BYD Dolphin Surf EV Charging Cable

Three trims and the city-cycle numbers worth reading

The Active holds 30 kWh and is quoted at 137 miles combined, but 203 miles on the city cycle. Boost holds 43.2 kWh for 200 miles combined and 305 in town. Comfort uses the same 43.2 kWh pack, quoted at 193 and 288 miles.

The gap between the combined and city figures is unusually wide on this car, and on a vehicle of this size and purpose the city number is the more honest guide to what an owner will see. A Dolphin Surf that spends its life on short urban trips will comfortably beat its official combined range, which is the reverse of how most electric cars behave.

AC charging is the same across the range

Eleven kilowatts on the specification sheet means three phases behind the socket. BYD publishes no single phase figure at all, so treat 7.4 kW as a well-founded expectation and buy the 32A lead that covers it.

The three phase charge times BYD publishes are 210 minutes for the 30 kWh Active and 300 minutes for the 43.2 kWh cars, both to one hundred per cent. Those are consistent with an 11 kW charger on a small battery, and they are the figures you will see quoted in reviews. Halve the power and you roughly get the home picture.

DC charging does vary by trim: 65 kW on the Active and 85 kW on the Boost and Comfort, both giving ten to eighty per cent in about half an hour. On a 30 kWh battery that is a genuinely quick stop.

How long a full charge takes

Hours are worked from battery size against power drawn, plus a 13 per cent allowance for what is lost as heat, rounded to fifteen minutes. Range added per hour assumes a year round 3.5 miles per kWh rather than a best case figure. Columns are the 30 kWh Active and the 43.2 kWh Boost and Comfort.

These are the shortest home charges of any full electric car in this range. Five hours from flat on the Active means a single off-peak window fills it from empty with time left over, and the three pin row is actually usable here rather than theoretical.

Which length for a Dolphin Surf

You will find the flap on the offside front wing rather than anywhere near the back. That makes nose-in parking the cheap option, because the socket ends up closest to the charge point.

This is the smallest car BYD sells in the UK at 3.99 metres, and with the socket at the front offside corner the cable run is short on almost any sensible layout. Five metres is the default recommendation rather than the optimistic one. Move up to ten metres if the charge point is well away from the bay or on the wrong side entirely. The honest way to choose is to measure the real parking position and allow two metres spare.

How these cables are built

The cable meets IEC 62196-2, carries the CE mark, is sealed to IP55 and is specified from -30C to +50C.

Three pin construction follows IEC 62752, CE marked, IP67 rated, usable from -30C to +60C. Two year warranty from the manufacturer, free next day delivery in the UK, 30 day returns.

Related: BYD Atto 2 EV Charging Cable, and BYD charging cables for every other model we cover. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

BYD Dolphin Surf charging cable questions

What cable does a Dolphin Surf need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable, on all three trims. They share the same AC charger.

How long does a Dolphin Surf take to charge at home?

About five hours for the 30 kWh Active and seven for the 43.2 kWh cars, from empty at 7.4 kW.

Can I charge one from a normal three pin socket?

You can, and on this car it is more practical than most. A 30 kWh battery on a 2.3 kW granny lead is about fifteen hours from flat, so an overnight and a morning gets you there. It is still a backup rather than a routine.

Why is the city range so much higher than the combined figure?

Small light cars with regenerative braking do their best work at low speeds. The Active is quoted at 137 miles combined and 203 in town, and urban owners tend to see something closer to the second number.