BYD Atto 3 Malaysia: Chinese EV SUV with up to 420km range, from RM150k

Another new car brand has landed in Malaysia with the launch of BYD‘s first model, the Atto 3. The initials stand for Build Your Dreams—as emblazoned on the tailgate—and the new car is an electric SUV aiming to compete with the Hyundai Kona Electric on price and specs. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

BYD Atto 3 Malaysia pricing and availability

In Malaysia, the Atto 3 is available in two variants, these being the Standard Range and Extended Range models, referring to their differing battery sizes. Pricing is as follows:

• BYD Atto 3 Standard Range – RM149,800
• BYD Atto 3 Extended Range – RM167,800

This means the Atto 3 will undercut the Hyundai Kona Electric, which starts at RM156,538. All purchases include a six-year/150,000km warranty, an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty and an eight-year/150,000km motor warranty. For units purchased during the launch period, BYD is also giving away a free portable charger, a vehicle-to-load (V2L) extension cable and complimentary charging credits worth RM1,000.

The Atto 3 will be available at BYD’s new showroom at TREC along Jalan Tun Razak, expected to be open by mid-December. The company will open three more dealerships in Ara Damansara (likely at the Sime Darby Motors City, as the brand is being handled by Sime Darby Motors), Penang and Johor by mid-2023, eventually growing that number to 20 by the end of the year. The brand is planning to double that figure in 2024.

BYD Atto 3 power output and charging

Like all the other EVs in this price range, the Atto 3 gets a single electric motor at the front, producing 201hp and 310Nm of torque. It’s juiced by a 49.9kWh battery, delivering a range of 345km on the Standard Range model.

If you want to travel further, you’ll have to spring for the Extended Range model, which gets a larger 60.5kWh battery that enables the Atto 3 to travel 420km on a single charge. Speaking of which, the Standard Range supports up to 70kW of DC fast charging, whereas the Extended Range is capable of 80kW, the latter filling the battery from zero to 80% in 45 minutes. The Atto 3 can also be charged at up to 7kW using an AC wallbox, taking 9.5 hours to fully charge the bigger battery.

Handsome and fully equipped

The Atto 3 is quite a good-looking SUV from BYD, featuring slim LED headlights, large (fake) air intakes and a silver bar instead of a conventional grille. Along the side, you get a window line that kinks upwards towards the rear, a strong shoulder line and a fin-shaped silver D-pillar. At the back sits L-shaped LED taillights joined together with an illuminated strip and a chrome accent. Roof rails and black body cladding give the car a typical rugged SUV look, punctuated by body-coloured side sills and rear diffuser.

Visually, the only difference between the two variants are the wheels: the Standard Range rides on 17″ alloys, while the Extended Range receives larger 18″ rollers with a turbine design and a two-tone finish. Both models can be had in a choice of five colours—Surf Blue, Parkour Red, Boulder Grey and Ski White.

Distinctive interior with…guitar strings?

While the Atto 3 cuts a conventionally handsome figure on the outside, it’s on the inside where it truly goes wild. The cabin, available solely in an Eclipse Blue and Hazy Grey colour scheme, features organic curves and some steampunk-style details, including along the door cards where you’ll find orange guitar-like strings forming the storage compartments.

But the pièce de résistance is the 12.8-inch floating touchscreen, which can be rotated at the touch of a button on the steering wheel. It features a voice assistant and built-in navigation; wired Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto connectivity will be added as part of a software update, but only in the second quarter of next year. A small five-inch instrument display sits behind the steering wheel.

Both variants are reasonably well-equipped, coming with keyless entry and start, a smart key card, power-adjustable seats, automatic air conditioning, USB-A and USB-C ports front and rear, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree monitor. The Extended Range gets a few additional features—eight instead of six speakers, a Qi wireless charger, a PM2.5 cabin air filter, a powered tailgate and multi-colour ambient lighting that syncs to the music being played.

Measuring 4,455mm long, 1,875mm wide and 1,615mm tall, the Atto 3 sits neatly between the Proton X50 and X70 in size. Open the tailgate and you’ll find a 440-litre boot, expandable to 1,340 litres with the 60:40 split-folding rear seats down.

Fully equipped with safety features

In terms of safety, the Atto 3 comes with seven airbags (including a centre airbag for the driver), stability control, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go and lane centring assist that enables Level 2 semi-autonomous driving. Other features include rear collision warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and a door opening warning.