Better than a Toyota Yaris? I drove the new BYD Dolphin G, and I’m impressed

BYD sells more cars in the UK than any other Chinese brand. It’s shifted over 48,000 units in 2026 so far, and it’s easy to see why. It currently offers 12 different models, and the Dolphin G is the latest addition to the lineup.

It’s an alternative to cars like the Toyota Yaris and Renault Clio, but it’s available exclusively with a plug-in hybrid engine – something those two cars don’t have. That’s not the bit which I found interesting though.

After a day with the BYD Dolphin G, I found myself feeling something I’ve never felt about a Chinese car before – I found it to be likeable.

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That sounds like damning with faint praise, but hear me out. I’ve driven a lot of Chinese cars, and most of them are fine. As a journalist reviewing cars, there’s a lot to commend them for. They’re well-equipped, cheap to buy and have posh interiors, but as a car enthusiast there’s usually something to put me off.

The Jaecoo 7 is too uncomfortable over bumps, the MG S6 EV beeped incessantly and the Leapmotor C10 has one of the worst lane-keeping assist systems I’ve ever encountered, but in the Dolphin G, there were no stand-out dealbreakers.

It’s a tad firm over potholes, but it’s nowhere near as fidgety as a Jaecoo 7 or BYD’s own Seal U SUV. The trade-off is also that this is the first Chinese car I’ve driven which seems to go around corners properly. It’s no hot hatch, but the steering has a nice weight to it and there’s very little body roll in the corners.

The tech all works well, too. Turning off the lane-keeping assist and speed limit warning is a two-tap process on the screen, but even when leaving them turned on, they’re not that intrusive. The 12.7-inch infotainment system is also easy to use, and it’s got Google services built-in.

Compared to the Toyota Yaris, the Dolphin G is pretty appealing. A mid-spec Comfort model costs £28,500, which is about the same as the equivalent Yaris, but you get way more standard equipment.

The Dolphin G Comfort gets heated seats and steering wheel, a panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera, a head-up display and wireless phone charging.

It’s also larger than a Yaris, and therefore more spacious inside. The 425-litre boot is 139 litres bigger than the Toyota’s, although there is a really high lip to lift stuff over. Space in the back is impressive as well. I’m over six feet tall, and I can sit behind my driving position. That’s not something I can say for any other small hatchback.

Not everything is perfect though. Despite a peppy initial pickup, it feels quite sluggish when you try to overtake anything. You also get a fair amount of wind and engine noise at speed, and some of the interior materials aren’t great. My test car already had a large scratch on the dashboard, and I’m not sure all that silver trim will age particularly well.

On the plus side though, the Dolphin G should be really cheap to run. You can get up to 55 miles on electric power alone, and after an 80-mile drive across motorways, country roads and city centres I managed to average 69mpg with a flat hybrid battery.

There’s nothing about the BYD Dolphin G which will excite you, but if you want a spacious, well-equipped small car which is decent to drive, I see no reason not to buy one.

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