Byton’s First Rear-Wheel Drive Car!

Yesterday afternoon, the much-anticipated Byton Dolphin was officially launched with a starting price of 209,800 to 286,800 RMB.

Two months ago, the Dolphin began pre-sales, with a total of 60,000 orders accumulated so far. The new car is produced at Byton’s Changzhou factory and will begin mass delivery in August.

For Byton, the Dolphin is a product of epoch-making significance. It has the four “firsts” of Byton:

• First to integrate CTB battery body technology

• First to use iTAC intelligent torque control technology

• First rear-wheel or four-wheel drive architecture

• First front double wishbone + rear five-link suspension

Unlike previous Byton models, the Dolphin not only embodies Byton’s latest technology achievements on the E-platform 3.0, but also brings together almost all of Byton’s most advanced mass-produced black technologies. Additionally, it is more youthful and seeks more driving pleasure.

The First Electric Car for Young People, The Dolphin is Full of Appeal

According to data provided by Byton at the press conference, young people aged 25-35 make up the majority of Dolphin’s pre-order customers.

As Byton hopes, the Dolphin is a product that can move young consumers.

The new car is positioned as a pure electric midsize coupe, and can be understood as a “replacement” for the Tesla Model 3, only with some upgrade in every aspect.

The body size is larger, reaching 4,800×1,875×1,460 (mm), with a wheelbase of 2920mm. Naturally, the interior space is also larger, with better ride comfort.

The configuration is higher, and the price of the entry-level Model 3 can buy its 700km version or 3.8s 0-100km/h version. Also, the Dolphin series comes with external discharge function, which is not available in Tesla.

The interior is more textured, better made, with richer details and more vibrant color schemes.

However, what really moves people about the Dolphin is the driving part.Besides the objective performance data and double wishbone suspension, the newly-equipped iTAC intelligent torque control technology on the Sea Lion will make it easier for ordinary users to feel the vehicle’s handling performance. iTAC can quickly distribute and adjust power output, reduce triggering of ESP, reduce slip or suppress slippage, thus improving the vehicle’s handling limit. For the four-wheel-drive model equipped with the sport package, BYD will also upgrade its “Super iTAC,” adding race and drift modes, and enjoy exclusive chassis tuning for better chassis support.

At the same time, CTB technology brings higher body torsional stiffness. The sea lion’s body torsional stiffness reaches 40,500Nm/°, an absolute outstanding level among peers, which is also beneficial for improving handling performance. According to official data, the Sea Lion’s moose test score reached 83.5km/h. All of these have created high expectations for the driving experience of the Sea Lion.

To be honest, BYD has never had a car that can be called a “driver’s car” before. They have more or less been lacking in terms of communication between the driver and the car or extreme performance. Can the Sea Lion, which has the four “firsts,” overturn our understanding? We will have to test drive it to know.

How to Choose among the Four Configurations？

This time, the Sea Lion launched a total of four configurations. Although there are not many configurations, there are three types of power and three types of endurance. Which one is worth buying? Let’s analyze it briefly.

First of all, the lowest configuration of the entire series is the 550km standard endurance rear-wheel-drive elite version with a price of 209,800 yuan, which can be said to be high-end from the beginning.

The power provides 150 kW rear-wheel drive, with an official accelerating speed of 7.5 seconds and a working endurance of 550km, which is completely sufficient for daily use.

In terms of configuration, 11 safety airbags, active safety system, full-speed range ACC adaptive cruise, ICC intelligent cruise control system, 10.25-inch full LCD instrument, 15.6-inch central control screen, DiLink intelligent network connection system, main and auxiliary electric seats, dual-zone constant temperature heat pump air conditioning, and other practical configurations are all standard, and the configuration can be said to be very cost-effective.

However, it is worth mentioning that the 22.28 million yuan priced 550km standard range rear-wheel drive luxury version with an additional 130,000 yuan is even more worth buying.

For another 130,000 yuan, you can get ventilated and heated front and rear seats, a Dan-Audio sound system, a karaoke microphone, multicolor interior ambient lighting, and rear seat belt reminders. Comfort and luxury are both upgraded.

Overall, the standard-range rear-wheel drive luxury version is the most worthwhile configuration of the Sea Lion. You’ve already spent 200,000 yuan, why hesitate to spend an additional 130,000 yuan?

If you find the range of the above two configurations to still be too short, the price you pay for improvement will be higher. You need to spend an additional 370,000 yuan to buy the 700km long-range rear-wheel drive version priced at 25.98 million yuan.

This version not only enhances the range, but also the power. The maximum power of the rear-wheel drive electric motor has been increased to 230kW, and the official zero to 100km/h acceleration time has been reduced to 5.9 seconds.

At the same time, the long-range rear-wheel drive version has also added a series of configurations, including driver monitoring assistance system, front four-piston calipers, W-HUD heads-up display, 19-inch wheels, branded tires, induction power tailgate, leather steering wheel, leather seats, driver memory seat, four-way electrically adjustable lumbar support for the driver, driver’s up and down cup holder, rear privacy glass, and 220V AC socket in the car.

As for the four-wheel drive version which emphasizes sports performance, there is currently only one top-spec 650km four-wheel drive performance version. Its price is 286,800 yuan, which is 27,000 yuan more expensive than the second highest configuration.

After equipping both front and rear electric motors, the maximum power of the four-wheel drive performance version’s system reaches 390kW, and the official 0-100km/h acceleration time is 3.8 seconds.

Not only that, the iTAC intelligent torque control system and the sports package mentioned earlier are only available in this version. At the same time, its front brakes have been upgraded to perforated ventilated discs, the damper has been upgraded to a variable damping type, and the child safety lock has been upgraded to an electronic type.

In other words, only this configuration can fully reflect the Sea Lion’s sports performance. If you have enough budget, I would recommend that you go directly to the top configuration.

Therefore, to sum up, the recommended order of the four configurations of the Sea Lion is:

Standard range rear-wheel drive luxury version > Four-wheel drive performance version > Long-range rear-wheel drive version > Standard range rear-wheel drive elite version

Choosing the Sea Lion, Model 3, or Deep Blue SL03?

After the listing yesterday, I saw some friends struggling with the choice between BYD Dolphin, Tesla Model 3, and Changan Shenlan SL03, which have similar positioning and price overlap.

Simply put, if your budget is limited or you can only have one car at home, don’t consider Tesla Model 3. Bite your teeth and buy Model 3, and its practical shortcomings will be magnified. To enjoy its long strengths better, such as driving experience, assisted driving capabilities, and avant-garde image, buying Model 3 with the mentality of buying a big toy is the way to go.

It is indeed difficult to choose between BYD Dolphin and Shenlan SL03. If your budget is sufficient and you have high performance requirements, you can decisively choose BYD Dolphin, because Shenlan SL03 does not have a four-wheel drive version. If charging is inconvenient, and you want a pure electric car, you can decisively choose the extended-range version of Shenlan SL03 since Dolphin only has a pure electric version.

However, if the budget is around 200,000 yuan, you want to buy a pure electric car, and consider data, configuration, and price, then the starting price of Shenlan SL03 is lower, the entry-level version is more than 20,000 yuan cheaper, and the configuration is not inferior, which has a more prominent cost performance.

However, as two Chinese auto companies with outstanding cost control, there is undoubtedly a big price difference between two same position models of Changan and BYD’s cars, which can be felt from the product.

In summary, both cars are excellent and worth their respective prices. The easiest way to choose is to:

Go test drive them and buy the one you like.

In fact, BYD Dolphin and Changan Shenlan SL03 are not direct competitors, they should be “competitive teammates”. Although consumers will compare and even choose one of them when buying a car, ultimately, they are eating away at the cake that originally belonged to fuel vehicles.

As China’s automobile electrification has developed to this day, we are pleased to see that China’s automobile industry is really becoming stronger. Although there are always people questioning in the network comments section:

Why can Chinese brand cars sell for 200,000/300,000?

Why can new energy/electric cars be so expensive without complicated engines and gearboxes?

But sales volume never lies, and voting with money is the most honest.Whether it is the BYD Dolphin or the Changan Shenlan SL03, they both have the ability to devour a 20,000 yuan-level fuel car market share of joint venture brands.

Don’t believe it? Check the sales charts.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.