A family car for NIS 130,000 and an executive car for 200,000: BYD's news - voila! vehicle

A seal (left) and a dolphin.

Nautical names, but no family design line (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)

For the family: Dolphin will bring the news of trams to new customers

Within half a year of its launch in Israel, the Chinese BYD managed to become one of the five best-selling car manufacturers in Israel, overtaking respected and popular brands such as Skoda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki, and placing its crossover, Hato 3, as the best-selling car in Israel.

This is a rate of penetration that no Japanese or Korean brand has achieved.

When talking about the penetration of electric cars, Tesla is the one who inhales all the oxygen in the room, but BYD delivered in six months from numbers that Tesla took a year, partly because it already covers the market better: the Hato 3 costs NIS 163.5-175.5 thousand and stars in the family market, the Tang The Magudal is the only 7-seater electric crossover on the market (NIS 315,000) and the Hahn (managers, NIS 335,000) completes it from above.

Now BYD invited us to Barcelona to show us and above all to convey a message to the competitors that it is not going to stop here, and that it is starting to close the big holes in its range, and to cover two new market segments: compact family and executives, or as they call it today, another competitor to the Tesla Model 3. For the

family : Tram at a price you didn't know

dolphin.

As high as a crossover, but the design is quite generic (Photo: BYD)

Dolphin is the family.

Like the Seal executive car, it was also designed by the German Wolfgang Egger, who, after a fine career at Seat, Alfa Romeo and Audi, landed in China in 2017.

A few years before, Kia landed in South Korea the German Peter Schreier, also a graduate of the Volkswagen Group, who greatly upgraded its products, making it much more competitive.

BYD saw and did too.

The Dolphin is not the car that Agar would highlight in his portfolio.

It's handsome, but looks like a mix of car designs, mostly minis and small vans from Japan, which we've already seen.

The driver's environment is nicer, a development of the one we already saw in the Eto 3, also with a large multimedia screen (12.8 inches here) and rotating.

The quality of the materials is good, and the level of equipment is high.

Electric seats and a mobile charging surface will probably be standard in the Israeli specification, a two-tone color will be offered in the highest level of equipment among the three that will arrive.

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the driver's environment.

Very similar to the one in Batu 3 (Photo: BYD)

On the way from China, the Dolphin went through an interesting process: it was lengthened by 15 cm, from 4.12 meters to 4.29 meters, with all the changes being made to the front and the rear. BYD explains that the upgrade is intended to ensure that the car receives the maximum 5-star rating in the European crash test.

But I have a feeling that it is no less intended to help its positioning: electric cars are more efficient in utilizing their length. The Dolphin also originally has a wheelbase of 2.70 meters, which has not changed in the European version, which is 8 cm more than a Volkswagen Golf - but the length of a supercar Mini, which may deter customers.

So for Europe she also got the length of a golf.

Indeed, sitting in it creates a spacious car for the driver and passengers in the back, more than super mini cars and even more than a family car like the Mazda 3. However, the width of the seat is not generous for three (1.77 meters, two less than in the Golf) despite a flat floor, and it does not have an air conditioner outlet for the rear seat.

The seating is high, a result of the crossover's height (1.57 meters) under a panoramic glass roof that is a favorite of Chinese streetcar manufacturers, and also of Tesla.

The trunk has a volume of 345 liters, closer to the Seat Ibiza (355 liters) than to the Golf (381).

Back seat.

No less spacious than other compacts (Photo: BYD)

The engine has 204 hp and front-wheel drive and the battery is 60 kWh, like the Lato 3. Because the Dolphin is lighter it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7 seconds, which even a Golf VR6 used to be unable to reproduce, on its way to 160 km/h

The range is 427 km, only seven more than the Atto. Fast charging is possible at a relatively slow rate of 88 kWh, 29 minutes from 30% to 80%, or with slow charging at 11 kW.

BYD allowed us to drive it only about a kilometer on a predetermined route between cones, and to perform a short braking test at the end. It was possible to get an initial impression of the quietness and good control of the body vibrations, but this test drive was not. We will wait for it to arrive in Israel in August, and then we will also know what the price is.

At the moment the estimate is between NIS 140 and 150 thousand, similar to gasoline compacts, and cheaper than streetcars and family crossovers that are already here, such as Ora Funky Cat and Geely Geometric C, but not a jaw-dropping price.

This will probably be the case for the version that will be presented later, with a 45 kWh battery and a range of 327 km, which is expected to cost NIS 120-130 thousand, and bring the streetcars to a new and accessible price environment.

Sil.

A more sporty design than Model 3 (Photo: BYD)

To the managers: what is the story of the seal

The Sill will sell less, but it is an important calling card of BYD, showing its capabilities against Tesla.

Elon Musk has yet to launch a truly popular electric car, but the Model 3 is the benchmark for an electric sedan.

The sill is built like a sedan coupe configuration, but more sedan than coupe, including a trunk whose door does not rise together with the rear window, which limits access to it, which is a shame.

But the body is sculpted and sportier and more interesting than the 3's, at least before the recently planned facelift.

Sill is also larger than the 3: 4.80 meters long compared to 4.69, 1.87 meters wide compared to 1.85 meters, and 1.46 meters high compared to 1.44 meters.

The wheelbase is extended to 2.92 meters compared to 2.875 in the Tesla.

The passenger cabin is more upgraded, including as usual a large multimedia screen, and unlike the Tesla, also a relatively large separate screen for the driver.

The space is excellent in the front and in the back, where there is also an air conditioner outlet for those sitting in the back.

And this is important in light of the panoramic glass roof, which may prove to be a significant source of heat on hot days.

The trunk has a volume of a modest 402 liters, even the Model 3 has a larger one (425 liters), which is also more accessible thanks to a fifth door.

The Seal, like the Dolphin, is equipped with all the usual active safety accessories, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera and rear cross-traffic alert, including braking.

There is also lane keeping and warning of a vehicle in a dead zone.

Seal has another interesting development: the battery located at the bottom of the chassis is also used as the floor of the car, which saves one more cm of headroom, but may expose the battery to more damage in an accident as it is part of the car's structure.

the driver's environment.

Good quality, separate and not reduced screen for the driver (Photo: BYD)

The battery has a capacity of 82 kWh, without expensive cobalt, with a maximum charging rate of 150 kWh, compared to 250 kWh in the Tesla and 350 kWh in the soon-to-be-launched Hyundai Ioniq 6, so charging from 30 to 80 percent lasts 26 minutes.

The Sil is produced in rear-wheel drive (313 hp) and dual (530 hp) versions.

The first needs 5.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, and reaches a maximum range of 520 km.

The second shortens to 3.8 seconds, on the way to 570 km. This means that both versions of the Seal have an advantage in range over the Model 3 Standard and Performance, but the Performance is more agile.

Back seat.

Spacious in every aspect.

It's a pity that behind it is a skinny trunk, and in the structure of a sedan and not 5 doors (Photo: BYD)

To convince us of the performance, BYD allowed us to accelerate the dual-wheel drive Sil on a straight track to 100 km/h and brake, so that we too feel like heroes for accelerating to 100 in 3.8 seconds, and to drive the rear-wheel drive version on a slalom course, to get a first impression of good control as well in the body, and good steering. And again, we wouldn't say that we really drove it, it will happen that it will already arrive in Israel around September.

Here, the price question is actually simpler: Model 3 sets the rules, according to the price it will have in six months. To be competitive, the Seal will have to be in the range of 200-250 thousand shekels. The leasing companies that bought a Model 3 and were burned by its price reduction, will hesitate less with the Seal, which will give serious competition to the Hyundai Sonata, Skoda Superb and Mazda 6 in the executive market. Another market category is about to fall into the hands of streetcars. The writer was a guest of BYD in

17 BYD Dolphin

electric, 204 hp, front wheel drive.

Battery: 60 kW

automatic, single gear

7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, 160 km/h maximum speed, 427 km

not yet tested in the European crash test

120- NIS 150,000

will be determined after driving in Israel

electric, 313 hp rear-wheel drive, 530 hp dual-wheel drive.

Battery: 82 kW

Transmission: automatic, single gear

5.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, 180 km/h maximum speed, 520 km range in the rear-wheel drive model (3.8 seconds, 180 km/h and -570 km/h in double).

NIS 200-250 thousand

will be determined after driving in Israel

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