BYD Dolphin vs MINI Aceman

The BYD Dolphin costs £1,885 more than the MINI Aceman. For that premium it adds 74 miles more WLTP range, 35 kW faster peak rapid charging and 64 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BYD Dolphin comes out ahead overall.

The MINI Aceman is £1,885 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £136 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the MINI Aceman comes out roughly £1,965 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 221 miles for the BYD Dolphin and 159 miles for the MINI Aceman - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BYD Dolphin goes roughly 62 miles further between charging stops.

The two are within 16 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 646 mm of total clearance for the MINI Aceman and about 630 mm of total clearance for the BYD Dolphin. The BYD Dolphin also turns in a 1.4 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 and 84% for the MINI Aceman. That gives the BYD Dolphin a modest edge in retained real-world range. The BYD Dolphin's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the MINI Aceman's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.