Lower than 12 months ago, BYD hadn’t delivered a automotive in Australia. Because it stands immediately, it’s the second-biggest electric automotive brand within the country behind Tesla.
Irrespective of the way you spin it, that’s impressive. Much more impressive? It’s done that with only one model; the Atto 3 we’ve on test here.
A couple of things have modified for the reason that Atto 3 debuted Down Under. Its price has risen, for starters, and it’s under pressure from a raft of recent competitors from MG and GWM offering smaller, cheaper electric cars for buyers on a budget.
At one point the Atto 3 was Australia’s least expensive latest electric automotive, as of August 2023 even the bottom model is near $10,000 costlier than the smaller BYD Dolphin and MG 4.
Even without bargain basement billing, this BYD has plenty to supply.
How much does the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range cost?
The Atto 3 isn’t quite as low-cost because it was at launch, however the Atto 3 remains to be sharply priced.
Our Prolonged Range tester was $51,011 before on-roads, helping it undercut the MG ZS EV Long Range ($55,990).
It also undercuts the Tesla Model Y ($65,400) and Kia Niro EV S ($66,590), and is aligned with the Nissan Leaf ($50,990). As for hybrid alternatives? The Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid with all-wheel drive ($51,910) is the most rational competitor.
2023 BYD Atto 3 pricing:
- BYD Atto 3 Standard Range: $48,011
- BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range: $51,011
All prices exclude on-road costs.
What’s the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range like on the within?
There’s some funkiness here (the door pockets are guitar strings…), but hiding behind it’s a fairly practical interior.
The driving force and passenger sit in sporty-looking seats with a pleasant mix of support and long-haul comfort, and the leather-wrapped steering wheel might be set nice and high – but as is simply too often the case in Chinese cars, it will probably’t be adjusted for reach.
There’s loads of space for storing, from the twin cupholders to the spacious opening beneath the central tunnel, and people guitar-strung door pockets will actually hold a drink bottle. Throw in an honest space within the underarm bin, and also you’re not in need of spots to store road trip snacks.
Dual USB (one -A, one -C) ports and a wireless charger are available to maintain you juiced up; the very fact Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wired renders the wireless charger redundant for anyone who wants to make use of smartphone mirroring.
There’s an actual sense of quality here. All of the surfaces that look soft generally are, the faux leather trim on the seats and wheel is a fairly convincing impression of the actual deal, and the doors close with a reassuring thunk.
Throw in an interesting color combination, an enormous panoramic sunroof, and a few flashy LED ambient lighting, and also you’ve got an interior that punches above its price point.
Then there’s the technology. The compact display in front of the driving force is straightforward but effective, with a distinguished speed readout and a variety of trip computer options.
As for the large, rotating infotainment display the dominates the dashboard? It’s a mixed bag. For essentially the most part, it’s quick and straightforward to navigate on the move, with large icons and a fairly easy menu structure.
The climate control pod at the bottom of the screen makes it easy enough to vary your temperature on the move, but some functions are still buried – accessing the heated seats, for instance, takes at the very least three button presses from the house screen.
With the ability to rotate the screen is a neat party trick, but in the event you’re using Apple CarPlay the display may have to remain in its landscape orientation.
CarPlay looks great on the massive screen, and its inclusion (as a part of an over-the-air update late in 2022) shows BYD is willing to enhance its cars on the fly.
The wonderful surround-view camera doubles as a drive recorder, and might be used to take still photos.
However the downside of getting your climate controls buried within the screen is while you’re using CarPlay, it’s good to jump from Apple’s interface back to BYD’s to vary your temperature. A everlasting shortcut strip at the bottom of the screen or buttons can be a greater solution.
Rear seat space is a area of expertise. The flat floor enabled by BYD’s electric automotive platform is a bonus over internal-combustion rivals, and legroom is accomodating for tall teenagers sitting behind tall drivers.
The backrests on those sporty front seats may make it harder to suit a rear-facing child seat, although there’s still more room back there than within the rival MG ZS EV… or much smaller alternatives just like the GWM Ora.
USB ports feature back there, together with air vents for youths on hot summer days. The central armrest folds down and packs cupholders, and rear passengers also get guitar-style door pockets.
In case your kids are vulnerable to fiddling, prepare for a number of strumming on road trips.
The powered tailgate opens to disclose a 440L boot, expanding to 1340L with the rear seats folded. It’s sufficiently big to take every week’s price of shopping or a pair of faculty bags, but the best way the boot is formed means long items (golf clubs, or a giant pram) take a little bit of manoeuvring.
Below the boot floor you get a tyre repair kit slightly than a spare wheel.
What’s under the bonnet?
Power within the BYD Atto 3 comes from an electrical motor on the front axle making 150kW and 310Nm.
It’s mated with a 60kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack good for a claimed 420km of range on the WLTP test cycle.
Attached to an AC charger it’ll recharge at 7kW, connected to a DC fast charger BYD says the Atto 3 can accept as much as 80kW. We saw a peak speed of 74kW and a mean of 60kW on a charge from 15 to 50 per cent on a 350kW DC fast charger.
Our average consumption in mostly urban conditions was between 15 and 16kWh per 100km – corresponding to a variety of as much as 400km.
How does the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range drive?
Smooth, quiet, and comfy, the BYD Atto 3 is a fairly effortless commuter.
Like all electric cars, it jumps away from traffic lights faster than the common petrol or diesel automotive, and it does it silently… save for a synthetic groan below 20km/h, designed to let pedestrians know you’re coming.
BYD doesn’t have a one-pedal driving mode, and even in its most aggressive mode the regenerative braking – which slows the automotive down through the use of the electrical motor as a dynamo to attract energy back into the battery – isn’t particularly noticeable. That’s in contrast with Tesla, which sets its cars up so drivers rarely need to the touch the brake pedal.
When you’re not careful it’ll spin the front wheels off the mark when it’s wet, thanks partially to the quantity of punch on tap from the electrical motor, and partially to the Atlas Batman tyres.
They’re not an issue, but it surely’d be interesting to see how the Atto 3 performs with different tyres fitted. Perhaps that’s a test for an additional day.
Ride quality is great in the town. BYD hasn’t tried to make the Atto 3 sporty, and has as an alternative set it up to drift over potholes and speed bumps. It does a very good job keeping occupants isolated from what’s happening on the surface, although occasionally it will probably feel a bit floaty over repeat bumps.
With light steering, loads of performance between standstill and 60km/h, and excellent vision all-round, the Atto 3 is simple to string through tight city streets or into tight parking spots.
The pre-collision assist generally is a bit overzealous, though, and is vulnerable to chiming when there’s no risk of an accident. It will probably be turned off using the touchscreen, but reactivates each time you begin the automotive.
BYD’s other driver assists are well calibrated. The adaptive cruise control confidently maintains a niche with the automotive in front, and the lane-keeping assist nudges you back between the white lines while you drift on the highway.
Combined with the comfortable ride and excellent noise suppression, they make the Atto 3 a fairly glad cruiser on the open road. Save for a little bit of roar from the tyres on coarse-chip roads and a few wind rustle from the mirrors, there’s not much to destroy the serenity.
Occasionally it feels a bit heavy over big highway crests, taking one, two, three movements to regulate its mass, but for essentially the most part the Atto 3 is a settled cruiser that feels larger than it actually is.
What do you get?
Atto 3 highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Roof rails
- Powered panoramic sunroof
- Power tailgate
- Heated and power-folding side mirrors
- LED headlights
- Auto high-beam
- LED daytime running lights
- LED back lights
- 12.8-inch rotating touchscreen infotainment system
- 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster
- DAB+ digital radio
- Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- Voice assistant
- Factory navigation
- Bluetooth connectivity
- 8-speaker Dirac HD sound system
- USB-A port and USB-C port in centre console
- USB-A port and USB-C port in rear
- Wireless phone charger
- 12V socket
- Keyless entry and begin
- Single-zone air-conditioning
- Heat pump
- PM2.5 air filter
- One-touch up-and-down windows with anti-pinch function
- Multi-colour gradient ambient lighting
- LED front reading light
- LED rear side reading light
- Luggage compartment light
- Artificial leather upholstery
- 6-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
- 4-way power-adjustable front passenger seat
- Heated front seats
- Domestic 3-pin plug AC charger
- Tyre repair kit
Is the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range secure?
The BYD Atto 3 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on tests carried out in 2022.
It earned an adult occupant protection rating of 91 per cent, a baby occupant protection rating of 84 per cent, a vulnerable road user protection rating of 69 per cent, and a security assist rating of 80 per cent.
All BYD Atto 3 models have the next safety features:
- Front, side, side curtain, and far-side airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Front collision warning
- Rear collision warning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane departure warning
- Lane keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Surround-view cameras
- Drive recorder
- Front, rear parking sensors
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
- Front, rear seat belt reminders
How much does the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range cost to run?
The BYD Atto 3 is roofed by a six-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and 12 months of roadside assist.
Other warranties include:
- Electric motor, high-voltage assembly, motor controller: eight years or 150,000km
- Lights, tyre pressure monitoring module, suspension, ball joints: 4 years or 100,000km
- 12V battery: one 12 months or 12,000km
The infotainment system is roofed under a three-year, 60,000km warranty, together with components just like the shock absorbers, wheel bearings, USB charging port connectors, and AC/DC charging port assembly.
Servicing might be performed at a BYD Service and Repair centre, or at certain independent mycar sites. Maintenance is required every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first. There’s a free check-up at three months or 5000km, whichever comes first.
Two service plans are offered. The primary is for drivers doing roughly 20,000km per 12 months, and costs a combined $1384 over the primary five years of ownership. The second is for owners who do around 12,000km per 12 months, and can set you back a combined $945.
CarExpert’s Tackle the BYD Atto 3 Prolonged Range
It’s easy to grasp why the Atto 3 has hit the bottom running in Australia.
It drives with the form of polish you’d expect from a brand that’s been constructing electric cars since 2009, and is generously equipped given the value tag – relative to petrol, hybrid, and electric rivals.
The Prolonged Range has enough range to cover most needs, and carries a fairly minimal price increase over the Standard Range model. It’s the Atto 3 that we’d be buying.
As for what’s fallacious with it? We’d sub the Atlas Batman tyres out, but beyond that the one real query is around how BYD and its importer, EV Direct, are going to perform in terms of service time.
But neither concern has been enough to carry back buyers up to now – and so they wouldn’t be enough to stop us from signing on the dotted line.
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This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
