BYD Atto 3 Long Range 2022

Name: BYD Atto 3 Long Range 2022
Item: BYD Atto 3 Long Range
Rating: 4
Author: Owner Review: Community Contributor

Owner Review: Community Contributor

01 Jun 2023

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Kilometres travelled

10,000 - 25,000 km

Did you buy this car new or used?

New

How much did you pay? (including all on-road costs)

61835

What were your needs when you bought this car? Has it fulfilled those needs?

We had a 2014 Nissan Leaf for 3 years which was written off in an accident, so was looking for a replacement EV. Buying another 2014 leaf seemed a bit crazy so I looked at 2nd hand 2018 Leaf's. They still had a relatively short range (about 200Km). Decided that to "future proof" us for the next 5+ years we should get a car that was spacious, range over 300+Km range, that we could take away on road trips, weekends away or trips from Wellington to Whangarei. Yes, the Atto has fulfilled those needs. Took it from Wellington to Whangarei at Christmas.

What were your initial thoughts about the car? Tell us why it appealed to you.

Very easy to drive, has the standard controls, with the low regen it's just like driving a petrol car as opposed to a single pedal EV. Controls are quite intuitive. Really liked the heads up display. Apart from it's quirky interior, it had loads of features, good battery warranty, over the air updates. Was a lot cheaper than the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

What have you discovered since owning the car?

1. Suspension is a bit soft and you get bounced around inside when going 110Kph when fully loaded on Waikato expressway. 2. I'm about 110Kg and I find the "wings" on the drivers seat a bit tight and they become uncomfortable after a few hours. 3. Lane departure warning constantly goes off and is inaccurate. 4. Air conditioning takes a bit switching back and forth from hot to cold. 5. Roomy car for front and back passengers 6. Great to have range of about 350Km, the extra range means we can go in and out of Wellington (65Km round trip) then to Upper Hutt (50Km round trip) and still not have to worry about charging that night 7. Easy to drive but would like a few more features and higher DC charging speeds 8. Shorter people have an issue with the position of the headrest as it pushed their head forward. 9. Great camera when reversing 10. Love having adaptive cruise control, and lane assist, although both could have refinements.

What do you like/dislike about the car?

Dislikes: 1. Wings on front seats are uncomfortable for larger people, headrest not great for shorter people 2. Lane departure warning and auto correction, seem to engage even when not required 3. Air conditioning 4. No auto windscreen wipers 5. Sometimes unable to switch from Apple Carplay back to DLINK. Have to press camera button on setting wheel then the home button on the screen. 6. No Frunk - would be great to store charging cables. Likes: 1. Range 2. Price when we brought it 3. Easy to drive 4. Over the air updates 5. Blind spot alert in mirrors 6. Spacious 7. Sunroof - having the blind open gives the feeling of more room for those in the back 8. Controls on the steering wheel 9. Vehicle to Load cable 10. Heads up display

Any other comments on the car?

Overall it's a great car for the money and having a car with 350Km range is awesome. The seats are probably the most annoying aspect for me. It's a great car for around town and the one charge and go longer distance trips, even though the seats are uncomfortable on longer journeys. But when doing a trip that requires 2 chargers having a slower DC charging rate adds additional time to an already long journey. A Rotorua to Porirua trip home at Christmas required a 40 minute charge in Waioru.

Reliability

Features/technology

Performance/economy

Value for money

Overall rating

Lastly, would you buy this vehicle again?

Why would/wouldn't you buy it again?

Seat comfort is probably the main driver for not buying this again. With the price of this going up and the price of the Tesla Model 3 coming down I think I would spend the extra money and buy the Model 3. I would miss the hatchback and extra space you get but the Tesla has a few extra features that make it more appealing. 1. More efficient 2. Faster charging speed 3. More comfortable seats 4. Remember driving positions of multiple drivers It would be a tough call though as I feel this is a great sized car for around town and those short 200Km day trips (Porirua to Waitarere). It's the longer 400Km+ trips where this loses a bit.

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