Have we glimpsed the future?

Over the next 12-18 months, a plethora of Chinese manufacturers are due to enter the UK market with own-branded vehicles (as opposed to the likes of MG owner SAIC and Volvo owner Geely which bought into existing brands).

We’ve just driven the first model from BYD which is available to order now.

BY-who, you say?

Build Your Dreams: possibly the biggest vehicle manufacturer you’ve never heard of.

Chances are you’ve already been on one of its electric buses – it’s the largest supplier in the UK, used by Stagecoach, Arriva and Go Ahead; its electronics power 20% of the world’s smartphones; and, in China, where it has been making cars for two decades, it has a vehicle range comprising 19 models, encompassing cars, vans, buses, trucks and forklifts.

Globally, it has sold 3.5 million cars in 30 countries; last year alone it sold 1.8 million.

'Upsetting the established order in fleet'

The Atto 3 is the UK launch model, a compact SUV which promises innovation, technology and an “accessible premium” brand philosophy.

Priced from £36,490, it sits on a newly developed platform called ePlatform 3.0, featuring cell-to-pack ‘Blade’ battery technology which BYD claims takes up half the space of a conventional cell-to-module-to-pack battery. This means you can fit more batteries for improved range.

So, what’s it like?

Much, much better than you think.

In fact, we’d go so far as to say it has every chance of upsetting the established order in fleet.

Weighing in against the likes of the Volkswagen ID4 and MG4, the Atto 3 stands out from the crowd particularly with its interior design.

Viewed outside, the looks are a little generic – it features BYD’s ‘Dragon face design’ – although the full width light bars front and rear are striking.

It’s inside where things really get interesting, with an abundance of exceptional quality, soft-touch materials and innovative design flourishes that capture the imagination.

A 12.8-inch infotainment screen rotates at the touch of a button to offer landscape or portrait viewing. It’s slick to use with high quality graphics and is complemented by shortcut buttons and ‘Hi BYD’ voice control which works really well.

There is no binnacle embedded into the dashboard; it’s replaced by a small digital screen attached to the steering wheel which shows key info.

Safety rating

Safety is a priority – Euro NCAP five stars (91% for adult occupants) – and even the sat-nav is on message, with its helpful advice of “sharp left-hand bend ahead” or the slight admonishment of “you are over the speed limit” punctuating the more familiar instructions.

A neat feature is the live PM 2.5 (particulate matter) reading in the top left of the screen, giving air quality updates from inside and outside the car. During the test, the in-car figures averaged 5-8mcg/m3, while outside was 18-22. At or below 12 is considered healthy.

Tactile highlights include door grab handles designed to look like barbells and air vents resembling vertical free weights.

Particularly inventive are the interior door handles which sit atop a circular speaker and pivot to open the door. They are unique yet completely functional, resulting in a more natural movement than pulling a handle towards your body.

Other notable aspects include the vegan leather sport seats, full length panoramic glass roof, the door pockets with ‘guitar string’ sides and the completely flat floor thanks to the compact battery. Boot capacity, meanwhile, is 440 litres (1,338 with rear seats down).

All these features, including 18-inch alloys, are standard across an unfussy range, which consists of just three trim levels: Active (£36,490), with 7kW AC charger, Comfort (£36,990), which upgrades to an 11kW charger, and range-topping Design (£38,990), which adds a 15.6-inch screen, electric boot and air purification system.

Everything else, says BYD, is standard spec, making for the simplest model range on the market.

Added to this is the choice of just five colours: surfing blue, skiing white, climbing grey, parkour red and exploring green.

The BYD isn’t a complete run-away success, however.

Battery range

A slight disappointment is the combined range.

With all the BYD executives’ talk of exciting and innovative battery and powertrain tech, the WLTP figure is 260 miles, falling short of the 300-plus claimed by the sector leaders (although the city range is a more impressive 351 miles).

That said, arguably more important is efficiency and our experience of the Atto 3, on limited driving, suggests it will be competitive. On a 60-mile test route of A and B roads, we averaged 3.3mi/kWh in temperatures barely above freezing.

For a direct comparison, our Volkswagen ID4 long-termer averages 2.8mi/kWh over a similar journey profile/temperature.

BYD says this is because the ePlatform 3.0 uses heat created by the entire vehicle to regenerate the battery, which results in range improvements of 20% in cold weather. In addition, the heat pump boosts efficiency by a further 20% across a wide temperature range.

The 60.5kWh battery, which is integrated into the car so it becomes both energy source and a structural component, can be charged from 30-80% in 29 minutes on a 150kW rapid charger (note max charging is currently 88kW DC). Over-the-air software upgrades are possible, so improvements could be made in the coming months.

Driving experience

So the Atto 3 looks and feels great, but what about the driving experience?

Again, BYD takes the plaudits.

The supremely velvety ride soaks up the worst of the UK’s potholed roads (and our test route seemed to find some of the worst), but not to the detriment of handling, which is well weighted and precise, though a little unengaging.

Those wanting a firmer ride can opt for Sport mode, green evangelists can choose Eco, but most will plump for Normal.

With BYD currently forming a UK national sales office, appointing a dealer network and recruiting a fleet team under the supervision of UK fleet sales director Eric van Munsteren, fleets can consider the Atto 3 safe in the knowledge that the support structure will be in place.

SPEC

Battery: 60.48kWh
Range: 260 miles
Consumption: 3.98mi/kWh
Output: 204PS
Performance: 0-62mph 7.3s; top speed 99mph
Charging time: 7kW - 9hr42m; 11kW – 6hr30m; 150kW – 29mins (30-80%)