2025 BYD Atto 3 owner review
Dan and his family decided the time was right to make the switch to an electric vehicle and retire their trusty Hyundai Tucson. But with some very specific criteria, including a maximum width of 1890mm, they had to choose carefully.
A BYD Atto 3 got the guernsey. Here, Dan shares his reflections as a first-time EV owner.
Overall impressions of the BYD Atto 3?
I’m broadly very happy with the car. It services our family of four, including a couple of growing pre-teens and an oodle. It fits us all with space to spare. It’s also an easy car to own and drive. It is comfy and the tech is great, with “Hey BYD” voice assistance commands and Android Auto. There are also seemingly no hidden extra costs, with charging cables and a wifi subscription included at purchase.
Why did you buy an EV?
When it was finally time to put our dear old Hyundai Tucson workhorse out to pasture last July, we decided to go electric. We ran the numbers and worked out that purchasing a new EV through a novated lease would mean significantly less financial outlay over the lifetime of the vehicle than keeping the old car running or buying a new non-EV. We have solar panels, so were also attracted to the idea of fuelling the car directly from the sun. Basically, we went electric for economic reasons with the added sweetener of using more renewable energy.
Why did you choose the BYD Atto 3?
We had some very specific criteria. The car had to fit within our narrow driveway (under 1890mm), while comfortably accommodating our family of four, and having enough range to manage road trips of over 300km, which we take regularly. We also loved the idea of having a sunroof!
Which rivals did you seriously consider?
We test-drove the Volkswagen ID4, a Zeekr X and a Polestar 4. The BYD Atto 3 won because it represented clearly the best value package, in terms of range and tech versus purchase price. While we were initially attracted by the more premium brands, we couldn’t justify the extra cost. The showroom experience at BYD was very relaxed and transparent, so that gave us confidence.
Which variant did you buy and why?
We bought the 2025 BYD Atto 3 Premium. It’s the long-range version, with a 60.48kWh Blade Battery that delivers up to 480km of driving range. It has a 150kW/310Nm electric motor driving the front wheels, 88kW DC fast charging, an upgraded 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats and a panoramic sunroof. We ordered one in black and were disappointed when the dealer called us to say they were out of stock. But we needed the car quickly, so accepted a model in Ski White, which is a greyish white. The colour is okay, but I’m still envious when I see the black ones around town!
How do you charge the car most of the time?
We charge the Atto 3 from a standard outdoor power socket at home. While we haven't invested in a home battery yet, we try to maximise our rooftop solar generation by charging during the day whenever possible.
Is that charging speed fast enough for how you use the car?
For the way we use the car, the charging speed has been more than adequate. We rarely drive more than 50km per day, so a couple of home charges per week means we don’t run out of charge. We rarely need to use public fast chargers, but occasionally we will use DC charging when doing a grocery shop, or if one presents at a convenient time or location.
What real-world range are you getting?
In mostly mixed driving around Sydney, we typically see around 420-460km of range from a full charge. Around town the car is very efficient, but longer motorway trips reduce the range, particularly at higher speeds or with extra drag or weight. We regularly drive down from the Inner West of Syndey to Lake Conjola (about 220km). Generally, we will have about 180-200km range left on arrival from a full charge (460-480km).
Has range or charging availability changed how you travel?
Yes, but not significantly. The Atto 3 has enough range for our normal weekly driving, and we rarely need to think about charging. However, road trips require more planning than we did in our old Tucson. When we first bought the Atto, we dived in with a long road trip from Sydney to the South Coast, Canberra and back. This taught us a lot about route planning and app management. We got down to under 20km range at one point when one of our planned charging points was out of order on arrival. At that point, both ours and the car’s range anxiety was extremely high! This has only happened once and I daresay, we won’t let it happen again. Regional charging infrastructure is slowly catching up, with more charging options on the south coast since we’ve bought our car, but EV driving absolutely demands that you plan road trips much more thoroughly.
What does the BYD Atto 3 cost you to charge and run?
Running costs are noticeably lower than our previous petrol car. Most of our charging is done at home using a standard outdoor power socket, and we try to charge during the day to make the most of our rooftop solar. While we haven't calculated an exact monthly cost, electricity costs are only a fraction of what we used to spend on fuel (about $60 per week). We felt fortunate to go electric a few months before fuel prices rose due to the Iran war. We’ve done one scheduled service that cost around $170. BYD recommends one per year at this stage. Insurance was about 20 per cent more expensive than our Tucson for some reason.
How does the BYD Atto 3 drive overall?
I’m not really someone who drives for pleasure, so apologies to the rev-heads. However, I find the Atto 3 driving experience clearly superior to comparable ICE vehicles, as the tech is so good. It is comfortable and easy to drive, particularly around town where the instant torque makes it feel very responsive and nippy. Occasionally, I’ll rent a petrol car or van for a trip or a job, and the driving experience always feels very sluggish and cumbersome by comparison. While the Atto 3 isn’t a sporty car, it strikes a balance between comfort, performance and everyday usability. It’s basically very easy to drive and responds to your commands quickly.
How practical is it for your household?
Our biggest concern was whether the Atto 3 would be big enough, as it looks smaller than a Tucson from the outside. Thankfully, it is roomy enough. I’m 6 ft 6 and there’s enough leg room in the driver’s seat to drive long distances comfortably. My partner complains that she would rather be higher from the ground; it does feel like a lower seat than other classic SUVs. There’s plenty of room for three passengers in the back, while the flat floor and wide space make it feel bigger inside than we expected. The boot is large enough for groceries, sports gear, and weekend trips away. However, we supplement that space with a roofrack for long trips. As an everyday family car, it ticks a lot of boxes.
What do you think of the interior design and comfort?
The seats are supportive, the driving position is excellent and the rotating touchscreen adds a bit of novelty. There's plenty of storage and device charging points throughout the cabin, and the overall fit and finish feels well above what we expected at this price point. There are some quirky features, like disco lighting settings, funny internal door handles and twanging chords on the door frames. Our family enjoy these but they are not for everyone. One bone of contention: the air con is not as powerful to what we are used to. The windscreen takes longer to defog in the cold and the cabin longer to cool in the heat.
Which variant did you buy and why?
We bought the 2025 BYD Atto 3 Premium. It’s the long-range version, with a 60.48kWh Blade Battery that delivers up to 480km of driving range. It has a 150kW/310Nm electric motor driving the front wheels, 88kW DC fast charging, an upgraded 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats and a panoramic sunroof. We ordered one in black and were disappointed when the dealer called us to say they were out of stock. But we needed the car quickly, so accepted a model in Ski White, which is a greyish white. The colour is okay, but I’m still envious when I see the black ones around town!
How do you charge the car most of the time?
We charge the Atto 3 from a standard outdoor power socket at home. While we haven't invested in a home battery yet, we try to maximise our rooftop solar generation by charging during the day whenever possible.
Is that charging speed fast enough for how you use the car?
For the way we use the car, the charging speed has been more than adequate. We rarely drive more than 50km per day, so a couple of home charges per week means we don’t run out of charge. We rarely need to use public fast chargers, but occasionally we will use DC charging when doing a grocery shop, or if one presents at a convenient time or location.
What real-world range are you getting?
In mostly mixed driving around Sydney, we typically see around 420-460km of range from a full charge. Around town the car is very efficient, but longer motorway trips reduce the range, particularly at higher speeds or with extra drag or weight. We regularly drive down from the Inner West of Syndey to Lake Conjola (about 220km). Generally, we will have about 180-200km range left on arrival from a full charge (460-480km).
Has range or charging availability changed how you travel?
Yes, but not significantly. The Atto 3 has enough range for our normal weekly driving, and we rarely need to think about charging. However, road trips require more planning than we did in our old Tucson. When we first bought the Atto, we dived in with a long road trip from Sydney to the South Coast, Canberra and back. This taught us a lot about route planning and app management. We got down to under 20km range at one point when one of our planned charging points was out of order on arrival. At that point, both ours and the car’s range anxiety was extremely high! This has only happened once and I daresay, we won’t let it happen again. Regional charging infrastructure is slowly catching up, with more charging options on the south coast since we’ve bought our car, but EV driving absolutely demands that you plan road trips much more thoroughly.
What does the BYD Atto 3 cost you to charge and run?
Running costs are noticeably lower than our previous petrol car. Most of our charging is done at home using a standard outdoor power socket, and we try to charge during the day to make the most of our rooftop solar. While we haven't calculated an exact monthly cost, electricity costs are only a fraction of what we used to spend on fuel (about $60 per week). We felt fortunate to go electric a few months before fuel prices rose due to the Iran war. We’ve done one scheduled service that cost around $170. BYD recommends one per year at this stage. Insurance was about 20 per cent more expensive than our Tucson for some reason.
How does the BYD Atto 3 drive overall?
I’m not really someone who drives for pleasure, so apologies to the rev-heads. However, I find the Atto 3 driving experience clearly superior to comparable ICE vehicles, as the tech is so good. It is comfortable and easy to drive, particularly around town where the instant torque makes it feel very responsive and nippy. Occasionally, I’ll rent a petrol car or van for a trip or a job, and the driving experience always feels very sluggish and cumbersome by comparison. While the Atto 3 isn’t a sporty car, it strikes a balance between comfort, performance and everyday usability. It’s basically very easy to drive and responds to your commands quickly.
How practical is it for your household?
Our biggest concern was whether the Atto 3 would be big enough, as it looks smaller than a Tucson from the outside. Thankfully, it is roomy enough. I’m 6 ft 6 and there’s enough leg room in the driver’s seat to drive long distances comfortably. My partner complains that she would rather be higher from the ground; it does feel like a lower seat than other classic SUVs. There’s plenty of room for three passengers in the back, while the flat floor and wide space make it feel bigger inside than we expected. The boot is large enough for groceries, sports gear, and weekend trips away. However, we supplement that space with a roofrack for long trips. As an everyday family car, it ticks a lot of boxes.
What do you think of the interior design and comfort?
The seats are supportive, the driving position is excellent and the rotating touchscreen adds a bit of novelty. There's plenty of storage and device charging points throughout the cabin, and the overall fit and finish feels well above what we expected at this price point. There are some quirky features, like disco lighting settings, funny internal door handles and twanging chords on the door frames. Our family enjoy these but they are not for everyone. One bone of contention: the air con is not as powerful to what we are used to. The windscreen takes longer to defog in the cold and the cabin longer to cool in the heat.
How useful are the technology and driver-assistance features?
Very useful. You can run your operating system of choice (Apple CarPlay or Android Auto) through your phone and it syncs easily. We use Android Auto so can ask Google for information while we are driving. The voice commands work pretty well but there are occasions when BYD responds without being summoned, which is a real privacy concern (that I know the NRMA is looking into on behalf of members). The 360-degree camera is very cool, although the safety system alerts can be too sensitive at times, and we would welcome the ability to turn them down or off when we don’t need them.
Have you used vehicle-to-load (V2L)?
No, not yet. We are interested, though.
Has the car been reliable?
We had an issue with the driver’s door loosening from its hinge after only three months. BYD was responsive when alerted and fixed it quickly under warranty without further issues. We had another issue with the indicators failing once, which corrected once we restarted the car. We haven't experienced any other faults or breakdowns, and any software updates have been delivered seamlessly.
What has servicing and customer support been like?
Our servicing experience has been relatively straightforward and affordable compared with previous vehicles we've owned. Booking our service was initially difficult as we booked with a brand new BYD service centre in Five Dock, so it took longer than expected to receive confirmation. The service itself was fast and with no surprises.
What do you like most about the Atto 3?
That’s simple, really: low running costs, generous driving range and the amount of equipment included for the price. We love being able to voice-activate our favourite music and then whizz around with the sunroof open, without using petrol.
What do you like least, or wish it did better?
The air-con is the one bugbear that we would like improved. It’s not as powerful as what we had before, so it takes longer to cool and heat the car. We haven’t investigated yet if this can be improved with BYD. Also, we live on a busy road and the driver-assistance alerts are too sensitive in normal traffic. It can be stressful reversing from the driveway, when contending with the loud bongs alerting us to cars we can see with our own eyes. Also, the BYD app could use some UX work. It’s hard to navigate and interpret, so we barely use it. Finally, we had a tow bar added. It has a maximum braked towing capacity of 750kg, which is enough for us to tow a small trailer and a tinny on a normal road. However, don’t expect to tow anything heavier or tow on rough terrain!
Were there any surprises after taking delivery?
Honestly, we have been pleasantly surprised by the EV ownership experience. We were a little anxious about going with a Chinese brand that is relatively new to Australia, but so far BYD hasn’t let us down. We appreciated that key items such as charging cables were included. You absolutely need car mats as the fabric on the floor frays quickly without. We bought some online for cheap and they have been perfect. One issue was that our roof rack didn’t fit the BYD configuration, so check it before you intend to transition that quickly. Overall, the ownership experience has been more convenient and less expensive than we expected.
Has the Atto 3 lived up to your expectations?
Yes.
Who is this car best suited to?
Families of four who want an economical but comfortable and fun city runaround that can handle weekend trips and the occasional road trip.
What is your final verdict and score out of 10?
8.5/10. The Atto 3 has met or exceeded our expectations as a family EV, offering low running costs, strong range, plenty of practical features and excellent value for money. While some of the driver-assistance systems can be a little over-sensitive, it's been a comfortable, reliable and easy vehicle to live with, and we'd happily choose it again.
