Logic would suggest that city-sized cars are ideal for electric propulsion, but the reality is that the growth in EVs has really been concentrated in medium and larger cars, writes Brian Byrne. That's because EV development and production have been expensive, and the profit margin in a large car is better able to help defray that. So, the big hitters here are VW ID 4, Tesla's 3 and Y, Kia's EV6, and Hyundai's more compact Kona. But the profile is changing, with Skoda's Elroq and Kia's EV3 growing the C-segment this year as part of a continuing electric car market share expansion.
Also, this year, the city car EV has been in the ascendant, and suddenly, there are relatively affordable electric options for a segment attractive to younger buyers and downsizing urban empty-nesters. Hyundai's Inster has galloped into sixth EV place overall, and a growing cohort of others in that space are determined to peel out some share for themselves.
One of these is the recently-launched BYD Dolphin Surf. The smallest car so far from the top-selling Chinese brand in Ireland, its cheeky styling is already turning heads here and, given any run in 2026, it's likely to come out well in the money for importers MDL.
At a tidy four metres minus, the Surf is visually a wedge of angles and swirls that could have gone awry, especially with the small wheels. But somehow the stylists managed to give us a car that evokes smiles. Once the nameplate gets known, it won't be mistaken for anything else on Ireland's roads.
Inside, the dashboard and door trims are more swoopy stuff, but with a pleasing symmetry, and, even more important, good quality finishing. Given the brand's penchant for large screens that rotate, it's nice to see that in the Surf's case, the size is more manageable. It still rotates, but why would I want it to?
Climate controls are operated by a permanent row of virtual buttons along the screen bottom, and below that, there's a 'Rolos' tube of silvery switchgear for volume, AC, drive mode, and quirky transmission select. They're grand, apart from the pictograms etched on the silver being too fine to see in normal light. You'd get to know them, though. A tidy, bright-graphics driver information screen clearly shows the essentials.
The seats are well finished, with integrated non-adjustable head restraints that worried me at first sight, but turned out to be perfectly aligned for my head. There's room for just two people in the back, with surprising knee room, and enough for heads no taller than, say, 5'10". There is a bigger boot and significantly more elbow room than in the key competitor and so far rampaging front runner Inster.
The Surf has an attractive starting price, but that comes with a smaller battery and a rated range of just 222km. The more useful larger battery versions are rated at 322km, which should be adequate for the typical Irish owner (both go considerably further when used only in the city streets, which the car is targeted for).
There's a performance difference too. The basic and next up grades offer a leisurely 12 seconds or so to 100km/h, while the top one has a more powerful motor and a perkier 9.1s sprint, with a marginal impact on range.
The car has all the required driver assistance stuff, and the usual need to turn some annoying ones off every time you hit the start button. We've all gotten used to that now.
Bottom line, despite its size, the Surf's youthful ethos and essentially practical design makes it feel like a real car. Whatever that is today. When I was leaving back the key after I'd parked it for the last time, I looked back. And smiled.
PRICE: From €17,985; Review car €24,722. WHAT I LIKED: I was always smiling.
