Efficiency:\u00a0<\/strong>4.0 miles\/kWh<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWe're\u00a0not averse to visiting car dealers with our long-term test vehicles at Auto Express \u2013 particularly when there\u2019s a new look or a new part of the experience that we know customers are going to go through too. But for our BYD Atto 3, actually finding a showroom to visit is still something of a challenge, because there aren\u2019t many.<\/p>\n
BYD is a global giant in battery production and, more recently, the manufacture of EVs and PHEVs, but it\u2019s a relative minnow in the UK. Its first dealership only opened back in March, a few months adrift of a self-imposed schedule that actually targeted UK sales in the final quarter of last year.<\/p>\n
Increasing numbers of new arrivals are promising to shake up the buying process, with direct sales, huge amounts of the journey taking place online and dealerships seen very much as \u2018fulfilment centres\u2019. But that\u2019s not exactly the case with BYD, because just as it has done on continental Europe, the brand elected to partner with proven car retailers to help build up its UK presence.<\/p>\n
So depending on where you live in the UK, your BYD outlet will be operated by recognised names such as Arnold Clark or Pendragon. And the chosen location for our visit, on a brisk September morning, is a branch operated by Stratstone, right beside a dual carriageway running through Milton Keynes.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, this was one of the first two dealerships in the country \u2013 and such was the push to get it ready and open in time that bits of branding are still being added or tweaked on a daily basis. This week\u2019s arrival? Proper signage to show the specs beside the half dozen Atto 3s in the spacious showroom. Oh, and they\u2019re on their second (much-improved) coffee machine in three months.<\/p>\n
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Stratstone\u2019s Head of Retail for BYD, Julie Fearnley, has been at the heart of the initial push with the brand \u2013 which shows little sign of easing. \u201cI split my time between here and [our showroom in] Birmingham at the moment,\u201d she tells us, \u201cbut we\u2019re also gearing up to launch our first boutique in Mayfair in the coming weeks, so that\u2019s taking up a lot of our time as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
BYD was quick to get stock of its cars available, Fearnley says, but the early wave of potential customers were generally Chinese people already aware of the brand. \u201cThat was a definite early trend, but it\u2019s changing all the time,\u201d she acknowledges. \u201cHere, for example, we get a lot of passing traffic, so with Atto 3s out front, we do get walk-ins who are curious about the cars and brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve also seen a shift from early EV adopters to people who know that they\u2019re going to have to change at some point. We\u2019re doing our bit to educate on that front \u2013 and BYD\u2019s scale and history in battery manufacturing doesn\u2019t do any harm there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Atto 3 has been a \u201cperfect\u201d initial launch vehicle, Fearnley believes \u2013 but she thinks the Seal and Dolphin\u00a0have \u201chuge potential\u201d to open BYD up to fresh customers in different areas of the market.<\/p>\n
In fact, on the week of our visit, the team in Milton Keynes were preparing to take delivery of their first Dolphin demonstrator \u2013 another significant step for a brand that is getting up to speed frighteningly quickly.<\/p>\n
BYD Atto 3: first report<\/h2>\n <\/p>\n
Anyone for a game of Guess Who?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\nMileage: <\/strong>4,582<\/li>\nEfficiency: <\/strong>4.3 miles\/kWh<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nI was always more of a KerPlunk devotee as a youth \u2013 when I wasn\u2019t playing my part in Ludo sessions that frequently caused family Armageddon \u2013 but right now, I\u2019m enjoying a good old game of Guess Who?, with the latest addition to the Auto Express fleet at the heart of it. Say hello to, er\u2026 yeah, the blue one!<\/p>\n
Okay, so it is, of course, the BYD Atto 3, a new compact SUV that picked up a couple of commendations in our New Car Awards, and a vehicle that could well be an extremely thin end of an extremely thick wedge when it comes to the Chinese brand\u2019s plans for the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n
BYD remains the biggest company that nobody has really heard of \u2013 at least, not in my home patch of Berkshire. But it is, to remind you, the second-largest maker of batteries on the planet, subtly featuring in many of the devices we all use every day. And during my first few weeks with the Atto 3, I\u2019ve quickly realised that while its shape is pretty homogenous, and even a little bland to my eyes, it is, at least, new.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This has prompted passers-by to take a second look at the badge, front or back, and then quickly start a guessing game. \u201cIs it a Volkswagen?\u201d, \u201cKorean, maybe?\u201d, \u201cNice paint job\u201d, \u201cWhat on earth does Build Your Dreams mean?\u201d And eventually, \u201cOh, it\u2019s Chinese. But it looks fairly decent, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
I can forgive the final bit of bemusement, because while pretty much every bit of consumer electronics in a house is made in China, cars from that region are still a bit of an unknown quantity in the UK. The increasingly bullish reborn MG brand has a thin veneer of its British history with which to disguise its Far Eastern ownership, but how will Build Your Dreams (BYD) stack up on usability and dependability?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Atto 3 \u2013 sold through BYD\u2019s fledgling UK dealer network of five stores, with plans for a further 20 outlets in the coming months \u2013 is available in just one technical configuration, with a 201bhp front-mounted motor and a 60.4kWh battery delivering a claimed 260 miles of range between charges. Speaking of which, the fastest refill speed is via a 150kW charger, which can take the Atto 3\u2019s battery from 30 to 80 per cent of its capacity in a respectable 29 minutes.<\/p>\n
There are three trim levels in the line-up: Active, Comfort and the range-topping Design that you see here, which costs \u00a338,990 and already comes with deposit contributions to sweeten its PCP finance deal. It certainly doesn\u2019t want for standard equipment, with 18-inch alloy wheels, a decent-sized sunroof, dual-zone climate control, front and back parking sensors with rear-view camera, and a large 15.96-inch infotainment touchscreen which, for reasons I\u2019ve yet to fathom, can be rotated between portrait and landscape orientations.<\/p>\n
My early impressions are that the Atto 3 is perfectly big enough to be a family car; a bespoke EV platform has delivered decent rear space for a vehicle measuring 4.45 metres in length while, at 440 litres, the BYD\u2019s boot capacity is larger than that in many a C-sector hatchback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car arrived in the early-June heatwave, admittedly, but the standard heat pump and BYD\u2019s battery-management software have helped it to look punchy on range. During its first few weeks, based on rough calculations, I\u2019m getting a little more than the claimed maximum range on a single charge.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m looking forward to putting these stats to the test over the next six months, and getting to know the BYD a bit better. Whether the wider UK population likes it or not, I suspect they will be doing the same.<\/p>\n
\n\n\nModel:<\/td>\n BYD Atto 3 Design<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nOn fleet since:<\/td>\n June 2023<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nPrice new:<\/td>\n \u00a338,990<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nPowertrain:<\/td>\n 1x e-motor, 60.4kWh battery, 201bhp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nRange:<\/td>\n 260 miles<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nMax charging:<\/td>\n 89kW DC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nOptions:<\/td>\n None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nInsurance:<\/td>\n \u00a3867<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nMileage:<\/td>\n 7,353<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nEfficiency:<\/td>\n 4.1\u00a0miles\/kWh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nAny problems?<\/td>\n None so far<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.<\/em><\/p>\nSource: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Final report: a big thumbs-up for BYD after living with it for six months 4.0 out of 5 How we<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
BYD Atto 3 Design long-term test: a great first effort - AutoMotoBuzz.com<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n