BYD Atto 3 SUV review – Carbuyer

Verdict – Is the BYD Atto 3 a good car?

While BYD isn’t a familiar name here, the Chinese manufacturer sold almost two million cars globally in 2022, and there’s a chance your smartphone may use its battery technology. The Atto 3 marks the car brand’s launch into the UK market, and leaves a good first impression. While it looks a little conservative from the outside, this all-electric SUV has a spacious, quirky interior with plenty of equipment, plus a solid range of up to 260 miles. A five-star Euro NCAP score should also encourage families to try a model from a previously unheard of brand.

BYD Atto 3 models, specs and alternatives

The BYD Atto 3 is a medium-sized electric SUV, and the first of the Chinese manufacturer’s products to launch in the UK. We’re not surprised BYD has picked this segment to begin with; the trend for SUV sales doesn’t appear to be slowing down, with eight of the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars in the first few months of 2023 being tall, high-riding models like the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson and Vauxhall Mokka.

Top 10 best electric family cars 2023

There’s also a growing number of electric SUVs the Atto 3 will need to take on, including the MG ZS EV, Skoda Enyaq iV, Volkswagen ID.4 and Kia Niro EV. As you’d likely expect, the BYD is positioned to undercut most of them on price. The Atto 3 costs from under £37,000 – an ID.4 costs at least a few thousand more.

The BYD Atto 3 comes with a 60.5kWh battery, providing a claimed range of up to 260 miles. It’s a competitive figure, beating models like the Citroen e-C4 that can manage around 220 miles, but sitting beneath the Kia Niro EV with its range of just over 280 miles. Charging speeds are competitive but unremarkable; a 30-80% top-up takes 29 minutes using a public fast charger, reaching a peak charging speed of 88kW.

Power is provided by a 201bhp electric motor, sending its energy to the front wheels – this isn’t an electric SUV you’ll want for off-roading. Acceleration from 0-62mph comes up in 7.3 seconds, which should be more than quick enough for most families, while its top speed is limited to 99mph.

Trim levels are Active, Comfort and Design, with the main interior difference being the prominent central display. In the range-topper this is a large 15.8-inch tablet that can rotate between portrait and landscape modes. We were also impressed with the BYD’s voice control, which can control everything from media output to the heated seats. 

BYD Atto alternatives

Family Electric SUVs

Hybrid SUVS

Mid-size SUVs

While BYD might not be a household name in Europe, the manufacturer sold over 1.8 million cars in 2022, mostly in its home market of China. It’s also an expert in battery technology, with almost a quarter of the world’s smartphones using its tech. In the Atto 3 there’s a 60.5kWh ‘Blade’ battery pack, which has been designed to be as slim as possible to preserve space inside the cabin. 

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BYD gives an official range figure of 260 miles, and our test car showed a range of 250 miles despite the wintry conditions and near-freezing temperatures, which is a good start. We also found efficiency looked good on the move, even if we couldn’t quite match the claimed figure of 3.98 miles/kWh. During our testing of the Kia Niro EV we managed around 4.4 miles/kWh, and it also has a slightly better range of up to 285 miles.

Charging speeds are fairly middle of the pack, topping out at 88kW using a public DC rapid charger. This is enough to take the battery from a 30-80% state of charge in 29 minutes. The Niro EV can only charge at 77kW, while the Renault Megane E-Tech can hit a peak of 130kW, for a 15-80% charge in the same half-hour period. The entry-level versions of the BYD feature a 7kW onboard AC charger for home wallbox use, which is upgraded to 11kW from Comfort trim – a nice feature, but only if you have a three-phase electricity supply to take full advantage of it. 

Like all battery electric models, the Atto 3 will be exempt from VED (road tax) until 2025. It will also be appealing for company car buyers thanks to its low zero-emissions Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) band, which undercuts hybrid and petrol or diesel-powered models.

Insurance

Insurance groups for the BYD Atto 3 haven’t been confirmed yet, so it will be interesting to see if the brand’s newcomer status will inflate the cost of its cover. The MG ZS EV also has Chinese roots – but with more dealerships than BYD – and it sits in group 28 out of 50, so it’s likely you’ll pay more here than for a more traditional SUV like the Nissan Qashqai in groups 11-17. Around 30 BYD dealer locations are planned by the end of 2023, with up to 100 across the UK by 2025.

We’ve already driven a right-hand drive Atto 3 on British roads, and can say with confidence that BYD has targeted comfort rather than outright sports car-style handling. For the vast majority of SUV buyers that can only be a good thing, as our road network is rather challenging for stiff suspension at the best of times.

Even on roads with plenty of potholes, the Atto 3 does a reasonable job of soaking them up without upsetting its occupants. The downside to this is a bit of body lean in corners, but it certainly isn’t alarming or worse than its rivals. The steering feels a touch springy and keen to return to its central position, but refinement is good – at least until its door mirrors start to generate some wind noise at higher speeds.

While brake feel can be problematic for both hybrids and EVs as they juggle energy recuperation from a motor with physical brakes operated via the pedal, they feel pretty good here. There are two levels of brake regeneration to choose from, and we preferred it on its higher setting, which slows the car down more noticeably, but doesn’t bring the car to a halt like models with one-pedal driving.

Despite its ‘dragon face’ nose, the Atto 3 looks pretty conventional from the outside, with its most arresting features being full-width LED lights and a plunging roofline for a more athletic look. While it’s a sign BYD clearly wants to play it safe with its new entrant, this won’t appeal to customers looking for a futuristic-looking model like the Hyundai Ioniq 5. 

Things do get a bit more interesting inside, however, where the choice of textures, materials and air vents all give the BYD a unique atmosphere. In fact, it takes its inspiration from gyms, with the gear selector resembling a kettlebell handle, and the door grab handles and air vents shaped like free weights. Even the central armrest has grooves that are a subtle nod to a treadmill.

Other quirky features include ‘guitar string’ door bin nets that can actually play a tune. Our Design test car also boasted blue and cream trim with a wave-like texture dash-top that appears to have been draped over the surface.

Infotainment and navigation

While Comfort and Active trims get a still-reasonable 12.8-inch central touchscreen, the range-topping Design boasts a large 15.8-inch display that can rotate between landscape and portrait modes with a press on the screen or a voice command. 

It’s a bit of a gimmick and we expect most owners will decide which they prefer and leave it alone, but it’s fun to change with passengers in the car. The screen itself is also fairly responsive to inputs, and we also found the car’s voice control worked well. Using spoken commands can control everything from Spotify to the heated seats, and even the heated rear window. Unlike a Tesla Model Y, there’s also a smaller display behind the steering wheel for important driving information.

The system is also compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, although these aren’t yet wireless, so you’ll need to use a USB cable connected to your smartphone. For those who don’t enjoy prodding a screen while driving, there are also a few shortcut buttons around the gearlever.

Sitting roughly between the Kia Niro EV and Volkswagen ID.4 in overall stature, the Atto 3 benefits from its ‘Blade’ battery pack and flat interior floor, which boost overall cabin space. If you do need to carry three passengers across the back seat, the flat floor will also make this more comfortable for the legs and feet of the middle passenger. Average height passengers will find there’s plenty of leg and head room in both the front and back of the Atto 3, although taller rear occupants may find their knees are slightly elevated by the raised seat bases.

Boot space

The boot offers a usable 440 litres of space behind the rear seats, which increases to 1,338 litres when the 60:40 split and fold rear seats are stowed. This matches the space offered by the Renault Megane E-Tech, but both the Kia Niro EV and Volkswagen ID.4 are bigger and boxier, and that’s reflected in their luggage capacity.

Clearly we won’t know how BYD will score for reliability and customer satisfaction for a number of years – the brand had never sold a car in the UK before 2023, let alone featured in our Driver Power survey. Still, the expectations are that BYD should fare pretty well; even if solely based on its ability to sell not far off two million cars in 2022 alone.

BYD’s impressive battery technology should also reassure owners, even if widespread concerns about premature battery degradation are mostly a thing of the past. If you are worried about where to take your BYD should it require maintenance, updates or repairs, the brand is planning to have around 100 physical locations across the UK by 2025 – unlike manufacturers like Tesla that prefer an online-first approach.

The Atto 3 has a four-year/70,000-mile warranty, which is extended to eight years and 90,000 miles for the electric motor and control unit, and eight years/120,000 miles for the battery.

Safety

There’s good news here, because right out of the gate the Atto 3 has achieved a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. That’s a huge tick in the box for families and gives it an advantage over the MG ZS EV, which only managed three stars. 

Safety features include intelligent cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot warnings and technology to make it safer when reversing out of parking spaces. The latter can both alert you of an oncoming vehicle, and apply the brakes if a possible collision is detected.