BYD Atto 3 review: a very good EV

What is it?

The BYD Atto 3 is one of the most popular electric vehicles in Australia right now. A small SUV made in China, BYD stands, sort of cringingly, for Build Your Dreams. The biggest car manufacturer in its home country, BYD is like the emergent Toyota of China. It is one of China’s largest privately-owned enterprises.

The Atto 3 is performing well in Aussie EV sales not just for its plentiful supply – you won’t have to wait long for one – but its very attractive price, which we’ll get to below. Plenty of new owners have nabbed one on a novated lease, where the Atto 3, like all other electric models under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold of $89,332 for ‘fuel efficient’ vehicles, is Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exempt.

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Does it have any racing pedigree?

The BYD Atto 3 has about as much racing pedigree as the crystals Peter Brock put in his road cars actually did anything. That said, Formula E is said to be trying to lure BYD into a future championship.

What’s under the bonnet?

There’s a single 150kW/310Nm electric motor driving the front wheels only. BYD offers two battery options, a Standard Range with 49.92kWh (useable) and an Extended Range with 60.48kWh (useable). Range is a claimed 345km and 420km on the reasonably believable WLTP efficiency standard. Our Extended Range test car was displaying 474km of available range with 98 per cent charge

The Atto 3 can accept a maximum of 7kW on a home AC charger and between 70kW and 80kW on a DC fast-charger – which is pretty slow. Pull up to a 350kW charger on a long trip on a hot day and you’ll be needing a good, long book where other EV owners won’t.

The Atto 3 at least uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, rather than the more common general lithium-ion. LFP batteries can be regularly recharged past 80 per cent with no long-term problems, and present a lower fire risk.

How does it handle?

The Atto 3 drives surprisingly well. It’s softly sprung without being under-damped, offering impressive ride quality.

Put your foot down and all the weight shifts to the soft rear axle, unweighting the front end and creating a bit of single-pegger front wheelspin – in a way that’s kind of fun.

With its independent rear end, the handling is even half decent, with a pleasing eagerness, aliveness and fluidity. That said, it’s not hard to overwhelm the standard 215-section tyres, the Atto 3 lapsing into very early understeer.

Where would you most like to drive it?

The city is where the Atto 3 makes the most sense, silently blasting away from traffic lights while petrol-powered SUVs are still reaching for their power and torque curves. If your use-case is lots of driving at 110km/h with the heating or cooling blasting, you might get a rude shock at the range.

What’s the interior like?

“It’s ugly” smiles an owner we meet out on the road one day (who otherwise loved the car). BYD says the Atto 3’s interior is inspired by gym culture, with the swooping, sinewy dash design intended to resemble a muscle; while the shifter is meant to be like a little dumbbell. Whatever your thoughts on it, it’s certainly at odds with the somewhat derivative exterior design.

Fortunately, it all works well. A central 12.8-inch screen offers wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as built-in sat-nav. There’s a smaller, 5.0-inch screen behind the steering wheel displaying things like speed and range.

The skateboard electric vehicle platform means it’s pretty spacious, in the back especially. The standard panoramic sunroof makes the interior feel bigger than it is, a light-filled, airy place.

How much does the BYD Atto 3 cost?

The Standard Range is priced from $48,011 before on-road costs, and the Extended Range is $51,011. When it was released the Atto 3 Standard Range was $44,381 so it’s painful to see the price has risen so much, especially given China’s eagerness to fill ships with EVs at the minute.

Would I buy one?

If you reckon you could get used to the oddball interior design, the Atto 3 makes a very compelling case for itself, offering an EV experience in a somewhat more traditional package. To be honest, it’s a really surprisingly great little car.

The Atto 3 has been out for a couple of years now, so look at the used market to get an idea of depreciation, and get a quote on insurance, to form an accurate picture of lifetime cost-of-ownership (if you’re not leasing).