BYD Dolphin vs MG4 vs Volkswagen ID.3 | Comparativa / Test / Review en español | coches.net

Whether we like it or not, we must get used to the fact that the supply of cars within the electric segment is growing little by little and in all segments, including the compact segment, the c segment, those cars that measure just over 4 m in length. long here we have an example of this we have two Chinese cars the Dolphin B the mg4 and we face it against a German car the Volkswagen id3 a comparison in which these three electric vehicles will try to show us to what extent they are attractive for this Spanish electric car buyer which is highly sought after and which is scarce, let's take a look at it. Until now, the offer in compact multi-purpose cars was occupied by gasoline models. Mostly European or Korean, this has changed in recent years with the progressive arrival of new Chinese brands, so here we have the new bid Dolphin from build your Dreams, an electric vehicle built on the bid 3.0 platform, the same one used by the ato 3, the dolfin delfín in English has a body with a fairly simple, discreet design with rounded lines, it is equipped with darkened rear windows in this design finish and a rear With a plastic finish that generates a floating roof effect, among other details, it has 17- inch wheels. Under its front hood there is a 204-horsepower motor that is accompanied by a 64.1 kW H battery that gives a range of 427 km. Its price The rate to which discounts could be applied for plan moves and others in this top finish of the Sign range is 37,690. On the other hand, a year ago this other car began to be sold in Spain under a brand of British origin mg It is actually presented as an electric car manufactured by the Shanghai-based giant Saic Motor. In a few months it has positioned itself as the third best-selling electric car in Spain, only surpassed by the Tesla Model and the Model 3. Be careful, the MG4 has a very different design. The body has sharp, aggressive sporty lines and can be ordered in a two-tone color with a black roof, as this unit at the rear draws attention to this split spoiler or the bumper with a simulated diffuser design. This unit in a top-of-the-range Luxury finish mounts 17- inch wheels. but the ones that are arriving this year have a 18 mg4. It is offered with two types of batteries and different ranges. This unit has a 65 kw H battery that gives it a theoretical range of 435 km. The motor located in the rear position offers 2002 horses. Practically the same power as that of its rivals its pvp from 37190 the third in contention is the oldest the vol id3 was presented 4 years ago as the first model of the new Volkswagen electric family and since then it has changed little although a couple of years ago years, the Volkswagen id3 received a notable update. It has a discreet line somewhat in the style of the bid. We see the characteristic front without a grill and a body with soft lines with a very inclined windshield and a rear that draws attention to the black tailgate with optics in horizontally in the style of the Volkswagen Go, under the hood there is an electric motor that offers 204 horsepower accompanied by a 58 kW H capacity battery that gives it a theoretical range of 420 km, very much in line with its rivals, a note on this car The heat pump that allows you to optimize the battery temperature in adverse conditions is optional when it comes standard in the other two. Price in this top-of-the- range finish without options is 4,260. It is the most expensive of the 3. The Volkswagen ID3 measures 4.26 m long, 1.81 wide and 1.57 high, its wheelbase is 2.77 m, the longest in this comparison, the Dolphin bid measures 4.29 m long, 1.77 wide and 1.57 high, its wheelbase is 2.70 m, the mg4 also measures 4.29, long, the widest is 1.84 m and the lowest is 1.51, its wheelbase is 2.70 m, all of them have very logical dimensions with good wheelbases that They make them habitable and very suitable for traveling with someone, let's see what their [Music] interiors are like. This is the dashboard of the Dolphin B, we could say that it is the one that has been most worked on in terms of design, it has rounded shapes, it has more elements, let's say it bets less. for minimalism like its other two rivals do, it is a dashboard. Well, it has a less spacious feeling because it is a little more intrusive towards the driver, it gives a less feeling of space than that of its other two competitors, but ultimately it is loaded with elements that make It is also very pleasant to be in these front seats and it is also quite well finished. It somewhat imitates the leather and the visual sensation is very good. Although in reality what we see is basically all hard plastic as its other two competitors also have. What does stand out in this Dolphin B is this large screen, it is the largest of the comparison at 12.89 inches, a screen that we can also place in a vertical position. I recommend above all using it in a horizontal position when driving because in a vertical position it limits a little angle of vision and this small instrument panel also stands out, very small for my taste too much but which also, as happens in its rivals, is well finished in terms of graphics and color and offers good basic information at the time To drive, this instrument panel is not configurable, we can only modify some information through these buttons on the turn signals and the steering wheel also has its multifunction controls to basically control what is the central screen and the cruise control is a steering wheel with its part The upper part is round, the lower part is flattened and has three spokes. As far as functionality is concerned, here we have a fairly large tray to be able to place any object. It is held in place quite well. We also have a lower tray here with a lid to also store anything. Two USB sockets, one socket. 12 V a slot to also insert a small SD card two very small drink holder holes and here we have a wireless mobile charger that the truth is that it holds the trash quite well when it is charging what looks like a chest, it is not, there is no chest here What we have is a tray in a lower position, well, not too practical because it requires doing a little contortionism to access this gap and to finish two elements that differentiate it from its two competitors, at least they are two curious details. One of them is this group of control controls with which we can activate the air conditioning like its two competitors. The air conditioning is also on the screen. The only thing we can do here is activate it directly or we can change the driving modes or even modify or increase the volume of the radio, in my opinion. This is a bit to save costs because we centralize everything in this element and the truth is that the feel of the handling of these buttons is not at all excellent so to speak and another curious detail is the fact that we have the door handle in the shape of a dolphin letter, honoring the name of the vehicle [Music] the screen menus are very complete, there is, for example, access to Spotify and specific screens to control the battery charge Apple CarPlay and Android connections car and like its rivals in general, good graphics and color highlight these seats with the integrated sports-looking headrest, they are comfortable but they lack some lateral support [Music] the first thing that surprises you when you get into the mg4 in this interior on this dashboard is There is no button to start the car, the car starts by simply sitting on the seat, there is a sensor and touching the brake pedal. Then when it comes into contact, you only need to have the key on you. This is a detail that its other competitors do not have. detail very much in the style of Tesla that also demonstrates the modernity that this vehicle has, it also has a very very modern design, also very simple, very minimalist with few elements, a dashboard with very horizontal lines and that is marked as is usually the case in most electric for their digital screens in this case a 10.25-inch screen in the center of the dashboard, a little smaller than that of its rivals and another smaller 7-inch one for the instrument panel with the basic and necessary information for driving with good coloring with good graphics, a kind of mini tablet that we have here and that has good visibility as well as the driving position is good, we have good visibility towards the entire environment, comfortable seats that support the body well and yes, a steering wheel that is I don't miss a two-spoke steering wheel with a sporty, flattened appearance at the top and bottom, which I personally don't like. I prefer the rounder, more conventional steering wheels. It's a steering wheel with multifunction controls, one of which is two on the sides that imitate a joysticks that honestly work quite well, they are quite precise. And they are also quite functional. Other details of good design and good equipment, in my opinion, in this mg4 are found in this floating center console that also has a wireless charger in its upper part. That does give a a certain feeling of insecurity the mobile phone moves a lot in this center console we also find a dial for the gear selector the electronic handbrake button and here we find a drink holder space and also two USB sockets, a conventional USB, a USBC and a 12 socket V the car is quite functional there is enough space to place objects here we have a central tray to place the key anything else that also has a lid and a central chest also to be able to place some small object and leave it quite safe In short it seems to me a dashboard well resolved in terms of functionality at the level of equipment and elements and it also looks well finished it looks well finished it does have a bit of piano black on this upper part as you can see that it quickly becomes marked with dust and grease of the fingers but in general the truth is that the good level of finish of this mg 4 is quite surprising. The mg4 also prefers to offer the climate control via screen like its rivals. It has good finishing details such as this contrasting color stitching for the seats and the interior of the [Music] doors, the dashboard of the Volkswagen id3 matches the mg4 in this design line, since it is more horizontal with these more horizontal lines with this more minimalist design line with few elements in this interior That is, unlike the mg4 The Volkswagen id3 has a larger screen, the second largest of the 12- inch comparison, a horizontal screen with good graphics with good menus with a lot of color, but with some menus that are a little difficult to handle, sometimes not very intuitive to find the exit to find. Some details, the climate control, like the rest of the competitors, is also integrated into this screen, it does not have its separate controls and in this case we also find a small instrument panel, which is the norm in these electric cars to find a very very small instrument panel in this one. The case in favor is that it is a little more configurable than the one on the bid than the one on the mg4. Well, through this button on the steering wheel we can modify something what we see on this screen, it's not much either, I have to tell you, it also has some characteristic elements. that its rivals do not have, for example the fact that the gear selector is in this upper part right next to the instrument panel or some other very curious elements such as the fact that the window controls are two for four, two for the front windows AND These same buttons for the rear windows, on the other hand, we find a steering wheel with conventional shapes, a little flattened at the bottom, with a very good feel, three spokes with attic-type buttons that look very good but lack a little precision. and we found a very good driving position with very good visibility, perhaps the best among the three with very comfortable seats that support the body very well, they are very well finished and this makes quite a difference when driving this car, this minimalism in The design, which is already the norm in the sector, means that this car, for example, does not have a conventional center console, but rather we have a console that is replaced by this tray in this lower position in which we find the usual elements, two drink holders and a space for depositing objects, a wireless mobile phone charger in which you leave the gadget well held quite well and not in sight and there is no central chest and we do have a lid on this tray that gives us access to a good space where we can place any object. keys, for example, here we have another space in the rear position and two USBC sockets and to finish in terms of general finishes, the finishes of these front seats, well, it must be recognized that the Volkswagen YID TR is a little above its other two rivals, not that they are extraordinary finishes But at least at least they have the detail of using slightly softer materials finished with double stitching, for example the imitation Alcantara lining on the inside of the doors, let's say that it is a bit above and above all that it greatly marks the The difference is the quality of these seats with adjustment in bench length with this leather back with this comfort these finishes in general of these seats Well, they also make a bit of a difference in the id3 we see some piano black and hard plastic in the less visible areas. View, from my point of view, the ergonomics of these armrests can also be improved, as they seem to be derived from a commercial vehicle. Viewing the front seats, let's see how the space in the rear seats and the trunk is, let's go with the rear seats of the dolphin and as you can see at the time. To enter you have to save this roof pillar because it is a little low but once inside we have two very comfortable side seats, lots of leg room even for tall people like me, we have the seat adjusted in the middle of the travel and as you can see it is fantastic Even the height thanks to this lowering of the ceiling allows people of great stature to travel here, as is my case. It does seem a little narrow in the shoulders, even from the head because we have this area here very close and if we look here in the middle as well I am invading this Central Plaza a lot, a Central Plaza Well, it has the typical armrest with two drink holders And that means that whoever travels here in the middle is going to be a little more uncomfortable because the bench is higher, the height to the ceiling is already detrimental and the Comfort in The back is not the same in terms of equipment, little thing, we don't even have air vents But we do have two USBs to charge some type of devices and here A curiosity behind the seats is because we have a divider with three parts to leave the tablet, a newspaper or whatever we want, we go with the mg4 as you see the entrance because we also have to save the roof pillar but in this case it is the most comfortable of the three. They are also the most comfortable seats both because of their softness and because of their very comfortable position. But that is the knee distance is the worst of the three, being good considering that I am practically 90 meters tall and I can walk quite well and I can place my feet underneath and win in Comfort, it is also the one that gives the greatest impression of width both at the height of the shoulders as well as the head and that makes it gain a little visual habitability here behind Central Plaza because like the other two, the higher backrest is less comfortable, the height is a little affected, transmission tunnel that does not bother us, we can put our feet in the middle and here a third person of short stature Even a child who does not use a booster seat because three people can go more or less well on relatively short trips. In terms of equipment, what do we have a distributor here on the back of the front seats, quite cool, we only have one USB to charge devices We do not have vents either and because we do not have a central armrest or a drink holder or a headrest, the Volkswagen id3 has an access that also has to be overcome by the roof pillar once inside. The distance for the legs is good even for tall people. But it is not the best of the three cars Of course, in terms of ceiling height, as you can see, the position of these seats is not as comfortable, for example as the ones in the bid, the padding is a little harder and the backrest is in a position, let's say more vertically you are sitting as in a chair at the width level it is perceived a little wider but it is not a big deal in the Central Plaza the typical thing is the armrest with the drink holders but here we also have this hatch to be able to access the trunk to take things or load something a little bigger lump that is really appreciated if we go to the Central Plaza the same as always a slightly higher bench that harms the height here tall people as you see are wedged in hard backrest hard bench is a let's say emergency square because in As for width, as you can see, I am also taking up a lot of space on the two side seats, flat floor, this is an electric car, there is no need for a transmission tunnel, and in terms of equipment, there is very little, there are no vents, there is no air conditioning, there are two USB C ports. To charge devices, here we have a small distributor to leave an object and a little more trunk of the Dolphin bid, which on paper on the technical sheet is the smallest of the three with 345 l but it has several interesting things, for example we have a very generous double bottom This tray is removable and can be placed in this lower part and thus gain more volume to load larger packages and even below we have a second floor, another lid that we can extract and here the puncture repair kit would be located and we also have the triangles emergency is a trunk that is quite good, it is not very cubic as you see here the wheel arches these shapes complicate the loading a little But with the tray down here the truth is that it is not bad at all also bid sells you this storage tray as an accessory here it is made of rubber which is very useful because we place it here and so if we go skiing or go to the beach when we put objects that are dirty so as not to stain the original tray which is like this a little bit of fabric folding down the rear backrests which can be done from right here from the trunk with a little skill, one here and one here we have a total capacity of 1310 l, which with the floor below leaves this step but if you level it quite straight the trunk of the mg4 has 350 l which is 5 L more than the bid and a few less than the Volkswagen and it offers us a trunk with quite cubic shapes in that space minus two holes on the sides to distribute small objects And we have a small double bottom where we can store the charging cables The compressor, the anti-puncture kit, but the tray cannot be placed in a lower position to gain more capacity. It is fixed. Yes, rear folding, which can be done from here, we have a total capacity of only 1165 l, which in this case is the worst of the three. that we are testing, the trunk of the Volkswagen id3 is the largest of the three in this comparison, it is 385 l, which is a good figure and we also have very cubic shapes that allow for better distribution of the load. It also has two small spaces here on the sides where we can Let, for example, a first aid kit has a double bottom here below because we can leave, for example, look at the charging cable, which is always good to put aside. Also, if we didn't have the cable, we could place it in a lower position and gain a little more of volume and here below there is a very small space where we can have a tool, the tow hook or even the puncture repair kit, which fits perfectly here below. If AB we fold the seats, we won't be able to do it from here because it doesn't help, we have to go to The second row We will have a total capacity of 12,267 l, which is not bad, but you have already seen that, for example, the bid one is higher. And yes, a very flat floor, a little bit of curvature here, but which allows loading large volumes, is not at all [ Music] bad, all three are like all the compact ones over 4 m, perfect for four people with five, they go a little slowly but they are very versatile, they are just as good for daily urban use and here they clearly justify their electric technology to make longer trips. long, always keeping in mind the autonomy we have And where we should recharge on the road, they demonstrate very different behaviors, let's see the response of the bid, it is good, it is like everything else, as happens with electric cars, it is quite immediate, it is fast, but let's think that it has the same power that its rivals practically all have 202 to 204 horsepower, it seems a little less fast than, for example, the mg, but in any case it has a good response, it accelerates from 0 to 100 km per hour in 7 seconds and the truth is It is that it has enough power to be comfortable in any circumstance. The bid is front-wheel drive and there it marks differences with its two rivals today, which both transmit power to the rear axle. In acceleration, it does not give the sensation of being the fastest, however, the 7 seconds it takes to do 01 km/h put it ahead of the ID3 which does it in 7.4 and the mg4 which needs 7.8 dynamically the bid is an easy car to drive It is pleasant especially on fast roads eh it is very comfortable and it is because it has a fairly soft suspension setting. A setting that on those roads that we mentioned is perfect but when we are on more twisty roads, well, there it suffers a little from the fact of that morbidity, not because it depends on which turns the body rolls. The nose also lowers a little when we brake more or less hard and it is normal because having a soft suspension, that is what happens and in addition that suspension morbidity also causes it to appear to be less agile than its rivals when in reality it is the least heavy but in the end in motion due to those swings and those caroca movements it seems that it is heavier although it is not, it is the one with the softest suspension but also the one that offers great comfort and smoothness When driving on the highway or fast roads in Sport mode, the response increases considerably and in busy areas it is not difficult to lose some traction if we accelerate decisively. The steering is very smooth, precise and allows the car to enter the turns with precision, but It is too soft and And that makes it seem like we notice less what is happening under the wheel Although it does transmit but eh We would like it to transmit a little more, the hardness of the steering can be varied But eh the difference is very little. braking on the bid is good, it has a somewhat special pedal feel, especially at low speed because when we go very slowly we are starting off, if we touch the brake it seems to be a little abrupt later, eh, at higher speeds. The feel is normal and even has a good no touch And the regenerative braking has two positions that, just as happens a little with the steering, there is not much difference [Music] although the electric ones are normally heavy cars, the combination of ventilated discs in the front axle and discs in the rear of the bid provide good braking, the mg has surprised me because the initial response is more or less how close it is to its rivals. We have already said that they are, in this aspect, they are all very similar, but above all, what I really liked and what surprised me is that it transmits a lot of agility it is fast in changing paths on the roads we are talking about twisty roads mountain roads eh with many curves and sharp curves and there eh In my opinion it makes the difference compared to its rivals because it moves with agility it has a suspension balance that also allows it not to be uncomfortable on fast roads on highways because it is, it is comfortable but on the roads it is good, let's say it's pushing harder, it's like I'm allowing myself the expression, I know it's not like that but it's how it is It could be said that it is the sportiest in many quotes among its rivals today and as I mentioned, the suspension allows it to be effective on this type of road on twisty roads. Although I must say that if we increase the pace it offers good compression response. In other words, the compression setting is hard and is fine, however, in extension, it seems that it does not have an extension brake and then if at a Happy Rhythm it tends to bounce a little, the mg4 is the slowest in acceleration but in practice it seems that has a slightly livelier response than its Rivals in driving, let's say Sport, on mountain roads. If we accelerate decisively and the asphalt is a little wet, we can notice how the rear axle slips slightly, but the controls quickly warn us that the fun is over. The steering also helps with this sensation that offers the mg of agility of speed in turns because it has a fairly balanced feel between hard and soft, it is neither of the two extremes and it is quite direct and allows you to place the steering wheel very well. car at the entrance of the curve the only thing that I personally don't like at all is that the steering wheel is flat on top and flat on the bottom but this is a matter of [Music] tastes the mg4 transmits a sensation of agility in twisty areas but it must be said that it is also a comfortable car on fast roads since the suspension is not excessively hard and offers a smooth ride although it feels a little less poised than its rivals. It has four driving modes snow eco normal Sport good and personalized too and three energy regeneration modes, what do I have to say, they are not very, I mean the differences are not very notable, there are not many differences in terms of the response of the engine in acceleration compared to its rivals today, they are minimal, well, what is? What is quite noticeable with the id3 is that in my opinion it is the most balanced in terms of response in terms of suspension balance. It is a comfortable car. It has a suspension setting that allows you to ride comfortably on highways or roads. fast and also behave very well in twisty areas or in very twisty areas and narrow roads. It is the heaviest of the three by a bit. There are few differences. It weighs 1,802 kg but eh. Although the differences are minimal, the bagen feels heavier. It's eh it seems like it's the biggest and it's not and and on twisty roads it's a little noticeable, not that it 's more lazy, less agile, but on the other hand, it's the one that offers the greatest poise, the one that on twisty roads, yes. You can see that perhaps it is not the most agile but then as soon as we go on a faster road or a highway or especially a road with fast curves it is the one that goes most poised of all, the Volkswagen seems the most big of the three but in reality with its 426 m length it is the shortest of the comparison quite the opposite happens with the weight since with its 1815 kg the ide3 is the heaviest in terms of braking so to say that it is the one that It has the braking feel The worst of all eh the truth is that it has a very very spongy feel the pedal goes down a lot it brakes at the end of everything it does brake it has the braking it is correct it is effective eh you stop it where where you want to stop it but the feel is brandished it seems as if it does not act Or it acts very little so well that gives a sensation that you have to get used to and although I want to think that it is an issue of this specific unit otherwise eh it must be said that the the the braking is is is is correct But well, it has a very very special feel, it has ventilated discs in the front axle but it is the only one of the three that has drum brakes in the rear in terms of regenerative braking because it has the normal position when the d they call and then position B, which is when it brakes the most, as soon as we let off the gas, it regenerates quite a bit as well and the change is notable, but not in some of its Rivals, in the two rivals that despite having different modes to regenerate more, the differences are minors here it is more noticeable anyway I have to say that None of the three have cams and I have missed the power to manage the regenerative braking with the cams Because it is also easy, it is comfortable And you can also adapt it to your needs or to your taste at every [Music] moment the official consumption of these electric vehicles is 16.6 kw H for the mg4, 15.9 kw H for the dolfin and 15.2 kw H for the Volkswagen id3, which is the most efficient in reality they gave us a test consumption of between 20 and 21 kw H much higher than the official figure. The one that spent the least was the bid with an average consumption of 20 kw h at 100 to finish. I just want to tell you that they all come well equipped as standard with security systems and driving aid adaptive cruise control traffic jam assistant lane maintenance assistant quite intrusive By the way in the two Chinese cars automatic emergency braking or traffic sign recognition among others both bid and mg4 offer few equipment options Practically everything that They offer it as standard in the Volkswagen, there are more to choose from, although this means increasing the price. Of course, we can mount, for example, the magnificent 20-inch wheels that you have seen in the unit of this comparison that add up to 1115 more or or the heat pump Already mentioned by others 1065 keep this in mind when defining the configuration of your electric future. Well, if one thing has become clear, it is that even though they are electric and have the same power, the truth is that all three have very marked personalities, they are very cars. different but now the time has come to draw a conclusion and decide which one we should stay with Néstor you Which one do you prefer of the three the truth is that it is not easy at all because None of the three has convinced me too much, it's a bit like I always like the multimedia system of the bid I like the dynamics of the mg and I like the design of the Volkswagen So I would do a Max mix But since you have to choose one in this case I'll stick with the mg4 because I like to drive and I really It's the one that goes the best and you Luis Well, I'm a little similar, I would keep something from each one because everyone has their good part but you already know that I'm a burner and such And I would keep the mg because of the dynamics How is it going? everything How it goes on roads looks is is It is very Yes it looks like a sports car no but but since I am also a few years old I will stick with the Volkswagen Because for me it is the most complete the one that offers the most versatility So that is my choice Well It seemed to me something similar to what my colleagues did, it was between the id3 and the mg4 But in the end I decided I decided on the Chinese car because as the prices are, as I see the finishes and the dynamic behavior of this car, well It is quite balanced and I think it would be my very clear choice. Well, we have literally gotten wet. In other words, now we need to know your opinion. If you get wet too, that is and you have it very easy. Go down in the comments and tell us which one you liked the most. of the three of us and we read you because umbrellas we don't have umbrellas no no no umbrella hasn't come [Music] well i