Chinese electric car BYD Atto 3 review: Do you have sounds?

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Niko Bünten
»Yes, it's a good thing you didn't become a musician, you already have one by profession, Jürgen.«

Jürgen Pander
»Niko, I only make music as an exception. When the opportunity practically falls at your feet, like here. The car we are dealing with today has three retaining rubbers on all door shelves that emit sounds. A musical greeting as soon as you get in. Who comes up with something like that? A Chinese car manufacturer. Let's take the BYD Atto 3 for a spin and get to know each other by car. The company BYD was only founded in 1995 in Shenzhen, China, as a battery manufacturer. Today, BYD is one of the largest battery producers in the world. BYD has also been building vehicles since 2003. For a good year now, only those with pure electric drive and BYD is now the second largest electric car manufacturer in China. And for a few months now, the business has also been extended to Europe. In Germany, there are three models: a large SUV, a large sedan and, as an entry-level model, the Atto 3. The compact car has five doors, five seats, is 4.45m long, 1.88m wide and 1.62m high. And the design comes from the German Wolfgang Egger. He is chief designer at BYD and previously worked for Alfa Romeo and Audi. Overall, it is coherent, unagitated and average in the best sense of the word. The three letters of the brand name BYD stand for Build Your Dreams. That means something like: Make your dreams come true. At the rear you can read this again written out. From the outside, it is not possible to say exactly what dreams the BYD developers are pursuing. From the inside, rather. We have already seen the knocks on the doors. Let's see what else awaits us inside. Discreet outside, but inside, that's where the music really plays. The dashboard, for example, almost swings. Or on the imitation leather seats there is a color triad. And the air vents here, they look like vinyl records are in an old jukebox. In general, there are many unusual details in here. The LED light around the speakers can not only be adjusted in the favorite color, but also pulsates to the rhythm of the music if desired. Then there is this selector lever for the automatic transmission, which looks like a throttle lever in an airplane. Or the door handle, like a massive tool. And the door opener up here is also quite unusual. Such a three-spoke steering wheel is almost standard. Here, too, there are quite a few controls on it. Buttons, for example, here for adaptive cruise control and lane guidance, here for voice control or volume control for music. On the steering column, on the other hand, sits the five-inch small, it must be said, digital cockpit. That's a bit hard to read. Some things are depicted quite small. But there is a very large 15.6-inch touchscreen as the central control element, on which everything essential is controlled. And he has mastered another trick. It can rotate 90 degrees, depending on whether you prefer portrait or landscape format here in the car. Now we're doing something quite unspectacular. Niko, we're driving. Get in. The interior may be unusual. Driving in the Atto 3 is completely normal. The steering feel fits, the drive is powerful and agile and there is nothing to complain about in terms of comfort. Rather, on, once again with a car, limited view to the rear. And the fact that the recuperation, i.e. the energyrecovery can be adjusted here with this button, but only in two stages. And these two levels aren't even particularly different. In the Euro NCAP crash test, the Atto achieved 3 5/5 possible stars, which is a very good rating. One reason for this is the many assistance systems that are available in the car, including blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition and emergency brake assist, as well as several more. The special feature of the BYD brand is that, according to its own statements, it is the only electric car manufacturer in the world that develops and builds the complete electric drive, i.e. the e-architecture, completely in-house. From the electric motor to the battery, from the control units to the power electronics, from the charging system to even the semiconductors. More about the drive right now, when we stop. So, let's take a look under the hood. It is noticeable that there would still have been room for a frunk, i.e. a front trunk, because the electric drive is placed quite far down. When you look at the data sheet, you notice that the electric motor has an output of 150 kW, which corresponds to 204 hp. It develops a maximum torque of 310 Newton meters, makes the car up to 160 kmh fast and consumes an average of 15.6 kWh according to the WLTP standard. The lithium iron phosphate battery has a storage capacity of 60.5 kWh. Translated, this means about 420 kilometers in range. This battery can be charged with up to eleven kilowatts of alternating current or up to 88 kilowatts of direct current. This means that in about half an hour, under optimal conditions, the battery will be 80% charged again. It is a so-called lithium iron phosphate battery, namely a blade battery. The advantage of the blade battery is that it is considered to be particularly safe, robust and very space-saving. And besides, in the case of the Atto 3, it does not require nickel or cobalt. So, and now let's look a little further back. A quick glance into the rear, where there is decent space, and a bright, airy feeling of space, because the glass panoramic sunroof is standard here in the Atto 3. So, and now let's take a look inside the trunk. There are two levels of equipment for the Atto 3. In our test car is the higher and therefore also an electric tailgate. This is the trunk. 440 liters fit in. It's not that much, but it's nicely accessible here. There is also a durable rubber mat. And here underneath a basement, for example for the charging cables. If the rear seat backrests are folded down, the load volume increases to 1338 liters. So, and let's go for a spin now. The Atto 3 is a well-thought-out, practical and quite convincing electric car. In terms of equipment, space and electric drive, it is absolutely on par with all other electric models currently offered in the lower middle class. And that's quite impressive for a manufacturer that has only been building cars for 20 years. In addition, BYD gives a four-year warranty on the car and eight years on the battery. We like: the funky interior, the balanced driving experience and the solid overall impression. Minus points are the very small digital cockpit, the not exactly very large trunk and the rather average even a bit below-average charging power. And price? How much does it cost? The BYD Atto 3 is available in the basic configuration from uNgefahr 42.000 €. And our test car with the better equipment, which costs around € 44,500. So the manufacturer also strikes a very harmonious note when it comes to price. It's also a musical car. And now pay attention, Niko. He even plays a farewell melody for us. Not bad."