New BYD Dolphin Surf vs Citroën e-C3 vs Renault 5

The contenders

BYD Dolphin Comfort

List price £23,950
Best price £23,950
Monthly PCP finance cost £309*

Citroën e-C3 Max

List price £23,795
Best price £22,545
Monthly PCP finance cost £343*

Renault 5 Urban Range Techno

List price £24,995
Best price £24,995
Monthly PCP finance cost £341*

* Based on a £309 customer deposit, a 6000-mile annual limit and a four-year term

In case you hadn’t heard, the Renault 5 (R5) is our 2025 Car of the Year. This Volkswagen Polo-sized electric hatchback is packed with charm, brilliant to drive and, until very recently, seemed exceedingly good value, with prices starting at £22,995. 

However, a Chinese brand has just launched a rival that makes the R5 look positively overpriced. The new BYD Dolphin Surf (called the Seagull in some other countries) starts at just £18,650, which isn’t much more than tiny urban runabouts such as the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03.

Indeed, even if you go for the range-topping Comfort version we’re testing here, the Dolphin Surf still undercuts our favourite version of the R5 (the Comfort Range Techno) by more than £3000. So, to bring the prices closer together without a huge disparity in standard equipment (more on that later), we’ve lined up a cheaper Urban Range version of the R5 with a smaller battery.

Our third contender is the Citroën e-C3. It may not have the eye-catching starting price of the Dolphin Surf, but the range-topping Max version costs a seemingly very reasonable £23,795 – or even less if you’re prepared to haggle or buy online. So, it’s actually the cheapest of the three cars here.

These small electric cars (EVs) will spend a lot of their lives making shorter journeys in town and the ’burbs, but to find out which is the best all-rounder, we decided to push them a little harder. We plotted a motorway route out of London and down to the south coast, followed by an overnight stop in West Sussex. We’d then head back to London the following day, with a small diversion en route, for a total round trip of around 200 miles – fractionally farther than these cars can officially travel on a charge.

The cars

First, a quick recap of the R5 electric car. It was launched earlier this year with a choice of two motor and battery options. The Comfort Range has a 148bhp motor, a 52kWh (usable capacity) battery and an official range of up to 253 miles, while the Urban Range we’ve got here has a 121bhp motor and a 40kWh battery; it can officially cover up to 193 miles on a charge. 

Of the four trim levels (if you include the limited-run Roland Garros), Techno is our pick. Even entry-level Evolution gets you 18in alloy wheels, automatic climate control and keyless entry, but Techno adds a more sophisticated Google-based infotainment system, a pre-conditioning function for the battery (so it’s at the ideal temperature to charge quickly when you plug in) and adaptive cruise control.

Despite its tempting price tag, the cheapest Dolphin Surf (the Active) has limited appeal. That’s because it has an official range of just 137 miles and misses out on some equipment you’ll probably want, including alloy wheels. The mid-spec Boost (£21,950) is more tempting, with a 200-mile range – courtesy of a larger, 43.2kWh battery – and most of the kit you’ll probably want. It’s a bit sluggish, though, taking 12.1sec to accelerate from 0-62mph.

The range-topping Comfort sacrifices seven miles of range for a much more powerful (154bhp) electric motor, and adds LED headlights to match both of the other cars, plus heated front seats to match the e-C3. It’s still the only one with basic manual air-con rather than full climate control, though.

If you want to spend less on your e-C3, you could opt for entry-level Plus trim (£22,095) and forgo niceties such as electric rear windows, climate control, heated front seats and a rear-view camera. However, there’s no choice when it comes to battery size and power: both the Plus and the Max we’re testing here have 43.7kWh of usable capacity and 111bhp.

Day one: London to West Sussex

We started out at the What Car? office in Twickenham, south-west London, on a sunny June morning. The cars were fully charged and ready to go – just as they’d most likely be for anyone with a similar trip in the diary.

Head of video Doug Revolta would be driving the Dolphin Surf and reviews editor Will Nightingale would be in the R5. Behind the wheel of the e-C3 would be senior reviewer Dan Jones. With a different driver in each car, this wasn’t going to be a perfectly scientific and repeatable assessment of our cars’ real-world efficiency and ranges, but we still wanted to keep things as fair as possible. With that in mind, we set the climate control systems in the R5 and e-C3 to 21deg C and took a best guess at trying to match that temperature with the Dolphin Surf’s manual air-con.  

We also selected Normal or Comfort driving modes in the Dolphin Surf and R5. There are no switchable driving modes in the e-C3, so it was just a case of resetting the trip computer, turning the key in the ignition (yes, there really is one; the other two have start buttons) and shifting the gear selector to ‘drive’.

This wasn’t a race, so we stayed in convoy as we headed out of Twickenham and onto a surprisingly free-flowing M3. Sitting at a steady 70mph, it was clear our cars weren’t designed to mimic a Mercedes S-Class on the motorway, but crucially none of them felt out of their depth in the way that a Spring or T03 would have.

The relatively soft suspension fitted to the Dolphin Surf and e-C3 kept them feeling smooth and wafty from behind the wheel, although the R5's high-speed ride was still more than comfortable enough. It was the noisiest cruiser, though, mainly because of the tyre noise generated by its chunky 18in alloys (the Dolphin Surf and e-C3 have smaller, 16in and 17in wheels respectively).

We arrived at the coast (West Wittering near Chichester) just in time for lunch, and decided to find out how well our cars stacked up for practicality. After all, they’re very similar in size, with less than 100mm between the longest (the e-C3) and the shortest (the R5). The e-C3 is noticeably roomier than its compatriot in the back, though, with enough head and leg room for a couple of six-footers.

Anyone approaching that height will feel decidedly cramped in the back of the R5, although, like the e-C3, it can technically carry five people. The Dolphin Surf is much closer to the e-C3 for rear knee and head space but has only two seatbelts in the back.

It’s a similar story when it comes to boot space: the e-C3 offers the most and the R5 the least. Four carry-on suitcases can fit below the parcel shelf in the R5, with a small amount of storage under the main boot floor left over for the charging cable.

The Dolphin Surf doesn’t have a parcel shelf, making a fair comparison with the others harder. It officially has a bigger boot than the R5, though, and we managed to squeeze in five cases – admittedly with one poking above where you’d normally expect a parcel shelf to be.

The e-C3, meanwhile, can easily swallow five cases below its parcel shelf. And it doesn’t really matter that it’s the only one without any proper underfloor storage, because there’s still more than enough space left for the charging cable. So, while practicality isn’t usually a big concern to small car buyers, the e-C3 is the one to go for if space is paramount.

Our overnight stop was just outside of Petworth, and while all three cars had just about enough charge to get there, we knew there was nowhere to plug in at our hotel. So, to give ourselves a head start the following morning, we opted to top up our batteries to 80% before we got there.

When we arrived at the charging location, we’d racked up a total of 138 miles, and the Dolphin Surf still had an indicated 29% of battery remaining. The e-C3 was showing 19% and the R5 just 17%. With plenty of free charging bays, we all plugged in simultaneously and 25 minutes later the Dolphin Surf was the first to reach 80%. The R5 took an extra three minutes to hit the target level (it started at a lower state of charge, remember), while the e-C3 took 39 minutes to get to 80% – despite
it officially being able to accept the highest peak charging rate of the trio. 

Day two: back to home base

The next morning, we headed to a disused runway in Surrey (just 12 miles from our hotel) to conduct a drag race. Now, admittedly, this isn’t the sort of thing buyers are likely to do with these cars. However, we needed to measure their acceleration times, and doing the drag race at the same time would provide a bit of added entertainment for our accompanying YouTube video.  

On one hand, Will’s R5 looked to be the favourite, because it has the quickest official 0-62mph time of 9.0sec (versus 9.1sec for the Dolphin Surf and 10.4sec for the e-C3). However, the Dolphin Surf packed by far the most powerful electric motor, and that proved telling, because Doug managed to hit 60mph from a standstill in 8.0sec flat. The R5 took 9.0sec and the e-C3 a more leisurely 10.7sec.

But while the Dolphin Surf was unquestionably the quickest, it wasn’t the best on the winding country lanes we encountered after we’d departed the airfield. Its relatively soft suspension meant there was quite a bit of body lean through tight twists and turns, and any nasty road scars or expansion joints weren’t dealt with particularly well – especially when cornering forces were involved.

Mind you, the Dolphin Surf handled more tidily than the e-C3. That car leant over even more through the faster bends, and its overly light steering and tiny steering wheel conspired to rob Dan of any real confidence. And while the soft suspension had made for a fairly comfy motorway ride the day before, on more undulating roads Dan complained about being bounced around in his seat too much.

The R5 was in a different league from its rivals in this environment, because it handles like a bigger, more expensive car. True, Will also commented that the steering was quite light in Comfort mode, but switching to Sport added more weight and extra reassurance. What’s more, he found the steering super-accurate, and the R5 stayed flat and composed – even when pushing on a bit.

To be frank, none of these cars has brilliant brakes, but the R5’s do provide enough feel to prevent passengers from thinking you’ve only just passed your test. By contrast, the e-C3’s tend to be grabby and tricky to judge, while the Dolphin Surf’s respond consistently when you’re braking gently but are too abrupt when you need to scrub off speed more quickly – such as when approaching a tight corner on a B-road.

At the end of the twisties, we joined the A3 and headed back towards London and our final destination. That gave our drivers a chance to consider the interiors they’d spent the past couple of days in, and Will was hugely complimentary about the R5’s. It has the most comfortable driving position of the trio and easily the best infotainment system. And while you won’t exactly be blown away by the quality, it looks smart and feels solid.

Dan and Doug were slightly less enthused about their cars’ interiors. Doug complained about a shortage of lower back support from the Dolphin surf’s driver’s seat and the fact that, unlike in the other two cars, there are no physical air-con controls; you have to use the touchscreen to adjust the temperature.

Dan, meanwhile, found the e-C3’s sit-up-and-beg driving position slightly unnatural and wasn’t overly impressed by the infotainment system. “It’s definitely the worst of the three,” he said. More positively, the interiors of the e-C3 and Dolphin Surf aren’t far behind the R5’s for fit and finish.

How much did our road trip cost?

We used relatively expensive public chargers to top our cars up to 100% at the end of the journey, simply because we wanted to measure exactly how much energy each one had consumed. We’re well aware that most owners would plug in at home after such a trip and charge at the energy price cap (25.7p per kWh) or using a cheap overnight tariff, so we’ve crunched the numbers for both of those eventualities too (see the table above).

Will’s first charging stop cost £18.31, plus he needed to spend £15.32 to top the battery back up to 100% at the end of the journey. That’s a total of £33.63, compared with the £34.28 Doug spent on his journey (£17.61 at the first stop and £16.67 at the finish line).

Dan spent the most; he was billed £19.61 at the charging stop on day one and £17.05 at the end of the journey, bringing his total spend to £36.66. That was because his e-C3 was the least efficient, averaging 3.5 miles per kilowatt hour (mi/kWh) for the trip. Based on that efficiency and the usable battery size, the e-C3 has a real-world summer range of 155 miles – although avoid motorways and you’ll probably be able to eke that out a bit.

The R5 was the most efficient, returning 3.9mi/kWh, but because it has the smallest battery, its real-world range worked out to be exactly the same as the e-C3’s. Meanwhile, the Dolphin Surf’s efficiency (3.8mi/Wh) wasn’t quite as good as the R5’s, but it had the longest real-world range of 163 miles when its larger battery was factored in.

There’s more to consider, though. The e-C3, with its low list price and the availability of a £1250 discount at the time of writing (unlike the others), is the cheapest option for those paying cash and selling after three years. The difference compared with the R5 is small, though, because the latter’s huge desirability means it’s expected to hold its value the best. Meanwhile, heavy predicted depreciation explains why the Dolphin Surf is likely to cost you the most to own.

However, it’s a different story if you’re signing up to a PCP finance agreement, as most buyers will. Put down a modest £309 deposit on the Dolphin Surf and you’ll pay another £309 every month for the next four years, assuming an annual limit of 6000 miles. On the same terms, the R5 will cost you £341 per month and the e-C3 £343.

Our verdict

Our road trip proved two things. First, that some of the cheapest electric cars can now manage a relatively long journey with a fraction of the stress and jeopardy you’d have experienced a few years ago. Okay, we weren’t exactly driving to the South of France, but thanks to respectable real-world ranges, there’s no need to fear a 200-300-mile journey in any of these EVs. In short, they aren’t just city runabouts and, depending on your circumstances, could genuinely be your only car.

The second thing is that the R5 remains the class benchmark. True, the Comfort Range model is still our pick, but the Urban Range is usefully cheaper to buy and just as good to drive. It’s worth considering if the majority of your journeys are less than 100 miles. It’s a shame the R5 isn’t a little roomier in the back, but otherwise it’s a brilliant all-rounder.

Second place goes to the Dolphin Surf. The fact that it’s the cheapest on PCP finance gives it obvious appeal, plus it has the longest real-world range and the best performance. Factor in the most generous roster of standard equipment here and it’s
a tempting proposition.

That means the e-C3 comes last. Its mediocre performance is far from a deal-breaker and, as we’ve said already, it’s the most practical of the three. Its real-world efficiency should be better, though, and it’s the least impressive to drive.

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