the Dolphin into its 'snow' drive mode helps immensely with this, while sorting it entirely with a decent set of rubber when it comes time to replace the originals will banish it entirely.
The Dolphin has proven itself to be faultless and utterly effortless when it comes to charging, as well as being impressively consistent with its range estimations on the go - it will easily do more than 400km on a full charge, largely regardless of how or where you drive it and while 80kW isn't exactly shatteringly fast in terms of charging speed, the Dolphin is like most other BYDs we have driven and will actually charge slightly faster than that most of the time anyway.
The removal of the Clean Car Discount has seen the Dolphin Extended lose its status as a sub-$50k car, making it a slightly less appealing package overall, but it still represents good value for money and is a thoroughly satisfying package to live with on a daily basis.
BATTERY: 60kWh battery with single electric motor POWER: 150kW/310Nm GEARBOX: Single-speed automatic, FWD 0-100KM/H: 7.0sec RANGE: 427km (WLTP), maximum charge rate 80kW PRICE: $55,990
