BYD has just opened the order book for its first EV in Australia, the Atto 3 small SUV. But should you be laying down your deposit?
There’s a lot of interest in, and momentum behind, the BYD electric vehicle brand in Australia, and the Chinese car-maker has finally launched its long-awaited first full-time model – the 2022 BYD Atto 3. One of the most affordable EVs on our market, the Atto 3 – or Yuan Plus as it’s known in China – is now available to order from $44,381 plus on-road costs and lines up directly against the MG ZS EV. It has value on its side, a high specification, plucky performance and useable real-world driving range. Not least of all, it’s loads of fun with unique features that give it a real edge.
Atto Boy
BYD is perhaps best known as the Chinese EV company in which American business mogul Warren Buffett invested $US230 million back in 2008. But today it’s China’s top-selling producer of electrified (EV and plug-in hybrid) passenger vehicles.
Last year saw sales of 593,745 vehicles in its home market, including a record 97,990 in December alone, and the new 2022 BYD Atto 3 – sold in China as the Yuan Plus – is a key model as BYD pushes into export markets, including Australia.
Launched in Sydney last weekend ahead of first Aussie deliveries in July, the BYD Atto 3 is a small battery-powered five-seat SUV priced from $44,381 plus on-road costs.
That starting price makes it one of the most affordable EVs in Australia, lining up closely against the MG ZS EV that starts from $44,990 drive-away.
Unlike with MG, there’s no national drive-away pricing for BYD, so in most states and territories you’ll pay more to get the Atto 3 onto the road than you will with the ZS EV. But there’s not a great deal in it.
The Atto 3 is the second car to utilise BYD’s new e-platform 3.0 after the smaller Dolphin hatchback. It also comes with plenty of gear for the money and clever packaging that utilises space well.
Indeed, while the exterior has some nice detailing, the Atto 3 is fairly inconspicuous until you open the doors and get in.
It’s almost as if the interior designers got a very different memo to the exterior team – and, boy, have they gone to town to create something really quite unique.
Take two
The 2022 BYD Atto 3 is available in two model variants in Australia – Standard Range and Extended Range, priced from $44,381 and $47,381 (both plus on-road costs) respectively.
Both run a single permanent magnet synchronous motor that produces 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque, driving the front wheels and claiming 0-100km/h acceleration in 7.3 seconds.
The key difference is in the lithium-iron phosphate (LIP) battery density that’s 50.1kWh in the Standard Range model and 60.4kWh in the Extended Range on test here.
The quoted WLTP-verified driving range is 320kW in the entry model at an efficiency rate of 15.7kWh/100km, while the longer-range version offers a claimed 420km and 14.4kWh/100km.
AC charging at up to 7.0kW is available, but both models can reportedly charge at up to 80kW using a DC fast-charger.
The Atto 3 measures 4455mm long, 1875mm wide and 1615mm high, and rests on a 2720mm wheelbase. It tips the scales at 1615kg in standard guise, while the longer-range model is slightly heavier at 1690kg.
Both variants are identically specified in terms of standard equipment, and there’s plenty here to digest.
We’ll dive into safety and technology in the next section, but for starters there’s 18-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, one-touch electric tailgate opening/closing, keyless entry/start and electric heated/folding exterior mirrors.
Among the cabin highlights is faux leather upholstery, six-way power-adjust driver’s seat (four-way for the front passenger), electronic park brake and a steering wheel that provides switchgear for easy access to functions such as phone, audio and adaptive cruise control.
It also has a 5.0-inch digital instrument display attached on top of the steering column.
BYD’s local partner is Nexport, which is selling the Atto 3 exclusively online via its EVDirect website.
The BYD Atto 3 is backed by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, while the battery is covered for the same time period but only up to 160,000km.
Adding up
There’s no ANCAP safety rating yet for the 2022 BYD Atto 3, but no shortage of standard safety equipment either.
Standard features include seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, a door open warning, forward and rear collision warning, lane departure warning and lane keep assist, rear cross traffic alert and rear cross traffic braking.
There’s also electronic stability and traction control, ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution (and four-wheel discs) and hill descent control.
The outboard rear seats have ISOFIX child restraint attachment points.
Notably, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity is listed as TBC, but otherwise the standard infotainment and connectivity suite is downright impressive.
Bluetooth phone and audio streaming is included, along with over-the-air (OTA) updates, DAB digital radio, wireless phone charging, an eight-speaker Dirac stereo and, saving perhaps the best until last, a 12.8-inch rotating touch-screen display.
Turning point
Probably the biggest party trick in the 2022 BYD Atto 3 is its rotating centre touch-screen, although the Aussie-market version is a little smaller than the 15.6-inch unit on our test car in Shanghai.
There are some functions such as karaoke that automatically rotate the screen – it’s in portrait mode when you’re belting out notes – whereas with others it’s a matter of user preference.
Rotation is achieved through a steering wheel-mounted button or a button on the screen’s homepage.
Unsurprisingly, the screen controls most of the car’s functions including the climate control settings.
Navigation seemed more in sync to apps rather than functions, but as everything is in Chinese maybe it’s more intuitive to native speakers.
Control of many functions is also possible via the voice-activated assistant Xiao Di (Little D). Running the system is a Qualcomm Snapdragon eight core CPU and the operating system is based on Android.
Similar to the Volkswagen ID family, the Atto 3 has a 5.0-inch digital instrument screen mounted to the steering column. When driving, this seems too small and cluttered to clearly see information, although that might be a matter of getting used to the layout.
Attotude
For now, the 2022 BYD Atto 3 uses a single-motor powertrain that drives through a single-speed reduction gear.
BYD equates the Atto 3 as offering the performance of a conventional 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, and given the car’s size, weight and drag coefficient (0.29Cd), the quoted 7.3-second acceleration is reasonable but not in Tesla territory.
Producing a maximum 150kW/310Nm, the front-wheel drive Atto 3 offers good performance, albeit with some pronounced torque-steer when you accelerate hard from a standing start.
BYD started as a battery producer and unsurprisingly uses its own lithium-iron phosphate batteries in the Atto 3. These are the so-called ‘Blade’ type which are longer and thinner than regular lithium-ion cells.
Thanks to better space utilisation, the Blade battery has a higher volumetric energy density.
BYD has demonstrated the battery packs being severely damaged, including undergoing nail penetration tests, without catching fire. Tesla has reportedly placed an order for Blade batteries and Toyota has entered into a joint-venture with BYD to work on electric powertrains.
The e-platform 3.0 underpinning the Atto 3 has 800V architecture which can support super-fast charging from 128kW chargers, allowing 100km range to be added in a claimed 10 minutes. Full details on recharging times are still to be confirmed for Australian-spec models.
Also available is vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, allowing the car can be used to power electrical devices such as outdoor cookers.
A heat pump helps reduce power consumption for heating and cooling and the system uses ambient heat to warm the battery in cold weather. BYD claims the Atto 3 is the only car at this price point to use a heat pump, and it certainly helps reduce range loss in temperature extremes.
Gym-car-na
Compared with some of the Chinese EV start-ups, BYD seems to have geared the 2022 BYD Atto 3 to drive more like a petrol-engined car.
There are only two levels of braking regeneration which roughly translate as standard and stronger. Neither are particularly noticeable and the Atto 3 is certainly not capable of one-pedal driving.
Given this, it’s perhaps not surprising the drive selector is very much in the old-school automatic lever style.
A small metal rocker switch on the centre console controls the drive modes. In Eco, the steering is quite loose and the acceleration weaker, but by the time you reach Sport – via Normal – the steering has tightened significantly and acceleration is much better.
DiPilot, which is selectable by a steering wheel-mounted button, incorporates technologies such as adaptive cruise control and active lane keep assist.
While it does a reasonable job there seems to be a lot of unnecessary micro steering corrections.
There is also a one-button automatic parking system but this had been disabled on our test car and it isn’t available on Australian-spec models anyway.
The interior design has been influenced by gym culture. Using shades of blue, red and grey, the materials in our test car are generally soft-touch, however some seem to scuff easily.
Design of the air-vents is inspired by dumbbells and there are weight-like bars on the doors.
The speakers on each door are combined with the door handle and incorporate an LED light. Most surprising are the red guitar-like strings on each door which each have notes and can be played.
Rear seat passengers get plenty of space and the 60/40-split seats fold down to a near-flat position to increase the luggage capacity from 434 litres (with seats upright) to 1330 litres.
While there is no frunk, boot space seems far more capacious and practical than in the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
Drive me crazy
There is no doubt the 2022 BYD Atto 3 brings plenty of fun to the table.
The centre console box includes a charging dock for the karaoke microphone, which strangely connects to the car’s entertainment system via a rather aftermarket-looking white dongle.
All this will no doubt appeal to younger buyers although features like the microphone don’t appear to have made it to Australian-spec cars.
The central touch-screen is also a little smaller and we’re expecting differences in the processing system.
We love the novelty of the rotating central screen, and the interior design is something to behold. Gym junkies will simply adore the fitness culture styling cues across the cabin.
The question is, what will the car be like to live with long-term?
Little Joe Strummers may soon find themselves ‘clashing’ with the parents on longer trips with those guitar strings across the door bins.
Some of the materials also seem to have poor durability, with the USB ports under the floating centre console – along with being near impossible to access on the move – showing considerable scuffing on a car that had only done 1000km.
While the design is fresh and modern today, will it hold up in five or 10 years’ time?
Certainly today the BYD Atto 3 is a welcome addition to the EV market, offering a very well equipped small SUV boasting good performance, high levels of practicality, advanced safety systems, unique selling points and an attractive starting price.
It’s creating a buzz that’s about to get a whole lot louder when the first cars hit Aussie roads from mid-2022.
How much does the 2022 BYD Atto 3 Superior Extended Range cost?Price: $47,381 (plus on-road costs)Available: Now (first deliveries expected in July)Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motorOutput: 150kW/310NmTransmission: Single-speed reduction gearBattery: 60.4kWh lithium-iron phosphateRange: 420km (WLTP)Energy consumption: 14.4kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: BYD Atto 3 2022 Review – International