They have done it again. Chinese car maker BYD has shaken up the electric market with another budget busting model.

Meet the Dolphin Surf, BYD’s smallest electric car with savagely competitive pricing, £18,650-£23,950, razor sharp looks, and more space than you might think from a car just under four metres long.

The location for the UK launch was London’s Alexandra Palace, an unusual setting but the Chinese certainly do things with a bit of style. The Surf was heralded in a crashing wave of razzamataz with all the the glitz and glamour of a Tom Cruise film premier, the Ally Pally teeming with influencers, bloggers and, of course, good old fashioned motoring journos.

This was a company showcasing its commitment to electric vehicles, and they are not hanging about. In China BYD cars can be charged almost as quickly as fueling. We were told the technology will reach Europe but there was no hint of when.

Before getting into the nitty gritty, what colour would you give the car in the photograph? I would go for a definite yellow but BYD seems to be suffering colour blindness because they say lime green!

It takes all sorts but we can’t deny that the styling is stunning and has been likened to a Lamborghini which is hardly surprising given that it was penned by a former Lambo designer.

How good the car is to drive on the open road will have to wait for another day. The route around the traffic clogged London Borough of Haringey restricted driving mainly to 20mph (there are 20mph limits in London as well as Wales).

It could be argued this was the perfect playground because Surf’s diminutive size suits city and urban driving. It is easy to park in tight spaces and has a terrific lock as I discovered when forced into a tight U-turn to escape a traffic hold up.

But there is still plenty to talk about and high on the agenda is space, not something associated with cars this size. Unlike rivals like Renault 5E and Citroen EC3 the Surf is a four seater, it’s a tad narrower than the aforementioned, but it means the two back seats are wide and comfortable, while legroom here is amazingly good and headroom not bad either.

Second place in space is the boot, not the class leader, but not far off. BYD’s wafer thin battery pack helps out here with minimal intrusion into the floor so packing a large suitcase and a couple of carry-ons should not be a problem. And there is a surprise under the boot floor where there is room for another carry on case.

Up front is standard BYD, minimalist with a 7in digital drivers display, 10.1in touchscreen, with a few rocker switches beneath, one of which is the gear selector. Controlling the heating is through the touchscreen but things have been made a bit simpler by dragging three fingers vertically or horizontally to select temperature or fan speed no matter what is displayed. Until you have managed to work everything out just use voice control which is one of the best I have come across.

There are three models: Active with a 30kWh battery and a modest 137 mile range, Boost, 43.2kWh battery, 200 mile range, and the top spec Comfort with a more powerful motor and a range of 193 miles.

As is BYDs way there is a generous list of standard equipment with vegan leather seats, rotatable touchscreen, air conditioning, rear parking sensors and camera, keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise control, and Android or Apple CarPlay phone connections.

Boost, which has the slowest acceleration to sixty (12secs) despite its name, gets navigation and powered front seats while Comfort add-ons include 360deg all round camera, LED headlights, heated front seats and wireless phone charging.

As one of the least expensive electric cars on the market the Surf is a solid buy and will be a pain in the neck for its European competitors with a combination of great value, space and styling, and it comes with a six year warranty.

All we need now is for the Government to provide the means to charge cars in areas where people often have no option but to leave their car 100 metres or more from where they live.

Fast facts

Dolphin Surf Comfort

£23,950

Range: 193 miles

Battery: 43.2kWh. 154bhp

0-62mph 9.1secs

10-80% charge: 30 minutes

Boot: 308-1037 litres