Dolphin Premium vs MG4 EV Essence 64: Australian cabin and charging choices
Dolphin Premium adds heated, powered front seats and a glass roof. The regular rear-drive MG4 Essence 64 offers physical climate controls and higher declared DC capability. Try the exact cabins and compare local cash quotes.
Premium cabin features or the updated rear-drive MG4?
Start with Dolphin Premium if heated front seats, powered front-seat adjustment and the panoramic glass roof are features you will use every day. Start with the regular MG4 EV Essence 64 if you prefer its physical climate controls, larger driver display and rear-wheel-drive layout after trying the car. Its published rapid-charging capability is a reason to investigate a frequent highway route, not proof that every charging stop will be quicker.
This comparison is for an Australian buyer who has already moved beyond the smallest-battery versions. The Dolphin is the 60.48 kWh Premium, not the Essential. The MG is the updated regular 64 kWh LFP, rear-drive Essence 64 on the Modular Scalable Platform, not the front-drive MG4 Urban Essence 54 or the all-wheel-drive XPOWER. Those distinctions change the cabin, battery and charging decision.
The next step is two exact-car demonstrations and two written cash proposals for the same postcode. Current configurator labels are useful references, but we have not obtained matched final driveaway quotes or confirmed stock allocation. Do not select the winner by subtracting the Essential’s promotion from the Premium’s price.
Two current Australian grades, with different layouts
BYD’s current Australian Dolphin page lists Premium with its own ordering route and model-specific figures. The linked brochure and selected Premium configurator identify a 60.48 kWh battery, 150 kW motor and front-wheel drive. The brochure’s 2025 filename does not establish the build date or model year of the particular vehicle a retailer will supply. Ask for that information on the order.
MG’s current regular MG4 EV page and MY26 brochure identify Essence 64 with a 64 kWh LFP battery, rear-wheel drive and 140 kW. The selected configurator confirms the same grade. Do not replace these figures with those of an older NCM-battery MG4, the new Urban or XPOWER. MG also warns that some imagery shows XPOWER and that other variants can differ. National model listings establish a current sales route, not the availability or arrival date of an individual car.
| Attribute | BYD Dolphin Premium | MG4 EV Essence 64 |
|---|---|---|
| selected Australian version | BYD Dolphin PremiumPremium; 60.48 kWh battery, 150 kW and front-wheel drive; actual allocated unit build to confirm | MG4 EV Essence 64Regular MY26 MSP Essence 64; 64 kWh LFP, 140 kW and rear-wheel drive; not Urban or XPOWER |
| current purchase reference | BYD Dolphin PremiumSelected Premium option A$36,990; no completed same-postcode driveaway cash quote | MG4 EV Essence 64Selected Essence 64 option A$39,990* under offer terms; no completed same-postcode cash quote |
Get the payable amount before valuing the upgrade
The selected Dolphin Premium configurator shows A$36,990 as the variant option. It also lists Ski White at no extra charge and Harbour Grey or Atlantis Grey at A$500. A location and store are still needed to establish the actual order total. Treat that number as a selected-version reference, rather than a final driveaway offer for your address.
The selected MG4 EV Essence 64 configurator shows A$39,990*. Its October terms describe a from Total Vehicle Price including 12 months’ registration, 12 months’ CTP, maximum dealer delivery and stamp duty, for eligible new stock sold and delivered from 1 to 31 October 2026 at participating dealers. Stocks and buyer restrictions apply. Dover White and Iris Cyan Metallic are listed without an extra paint charge; other listed metallic colours add A$700. We have not completed a postcode-specific cash quotation, so these two references do not establish a precise amount by which one car is dearer for you.
BYD’s A$28,888 driveaway campaign names Dolphin Essential, not Premium. Its separate current 6% novated-lease offer includes Dolphin but applies to eligible clients through approved fleet-management organisations, with orders from 1 October to 21 December 2026 and delivery by 31 January 2027. The discount is against the base vehicle list price, excluding registration, CTP, stamp duty, dealer delivery and statutory charges; metallic paint is extra. It is not a general cash discount to take off a Premium quote.
Ask each retailer for the exact grade, build, colour, compulsory charges and available stock in a single written proposal. Keep any eligible accessories or finance campaign separate until the retailer confirms how it applies. Use the same trade-in assumption. Only then can you decide whether the equipment and charging differences justify the amount you would actually pay.
Try the controls that interrupt your daily routine
Dolphin Premium’s documented cabin includes heated front seats, a six-way powered driver’s seat and four-way powered passenger seat. The Premium also adds a panoramic glass roof, rain-sensing wipers and wireless phone charging. Its central display is a 12.8-inch rotating touchscreen, with a smaller five-inch instrument panel. These are concrete reasons to put the Premium on a shortlist, but they do not establish seat comfort or screen usability for a particular driver.
The updated regular MG4 has a 12.8-inch central display, a 10.25-inch driver display and physical climate-control buttons. MG lists wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the Essence 64 brochure specifies PVC upholstery with cloth inserts and six-speaker audio. A person who wants a dedicated control for an everyday climate adjustment may prefer this arrangement even if a powered seat or glass roof is less important to them.
Set your normal driving position in both cars. Change the cabin temperature, demist the windscreen and read navigation while parked, then pair your phone and check calls and music. Try the controls again during a supervised test drive where safe. A screen dimension does not tell you how easy a function is to reach, and this comparison does not claim that we have driven either current Australian car.
The front-versus-rear-drive difference is also a test-drive question. It should not be translated into a promise of better handling, more grip or greater safety without a comparable test. Choose the steering response and pedal behaviour you are comfortable with, rather than using the driven axle as a score on its own.
| Attribute | BYD Dolphin Premium | MG4 EV Essence 64 |
|---|---|---|
| cabin control equipment | BYD Dolphin Premium12.8-inch rotating touchscreen, 5-inch instruments; Premium powered and heated front seats, panoramic glass roof | MG4 EV Essence 6412.8-inch touchscreen, 10.25-inch driver display and physical climate buttons; Essence PVC seats with cloth inserts |
Compare usable access rather than a nominal five litres
Both are practical hatchbacks on paper, but take the actual passengers and child restraints to the demonstration. BYD lists ISOFIX anchor points; the presence of an anchorage is not proof that your chosen restraint leaves enough front-seat space. Confirm the installation instructions, top-tether arrangement and buckle access in each exact car. We have not established a complete MG anchorage count in the documents used here and will not fill that gap from an overseas version.
BYD declares 345 litres of luggage capacity, expanding to 1,310 litres with the rear seats folded. MG gives 350 and 1,165 litres and labels its brochure figures as wet volume. Those statements do not form a common loading measurement. The nominal five-litre seats-up difference is not a demonstrated useful-space advantage, and a folded-seat figure cannot answer a trip that also needs the rear passengers.
Load your pushchair, weekly shopping or sports equipment with the required seats in place. Check the opening, lifting height, cable storage and visibility once loaded. If the bags only fit after removing a child seat or blocking the view, the manufacturer’s larger number has not solved your actual problem.
Do not turn different charge windows into a stopwatch result
The current Australian figures are 427 km combined WLTP for Dolphin Premium and 452 km for the selected MG4 EV Essence 64. That is a 25 km difference between manufacturer declarations using the same named test standard, rather than a guarantee that the MG will travel 25 km farther on your route.
Dolphin Premium’s current page states 80 kW DC capability and 29 minutes from 30 to 80 per cent. MG’s selected Essence 64 configurator states 154 kW DC and 6.6 kW AC. Its brochure declares an estimated 25 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent using a 150 kW ultra-fast charger under the stated conditions, including 25 degrees Celsius. The charger’s 150 kW rating is not a correction of the car’s separately listed 154 kW DC specification.
The MG has a higher published DC capability and a broader stated charging window in that manufacturer illustration. That makes it worth checking first for a buyer expecting regular highway rapid charging. It does not establish a four-minute common-window victory: the battery’s arrival charge, temperature, charger and charging curve all matter. We have not run a matched charging test or measured energy use on the same route.
For home charging, ask the retailer to confirm the vehicle’s AC limit and the installer to quote the actual electrical work. MG’s selected-grade page gives 6.6 kW. We have not independently reconfirmed Dolphin Premium’s vehicle AC maximum in the current sources used here; an optional 7 kW wallbox is not evidence of the car’s own AC limit. With dependable overnight charging, cabin fit and the actual purchase proposal may matter more than a peak DC number.
| Attribute | BYD Dolphin Premium | MG4 EV Essence 64 |
|---|---|---|
| published range and charging | BYD Dolphin Premium427 km combined WLTP; 80 kW DC; declared 29 min 30-80%; current vehicle AC maximum unconfirmed here | MG4 EV Essence 64452 km combined WLTP; selected configurator 154 kW DC / 6.6 kW AC; brochure 25 min 10-80% with conditions |
Choose the workshop as well as the hatchback
Ask who will service the car near you, what the current warranty requires and where a warranty repair would actually be handled. Obtain the applicable warranty and service schedule with the order; a headline duration alone does not establish battery-capacity conditions, exclusions or the cost of complying with scheduled servicing. Get insurance prices for the exact variants and ask about likely tyre replacement costs without assuming the more expensive wheel package will suit every budget.
Our conditional recommendation is Dolphin Premium for a buyer who values its documented heated and powered front seats and glass roof after trying them. MG4 EV Essence 64 is the stronger first appointment if physical climate controls, its regular rear-drive layout and the higher declared rapid-charging capability match your use. If your routine is mainly overnight-charged commuting, decide on the actual cabin and written cash proposals. If it is repeated highway travel, investigate the charging route as well.
These are different choices from our Dolphin Essential and MG4 Urban Essence 54 comparison. That page concerns the lower-battery, front-drive alternatives; its promotion and equipment must not be copied onto these cars. Browse the other buying guides if neither selected version fits.
Australian sources checked on 20 October 2026
This is a comparison of current Australian manufacturer documents and exact-grade purchase references, checked on 20 October 2026. It is not a CathayEV road test, luggage measurement or charging trial. Overseas imagery, older review cars and other MG4 or Dolphin variants do not establish the equipment or performance of the vehicle being ordered. The useful next step is to try the controls and loading task in both exact cars, then obtain comparable local cash proposals and confirm build, stock and handover. No common ownership-cost forecast or resale prediction has been made.
Questions before ordering
- Is this MG4 EV Essence 64 the same as the MG4 Urban?
- No. This is the current regular MSP rear-wheel-drive Essence 64 with a 64 kWh LFP battery and 140 kW. The front-drive MG4 Urban Essence 54 is a different model and must not supply its price, equipment or charging figures.
- Can Dolphin Premium use the A$28,888 driveaway offer?
- The current campaign names Dolphin Essential. It is not a confirmed Premium offer. Premium’s selected configurator option is A$36,990, and the final location-specific cash proposal remains to be established.
- Which is quicker to charge?
- MG lists a higher vehicle DC capability, but the quoted times cover different windows: Dolphin Premium’s 29 minutes is 30-80 per cent; MG’s 25 minutes is 10-80 per cent under stated conditions. These are manufacturer illustrations, not a matched test or a guaranteed four-minute difference.
- Is MG’s DC specification 150 kW or 154 kW?
- The selected Essence 64 configurator states 154 kW DC. The brochure’s 150 kW figure describes the ultra-fast charger used for its charging-time statement. Those figures refer to different things and should remain separately labelled.
- Does the MG have more usable boot space?
- That is not established by these documents. BYD lists 345 litres seats-up and MG lists 350 litres with a wet-volume label. Bring the actual bags and passengers to both cars; the nominal difference does not prove that the MG carries your load better.