BYD Dolphin Surf vs Citroën ë-C3 Aircross

The Citroën ë-C3 Aircross costs £6,465 more than the BYD Dolphin Surf. For that premium it adds 53 miles more WLTP range, 35 kW faster peak rapid charging and 152 litres more boot space. The BYD Dolphin Surf is not just cheaper - it also offers a 1.8s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BYD Dolphin Surf comes out ahead overall.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is £6,465 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BYD Dolphin Surf comes out roughly £6,345 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 87 miles for the BYD Dolphin Surf and 158 miles for the Citroën ë-C3 Aircross - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Citroën ë-C3 Aircross goes roughly 71 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 26-30 minutes.

The BYD Dolphin Surf is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 130 mm narrower than the Citroën ë-C3 Aircross. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 680 mm of total clearance for the BYD Dolphin Surf and about 550 mm of total clearance for the Citroën ë-C3 Aircross. The BYD Dolphin Surf also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the BYD Dolphin Surf and 90% for the Citroën ë-C3 Aircross. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use LFP-type cells, which are happy charged to 100% every day.