KILDARE MOTORING REVIEW: BYD Atto 3 is leading the charge

The BYD brand is a new entrant to the Irish new car market, and it is the biggest car brand that you may not have heard of yet, with more than 1.8 million cars sold last year, mainly in its homeland, China.

Prior to manufacturing cars, BYD (an abbreviation of Build Your Dreams) was one of the world’s biggest battery technology suppliers, with approximately one fifth of the world’s smartphones using their technology. BYD also build electric trains, buses and forklifts, and they have a workforce of over 600,000 employees.

BYD’s head car designer is none other than Wolfgang Egger, whose notable creations include the stunning Alfa 8C Competizione and Alfa 156 during his time with Alfa Romeo, and the Q2 during his time with Audi.

Impressive Power and Torque

Powering the Atto 3 is a front-mounted electric motor that is fed by 60.48 kWh battery pack providing the car with 204hp and 310Nm of torque, allowing a 0-100km/h sprintto be completed in just 7.3 seconds. With an official range of up to 420km, it is quite possible that many drivers will only need to charge the once or twice a week.

It can be recharged at a capacity of up to 150kW via a DC fast charger, or up to 11kW on three-phase AC. A 7kW wallbox charger can complete a 0-100% charge in just under 9h 42m, with the same charge possible in just 6h 30m via an 11kW wallbox charger. DC fast charging (150kW) can be completed in just 29 minutes (30-80%), with a 0-100% charge possible in just 80 minutes.

Test Car

My test car was a BYD Atto 3 ‘Design’, which looked striking in its Surfing Blue metallic paintwork and stylish 18-inch alloy wheels. Key ‘Design’ features include an electric tailgate, an air purification system, 15.6-inch electric rotary touchscreen and a panoramic sunroof with sunshade. Like a lot of EVs, the Atto 3 emits a noise at low speeds to alert other road users and pedestrians of your presence, but thankfully the artificial sound generator is muted once you get beyond 32km/h.

The supple suspension in the Atto 3 ensures that the car can ease itself over road imperfections and speed ramps in a relaxed fashion. The low-set dashboard allows for excellent forward visibility, and the rear-view camera and parking sensors made manoeuvring in and out of tight parking spaces a simple exercise.

The 204hp electric motor enables the Atto 3 to accelerate briskly, so joining fast-moving motorway traffic, or negotiating busy roundabout’s is never an issue.

The car handles corners well, and its overall road-holding ability is excellent. The internal door handles are neatly integrated into the top of the highly-positioned radio speakers, and they not only look good, but they are easy to use too.

You can bring your music to life with the multi-coloured ambient lighting, as it syncs to the beat of your tunes to light up the whole cabin.

Verdict, Pricing and Warranty

The all-new BYD Atto 3 is a hugely-impressive all-electric family SUV that is stylish, refined, comfortable, well built, highly specified, and loaded with cutting-edge technology.

With prices starting at €39,078 (including delivery charges and a 2-year service plan), it represents outstanding value for money too.

A 4-year/120,000km warranty comes as standard, along with an 8-year/200,000km battery warranty.