BYD Atto 3 Evo is a £39k EV tempting you with 443bhp
The facelifted BYD Atto 3 Evo is on sale now, starting from £38,990
The BYD Atto 3 Evo is on sale now, with prices starting from just under £39,000. As its name suggests, the ‘Evo’ is effectively a revised version of the regular BYD Atto 3, which was the Chinese brand’s first car to enter the UK market when it arrived back in 2023.
BYD Atto 3 Evo: prices and specs
Just a tenner under £39,000 gets you into the entry-level BYD Atto 3 Evo Design. There’s nothing ‘entry-level’ about this model’s specification, though, because it’s powered by a 309bhp rear-mounted electric motor, as well as a new 74.8kWh ‘blade’ battery. This, according to BYD, is sufficient for 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds. But if you’re gentle on the accelerator pedal, a combined WLTP range of 316 miles is also possible – 55 miles more than in the old car.
As you might expect, the additional power of the £42,730 Excellence model does bring range down somewhat – to 292 miles. Excellence cars get an additional electric motor on the front axle, boosting power to 443bhp and slashing the 0-62mph sprint time to just 3.9 seconds which, would you believe, is faster than a Ferrari F430 supercar.
To help control the extra power on both models, BYD has switched to a more sophisticated five-link rear suspension system, but has not confirmed any further major changes to the chassis, steering or brakes. The new battery pack does adopt a cell-to-body construction, though, which offers greater rigidity and savings in terms of packaging.
Regardless, the whole system runs on an upgraded 800V architecture, instead of the 400V set-up of the old car. The main draw here is that it doubles the old car’s 110kW maximum charging speed to 220kW. BYD quotes a 10-80 per cent charge time of around 25 minutes.
Equipment and tech
As standard, all Atto 3 Evo models now get a much larger 8.8-inch instrument cluster, as well a huge 15.6-inch touchscreen which, to the dismay of some, no longer rotates and is fixed in a landscape orientation. It does have full Google integration, though, so that means you can access Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play store natively.
Other standard kit includes a cooled wireless phone-charging pad, a 360-degree camera system, ambient lighting, electric heated leather front seats and 18-inch alloy wheels. Stepping up to the Excellence not only gets you that extra power, but these range-topping cars also benefit from a head-up display, heated rear seats and a panoramic sunroof.
Design
Exterior styling changes are subtle, but they do help give the car a more sophisticated look. There’s a new front bumper, simpler graphics along the car’s windows, new rear lights and classier wheel designs.
Aside from the aforementioned tech upgrades, the inside of the Atto 3 has remained largely the same, with only a new steering wheel and column-mounted gear shifter. More noticeable, however, is the boot which, at 490 litres, is 50 litres bigger than before, beating even the Skoda Elroq’s 470-litre capacity. There’s now also a ‘frunk’ under the bonnet, providing an additional 95 litres of space. If you need even more room, you can drop the rear seats to unlock 1,390 litres of space. Plus if you want to tow, the increased performance lifts the braked trailer rating to 1,500kg.
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