This post is brought to you by BYD.
City driving can be stressful, more so when you’re going home after a hard day’s work. You’re constantly on the lookout for traffic lights, road signs, pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, and everything else that the city decides to throw at you. So what you need is a car that helps you navigate the chaotic city more comfortably. A car, like the all-electric BYD ATTO 3.
A relaxing yet fun drive on your daily commute
For starters, the ATTO 3 can be recharged at home with either a 3-pin wall charger or an AC wallbox charger. Therefore, you wake up every day to a fully charged EV with a range of up to 420km – based on the WLTP test cycle. You no longer need to make detours to petrol stations on your daily commute and that alone saves you time and the stress of dealing with additional traffic.
On your way to work, you’ll notice that driving the ATTO 3 isn’t much different than driving a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. There’s a compact 5” digital instrument cluster, a massive 12.8”, motorised touchscreen infotainment system with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, comfy seats, and a PM2.5 cabin air filter.
Where you will notice a difference is in the way the ATTO 3 drives. The all-electric drivetrain is silent and doesn’t shiver the car with vibrations. You’ll get the sensation that you’re driving with the engine turned off and it’s an experience from which you can’t go back. Since there’s no sound pollution from the electric drivetrain, you can enjoy your music pumped through the 8-speaker sound system, or simply enjoy the quiet drive.
However, don’t let the silence fool you into thinking the ATTO 3 has no bite. Under your right foot, you have access to 201hp and 310Nm of torque from a single electric motor on the front axle which is enough to take the car from a standstill to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds. Moreover, unlike most ICE vehicles where you must wait for the gearbox to kick down and the engine to rev up before the power kicks in, the ATTO 3 can deploy all its power nearly instantaneously when you floor the pedal.
So whether you need to overtake a couple of cars, get away from the traffic light, or get up to speed when you enter the highway, the ATTO 3 simply zooms through. Returning to an ICE car after this experience will be a very challenging affair.
And when you unfortunately hit rush hour traffic, the ATTO 3 goes from being performant to efficient. While the car is stationary, the electric motor stops spinning, hence it doesn’t use any energy. By comparison, an engine will still need to use fuel to keep running. This also means you don’t get any vibrations in the ATTO 3, making it a more relaxing place to be when stuck in a traffic jam.
Adding to that relaxed drive is a suite of active driver assistance systems namely adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and lane centring assist. When engaged the system will maintain a pre-set safe distance from the car in front while moving forward and stopping all on its own in a traffic jam. Now, your job whittles down to just paying attention to the traffic around you while you enjoy your cup of coffee and indulge in your favourite podcast.
Enough range for those weekend trips
But what if you want to go on a short trip over the weekend? Well, with up to 420km of range, you can drive from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka, Ipoh, Penang, or Johor on a single charge. When you reach your destination, you can plug in the ATTO 3 to a DC fast charger and go for breakfast or lunch, depending on the time.
The ATTO 3 supports up to 80kW DC fast charger which can take the battery from zero to 80% in 45 minutes. But since the battery will not be at 0% when you plug the car in, the charging time will be lower. So the car will be charged up, ready for you to explore the local attractions. When you need to take a break, you can hang out in the car while enjoying the air-conditioning and listening to music without the risk of harmful exhaust fumes seeping into the cabin.
Before departing, plug the car into a DC fast charger so there’s sufficient range to get back home without needing to stop midway. If there are any safety concerns on your mind about using a high-powered charger multiple times, know that BYD claims its Blade Battery has been tested to be one of the safest EV batteries on the market. The Blade Battery was even designed to minimize the risk of combustion when punctured.
After a tiring day of exploring and having fun, the long drive back home can be the most demanding. So allow the ATTO 3 to assist you with its active drive assistance system which includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist, rear collision warning, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. With the ATTO 3 now doing all the accelerating, braking, and steering, you just need to sit back, relax, and keep your eyes on the road.
Moreover, each time the car brakes when another car enters your lane or comes across a slow-moving truck, instead of using the physical brakes to slow down, it uses a generator with resistance. The energy used to turn this generator as the car slows down is captured to recharge the battery, albeit in small quantities. This process is known as regenerative braking. But don’t worry, the car will engage the physical brakes should you need a stronger stopping force.
Yes, there’s an argument to be made that public EV charging infrastructure is not available everywhere across the county just yet. So for those times when you have to travel to a destination that has no EV charging facilities, you can use that second car with an ICE.
Lower cost of ownership in the long run
Once you reach home, you can go to bed knowing that the car is covered by a 6-year/150,000km warranty for the vehicle and an 8-year/160,000km for the battery, which is currently unmatched by other brands in Malaysia.
Additionally, the maintenance cost of the ATTO 3 is lower compared to most ICE vehicles. You don’t have any costly consumables to think about – no more thinking of engine oil, transmission oil, and so on. Your major consumables to replace will be the tyres, brake oil, brake pad, and that’s it.
Moreover, thanks to regenerative braking, the brake pads will wear out at a much slower rate. Therefore, service intervals are not as frequent as most ICE vehicles as well, so you will have a lower cost of ownership in the long run.
When you factor in the current government tax breaks such as road tax exemptions for EVs until the year 2026 among others, buying an EV variant can be cheaper than an equivalent ICE variant.
Experience the BYD ATTO 3 today
Sime Darby Motors (SDM) is in the process of expanding the BYD network along the West Coast of Malaysia, with new dealerships and service points to be available in every state. This will give peace of mind to both owners and potential owners. SDM has assured that every dealer and service point was selected according to strict requirements, to ensure that they will deliver the best customer experience possible to the customer.
Experience the BYD ATTO 3 at the nearest BYD Sime Darby showrooms in Klang Valley, East Malaysia, Kedah, Perak, and Johor, with more BYD showrooms popping up soon across Malaysia. Visit the official BYD Cars Malaysia Facebook page, Instagram or the BYD official website to stay updated on the latest news, products, and services.
