Chinese automaker BYD holds some enviable records. For instance, it is widely held to be the company which made the first-ever mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) of them all, way back in 2008 with the F3DM.
And, moving forward into its current conquest era, BYD presently wears the dual crowns of offering both the most affordable new PHEV in Australia, in the form of its Sealion 5 DM-i mid-size SUV, and the cheapest box-fresh electric vehicle (EV) going, with the Atto 2 small SUV.
Well, here comes a PHEV iteration of the latter – called the Atto 2 DM-i. Offering a longer-range alternative to its own electric relation, promising a potential sub-$30k starting price, and purportedly capable of travelling up to 1000km at a time on its petrol-electric resources, could this be the new leading light in the small SUV sector?
To find out, we headed to the UK to drive the Atto 2 DM-i in its longer-legged ‘Boost’ specification.
How much does the BYD Atto 2 DM-i cost?
We don’t know for certain how much the PHEV version of the BYD Atto 2 will cost in Australia, but we can at least frame it against the electric model and, also, the Sealion 5 DM-i.
The purely electric Atto 2 starts from $31,990 before on-road costs in entry-level Dynamic form and rises to $35,990 for the Premium flagship. Meanwhile, the larger Sealion 5 kicks off at just $33,990 before on-roads – and the Atto 2 DM-i will need to significantly undercut that, which is why we believe it will be priced from under $30,000 when local pricing is confirmed.
In the UK, BYD doesn’t seem able to unify its two-tier trim names from model line to model line, so the basic car there is called the Active and the grander variant the Boost. We’d assume the Atto 2 will follow the Sealion 5 DM-i’s lead here, with the Active renamed the Essential and the Boost christened the Premium.
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What is the BYD Atto 2 DM-i like on the inside?
A familiar Chinese cabin architecture can be found inside the BYD Atto 2 DM-i, broadly following the layout set by the Atto 2 EV.
Again, it’s UK-car specific, but all versions over there have an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster as standard, as well as a 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen with Google Built-in technology. However, the Atto 2 EV on these shores has a smaller 10.1-inch display in its lowlier Dynamic specification, so it could be that the DM-i follows suit.
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Nevertheless, material quality throughout the cabin is fine. It’s not spectacularly good inside the Atto 2 DM-i, nor is it particularly daring in terms of features and talking points – it’s a much more prosaic interior than the overtly wacky passenger compartment of the larger Atto 3 electric SUV, for example.
But it’s all good enough and space is reasonably plentiful too. Very tall people won’t be too happy sitting in the back of the Atto 2 DM-i, but adults of average height or children up to the age of 15 or so will be more than comfortable back there, although the narrowness of the BYD’s body does somewhat preclude the idea of seating three people across the second-row bench.
The boot’s also a decent size, rated at 425 litres with all seats in use and 1335L with the 60:40-split/folding rear seatbacks down.
Parents will be pleased to know there are three ISOFIX anchors and top tethers in the Atto 2 DM-i, including one on the front-passenger chair and the other two on the outer pair of rear seats.
About our only concern with the Atto 2’s cabin relates to its tech and lack of physical switchgear, as is common with many Chinese cars.
The 8.8-inch cluster simply crams way too many disparate pieces of information onto a small screen, and because BYD is insistent on doing one of those pointless ‘Tesla road drawing’ graphics (showing you cars, vans and trucks on the road around you, as well as any pedestrians the vehicle’s system detects), which dominates the centre of this letterbox-shaped screen, most of the vital readouts are rendered in tiny, closely clustered font. It can make discerning individual icons difficult at times.
Then there’s the main infotainment system. The Google tech does make this better to use than some proprietary infotainment setups hailing from China, but there are still weird groupings of various advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) functions in the menus, while a relative dearth of buttons on the fascia also means you’re reliant on the central display more often than you’d like to be.
Aside from a strip of buttons arrayed just behind the wireless smartphone charging pad on the high-set transmission tunnel – which only control higher-level systems like engine start/stop, EV/HEV modes, the auto-hold function for the electric parking brake, and so on – the rest of your switchgear, what little there is, can be found on the steering wheel and column stalks.
Also, many of the ADAS systems in the BYD Atto 2 DM-i are highly intrusive and annoying if you don’t switch them off, and there’s also a weird, ‘tuneful’ indicator noise that you’ll want to switch for standard clicking if you chance upon hearing it – irksome doesn’t even cover it. Good luck finding how to do that in the infotainment system, though, without (ironically enough) having to Google it on your smartphone first.
|
Dimensions |
BYD Atto 2 DM-i |
|---|---|
|
Length |
4330mm |
|
Width |
1830mm |
|
Height |
1675mm |
|
Wheelbase |
2620mm |
|
Cargo capacity |
425L (rear seats up) 1335L (rear seats folded) |
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
We’ve seen this tactic from BYD and its PHEVs before, but just how powerful and long-legged a DM-i you get with the Atto 2 depends precisely on the trim level you select.
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Specifications |
BYD Atto 2 DM-i Essential |
BYD Atto 2 DM-i Premium |
|---|---|---|
|
Engine |
1.5L 4cyl petrol |
1.5L 4cyl petrol |
|
Engine outputs |
72kW 122Nm |
72kW 122Nm |
|
Electric motor outputs |
121kW 300Nm |
145kW 300Nm |
|
System outputs |
121kW 300Nm |
156kW 300Nm |
|
Battery |
7.8kWh LFP |
18kWh LFP |
|
Transmission |
e-CVT |
e-CVT |
|
Drive type |
Front-wheel drive |
Front-wheel drive |
|
Weight |
1510kg |
1620kg |
|
0-100km/h (claimed) |
9.1 seconds |
7.5 seconds |
|
Fuel economy (claimed) |
1.4L/100km |
0.6L/100km |
|
Fuel economy (as tested) |
N/A |
5.5L/100km |
|
Electric driving range (PHEV) |
39km |
89km |
|
Fuel tank capacity |
45L |
45L |
|
CO2 emissions |
41g/km |
34g/km |
|
Emissions standard |
Euro 6e-bis |
Euro 6e-bis |
|
Max AC charging rate |
3.3kW |
6.6kW |
Both versions use a 1.5-litre ‘Xiaoyun’ four-cylinder petrol engine selected for its high thermal efficiency. In effect, this serves as nothing more than a generator or range-extender, as it’s very rare the combustion unit is ever directly driving the front wheels (it’s only when you’re high-speed cruising or asking for maximum drivetrain power, really, that such a thing occurs).
In both Atto 2 DM-i cars, this engine delivers just 72kW and 122Nm, so it’s no high-output, torque-rich monster.
The difference is that the Essential comes with a 121kW electric motor, while the unit in the Premium is uprated to 145kW. Both make 300Nm, with associated peak system outputs of 121kW combined for the Essential (so no different to the electric motor) and 156kW for the Premium.
All BYD Atto 2 DM-i vehicles are two-wheel drive, with the front axle driven through an electronic, continuously variable automatic transmission (e-CVT).
The claimed 0-100km/h times are 9.1 seconds for the 121kW Essential, which is trimmed down to 7.5 seconds for the 156kW Premium. The top speed for both is an identical 180km/h.
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How does the BYD Atto 2 DM-i drive?
We only got to drive the Premium variant of the BYD Atto 2 DM-i with the bigger battery in this instance, which is the one we’d recommend you go for from the printed stats anyway. That said, it was hardly a stellar performance put on by this PHEV.
In broad terms, it drives acceptably enough. Kept well within itself, the Atto 2 is reasonably capable and inoffensive, and will primarily default to propelling itself about the place on its electric motors whenever it can, provided there’s enough charge in the battery.
Yes, for the A-to-B merchants out there, the BYD Atto 2 DM-i Premium is going to deliver exactly what you need: fuss-free, unremarkable motoring at a super-low cost.
Judged on that basis, the BYD is a massive success. Where it falls down relates to what you’re expecting of a compact crossover (or SUV) in this sector of the market from a dynamic perspective. Because if your purchase criteria extend to demanding anything enjoyable from the chassis and powertrain of your vehicle whatsoever, the Atto 2 DM-i will be something to roundly avoid.
The chief gripe with the Atto 2 DM-i is that, for a machine without a trace of raciness in its DNA and which rolls on 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped with 60-profile tyres at the absolute ‘worst’, it has an inordinately busy and uncomfortable low-speed ride.
Too often, this PHEV amplifies only minor imperfections and depressions in the road surface into major moments of thump in the cabin.
It’s better at smoothing things off if it is travelling at speed – say, upwards of 80km/h – and if the asphalt is in your favour, but if most owners are going to be sticking to cratered urban routes conducted at sub-50km/h, we’d have liked the Atto 2 DM-i far more if it was a good deal more comfortable than it truly is in such circumstances.
Once you’ve got some increased speed dialled in, the refinement isn’t magnificent either. Road roar and wind noise are elevated, and it is in these situations where you will most likely hear the coarseness of the BYD’s 1.5-litre engine, as it kicks in to assist the powertrain with momentum.
That, though, brings us to another complaint. It can take entire seconds of elapsed time between the moment you plant your foot on the throttle and then the point when the petrol and electric propulsion finally combine for full thrust, which makes the whole DM-i powertrain feel slow in the extreme.
As to handling, the Atto 2 is okay but nothing mega. The steering is so-so, with at least some weighting to it to give a kind of meaningful interface between the driver and the front wheels of the vehicle. The brakes are generally passable save for occasional grabbiness, and the body control is surprisingly good for something relatively tall and with a suspension setup that’s supposed to be on the softer side of things.
Driven at anything below 50 per cent throttle and 50 per commitment on the part of its driver, the little SUV just about passes muster. Beyond that point, there’s nothing else exciting or particularly rewarding to discover about its kinematics, and you’re ultimately left wishing that it just rode with a little bit more grace and dignity in and around town than it actually does.
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What do you get?
Again, we’re waiting to see exact trim specs for the BYD Atto 2 DM-i in Australia, but the European cars give us a fair idea.
2026 BYD Atto 2 DM-i Essential equipment highlights (in Europe):
- 16-inch alloy wheels
- 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
- 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen
- Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity
- Google Built-in
- Climate control
- LED headlights, tail-lights and daytime running lights
- Rear parking sensors
- Reversing camera
- Adaptive cruise control
- 4 x USB ports
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors
- Fabric seat upholstery
- Various ADAS technologies
Stepping up to the Premium should bring in:
- 17-inch alloys
- Larger battery, faster AC charging
- Power upgrade to 156kW
- Privacy glass rear
- Panoramic sunroof
- Multifunction steering wheel
- Heated front seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Vegan leather upholstery
- 50W wireless smartphone charging
- Front parking sensors
- 360-degree camera
- Electric-folding door mirrors
- Aluminium roof rails
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
Is the BYD Atto 2 DM-i safe?
Neither Euro NCAP nor ANCAP have tested the BYD Atto 2 for safety yet, in either its electric or PHEV forms. However, as some form of comfort, every other BYD tested by ANCAP already has the full five-star rating and, judging by the amount of ADAS fitted to the DM-i as standard, we’d expect it to do the same thing once it is assessed.
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How much does the BYD Atto 2 DM-i cost to run?
The stated fuel economy figures of both Atto 2 PHEVs are, as usual, so extraordinary as to be inadmissible evidence. Officially, the Essential consumes an average of 1.4L/100km, while the Premium improves that to an outrageous 0.6L/100km.
Better to focus on the company’s own claim of about 5.1L/100km for the Premium with a depleted battery – and we achieved nearly bang-on this figure with 5.5L/100km showing on the trip computer after driving it on mixed roads in the UK.Â
BYD’s standard warranty here is a competitive six years or 150,000km, whichever comes sooner, while roadside assistance is offered on a service-activated basis. There’s 12 months of complimentary cover from the delivery date.
On the electrical side, BYD provides eight years of cover for both its electric motors and its Blade battery packs. The former, plus its controller, is guaranteed for up to 150,000km, while the latter has a 250,000km distance cap for at least 70 per cent of capacity being retained.
To see how the BYD Atto 2 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the BYD Atto 2 DM-i
The strengths of the new BYD Atto 2 DM-i relate to its value-for-money quotient.
Here’s a plug-in hybrid that should be cheaper than any other vehicle using the same powertrain technology that’s currently on the Australian market, which also comes with long-range capabilities, plenty of equipment for (hopefully) not a lot of cash, plus the usual strong level of warranty backup that you’d expect from BYD.
What the Atto 2 DM-i isn’t, in any way, shape or form, is sparkling to drive. It’s too rough around the edges, too unsophisticated in terms of its damping and wheel control, and too unrefined to be considered anything other than dynamically average.
It’s not a terrible car, not by any means, and as long as you can live with its questionable low-speed ride comfort, this latest BYD DM-i – which arrives almost 30 years after the company’s first efforts in this realm – ought to be on your shopping list of affordable SUV runabouts.
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