A head-on clash between Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin, priced at 130,000 yuan. Which one do you choose?

As competition in the domestic new energy vehicle market becomes increasingly fierce, prices of joint venture new energy vehicle models have frequently been inverted in the domestic auto market. The prices of many joint venture new energy vehicle models are even lower than the selling prices of joint venture brands in their home countries.

For example, the Volkswagen ID.3 mentioned by 91che today is like this. Due to competitive pressure in China, it was forced to reduce its price from 160,000 to around 120,000, while in Germany it is about 300,000 yuan (39,990 euros).

But is the Volkswagen ID.3 worth buying after the price cut? Today we will compare it with the sales champion Dolphin at the same price to see which one you should choose when both are within 130,000 yuan?

The models compared this time are the Volkswagen ID.3 2024 Pure Smart Edition and the Dolphin 2023 Knight Edition.

Design

In terms of appearance design, the Volkswagen ID.3 has made some electrification changes based on the Volkswagen Golf, such as removing the air intake grille and replacing it with a fully enclosed front face. With the simple new headlight design, the front face looks simpler than the Golf, in line with the current mainstream aesthetic.

Perhaps in order to cater to the habits of traditional Volkswagen users, the side does not adopt the popular hidden door handles, but the traditional mechanical handles. However, this actually has some impact on the wind resistance of the whole vehicle. However, this does not affect the side temperament of the Volkswagen ID.3. It still looks somewhat fashionable, because its waistline cutting is very restrained, and it does not look bloated from the side.

The rear design is even simpler. Apart from the Volkswagen LOGO + SAIC Volkswagen logo + ID.3 model logo, there are no other decorative elements. Therefore, the Volkswagen ID.3 can be said to be the model with the simplest and most restrained back among new energy vehicles of the same price. The black and white collision design used in the black and white color scheme gives it a postmodern art feel, which is very amazing.

Compared with the Volkswagen ID.3, the front face design of the Dolphin is not that stunning. Although it also adopts a very simple design language, the BYD logo and the headlights on both sides combined together look more like the design used in an electric car priced at 50,000 or 60,000 yuan. The overall look is round and cute, but lacks some characteristics.

The side design of the Dolphin deserves a thumbs up. First of all, it caters to the habit of many consumers who do not like hidden door handles, but it adopts a semi-hidden design, which takes into account the three requirements of aesthetics, low wind resistance and antifreeze. It is much better than the Volkswagen ID.3. Secondly, its waistline cut presents a reverse Z letter, which looks full of speed and is cleverly designed.

The rear design is slightly worse than that of the Volkswagen ID.3. The reason is naturally that there are too many design elements, which makes the already small rear area look very crowded. The through-type headlights look good, but are matched with an extremely long BYD slogan. The protruding design also makes the Dolphin's visual bloat even more aggravated.

Power and handling

In terms of power, the Volkswagen ID.3 uses an electric motor with 170Ps horsepower, 125kW power and 310N·m, while the Dolphin uses an electric motor with 177Ps horsepower, 130kW power and 290 N·m torque. Judging from the data, the performance of the Dolphin is slightly ahead of the Volkswagen ID.3. And since the Volkswagen ID.3 is nearly 310kg heavier than the Dolphin, the actual acceleration performance of the Dolphin is naturally better.

However, for a small pure electric hatchback priced under 130,000 yuan, the performance gap between the two will not have much impact on actual driving. After all, even their endurance performance is not suitable for long-term high-speed driving on the highway. When driving in the city, the existing power level is completely sufficient for conventional lane changes and overtaking.

What really matters is control.

Although the Volkswagen ID.3 is a small car, it uses a rear-engine rear-wheel drive power solution, while the Dolphin uses a front-engine front-wheel drive. And because the Volkswagen chassis is more highly tuned, the steering and power response are more sensitive. In actual driving experience, the Volkswagen ID.3 responds to operations very promptly and has a clearer sense of the road, so the overall urban driving experience is much better, and the turning radius is also very small, which can give the driver full confidence. If you have certain requirements for control, then compared to the Dolphin with a somewhat loose chassis, the Volkswagen ID.3 is more suitable for you.

Battery life

In terms of battery life, the Volkswagen ID.3 uses a 52.8kWh CATL ternary lithium battery with a range of up to 450km. The ternary lithium battery it uses is relatively rare among models of the same price. Since the ternary lithium battery has good cold resistance, the range will be much less when used in winter.

The Dolphin uses BYD's own blade battery, which has a capacity of 44.9kWh and a range of up to 401km. It is slightly inferior to the Volkswagen ID.3, but if it is only used for commuting in the city, then there is actually not much difference between the two, and basically both can be charged once a week. If there are long-distance needs, then neither is suitable.

One thing worth praising is that Dolphin's battery provides the first owner with an unlimited warranty of years/mileage, which is very attractive at a time when consumers are generally concerned about battery life. The Volkswagen ID.3 only provides an 8-year or 160,000-kilometer warranty.

In terms of fast charging, the Dolphin can be charged from 30% to 80% in 0.5 hours, while the Volkswagen ID.3 can be charged from 0 to 80% in 0.67 hours. The Volkswagen ID.3 has a faster charging speed. If there is no charging pile in the community parking space, then the Volkswagen ID.3 is more suitable for consumers who charge at third-party charging stations, as it has a faster charging speed.

Cabin interior

In terms of cockpit, both Volkswagen ID.3 and Dolphin adopt a relatively simple design language. Compared with Dolphin, Volkswagen ID.3 has a more modern visual style. The stylish contrasting color design makes the center console area look not monotonous. The arrangement of different elements and the stacking of design elements are also relatively restrained.

But the problem is that although the Dolphin's cabin design is a bit exaggerated and may make some consumers find it difficult to accept, it has to be said that the design style is very obvious and has its own personality. For example, the air-conditioning vents echo the design elements of the center console, and the visual unity is also very good. Moreover, the materials used in the cabin are better than those of the Volkswagen ID.3. The Volkswagen ID.3 has too much hard plastic, and the cabin does have a cheap feel.

In terms of car computers, Volkswagen ID.3 uses a self-developed car computer system. The screen is not large, only 10 inches, and the displayed content is relatively cramped. The fluency and entertainment performance of the car computer system are much worse than those of domestic car computers.

The advantage is that it supports wireless CarPlay, which is more friendly to iPhone users. However, the disadvantage is that the stability is somewhat poor. During the actual test drive, there was a situation where after the pairing was completed, it could not wake up automatically the second time and needed to be re-paired.

As a domestic car computer, Dolphin uses a 12.8-inch screen and is built on the Android system. It can install a lot of third-party Android apps and has excellent entertainment performance.

So in this regard, it can be said that Dolphin's advantages are very obvious. Consumers who care about the cabin experience can choose Dolphin with confidence.

Buying advice

In general, unless you care a lot about the driving experience and just want a good-looking, easy-to-drive small pure electric car to solve the problem of commuting to get off work, then there is really not much need to choose the Volkswagen ID.3.

Because in terms of the cockpit, which is the area of ​​daily contact and experience, the performance of the Volkswagen ID.3 lags far behind that of the Dolphin. At the same time, its advantage in battery life is not obvious. Moreover, even the two driving assistance functions that are standard on the Dolphin, namely reversing image and 360° panoramic image, are not standard on the Volkswagen ID.3, so the cost-effectiveness is not high.

So for most consumers, if they want a small car that can solve their commuting needs and has a comfortable cabin, then the Dolphin is a better choice at this price.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.