2024 BYD Atto 3 EV Long Drive Review | Philkotse Philippines

Fully electric vehicles (EV) such as the BYD Atto 3 face a huge challenge in the Philippine mass market. Since EVs made it to the Philippine market, they were generally confined to use in big cities. It is, after all, where EV infrastructure tends to proliferate first.

Now in 2024, this is fast becoming a thing of the past. As BYD Cars Philippines proved via its Atto 3 Baguio City media drive event, EVs are now a viable road-trip chariot. So how did it do?

We learned firsthand when BYD Cars PH invited us to drive the Atto 3 top-spec Premium variant to the Philippines’ summer capital.

Starting with its exterior, the Atto 3 EV assumes a sleeker take on the tried and true crossover formula. As typical to its segment, the EV model sports sharp LED headlamps, black-plastic body claddings, and a well-proportioned silhouette. As an EV, however, its front end is closed off and smooth, which does help with its drag coefficient, which the brand says measures at 0.29.

BYD Atto 3 from the front

With that said, it features what one would expect from a well-equipped crossover. It has power-folding side mirrors, a power tailgate, automatic functionality for its main lighting element, roof racks, and a set of 18-inch wheels for the Premium variant. It likewise sports an electronic panoramic sunroof for its occupants to better enjoy the cool atmosphere of destinations like Baguio City.

Inside, the Atto 3 gets a rather unusual dashboard filled with soft-touch round shapes and curves. Other crossovers in the market right now are also filled with soft-touch surfaces, but it contrasts the current trend of straight and flat designs.

Atto 3 from the rear

Nevertheless, the driving controls on its expansive center console are easy to find and manipulate, even for a first-time user. I likewise appreciate the disc-shaped air-conditioning (AC) vents and their large air-flow control knobs, which make them easier to fiddle around with even while driving the vehicle. Unfortunately, the main AC controls are relegated to the central touchscreen.

Looking for one’s ideal driving position is also easy thanks to a power-adjustable driver’s seat and a tilt & telescopic steering column. I am 5’11 and wide at the gut, but despite my large size, I found the driver’s seat comfortable. It likewise had enough bolstering to keep me from being jostled around when dealing with Baguio’s curvy back roads.

Its front seats are bolstered and are easily adjusted

The rear cabin, meanwhile, gets a 60:40 split-folding seat, rear air vents, and plenty of elbow room and legroom.

For onboard tech, the Atto 3 gets an interesting 12.8-inch touchscreen display that can flip to switch its orientation from landscape to portrait. I didn’t find any use for that feature, but the screen itself is fast to respond to and is effortless to control. The screen also gets Android Auto, but sadly, it lacks Apple CarPlay.

Safety aboard the Atto3 Premium includes six airbags, anti-lock braking, tire pressure monitoring, stability control, hill descent control, a 360-view monitor, front & rear parking radars, auto-hold, and traction control. Of note, the 360-degree monitor was particularly clear and crisp when displayed on the central touchscreen.

A close look at the Atto 3's infotainment touchscreen

Those safety bits are reinforced by adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and lane keep assist. The guys and I, who shared a car, greatly used the Atto 3’s ACC on the North Luzon Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX). Thankfully, we didn’t get to try out the other advanced safety bits, but I found the blind-spot monitor useful when driving around the bustling but most often tight streets of the City of Pines.

Propelling the Atto 3 is a permanent magnet synchronous motor paired with BYD’s 60.48 kWh (Premium) Blade Battery. According to the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), this offers up to 480 kilometers of range from a single charge.

At the maximum, the Atto 3 can dish out 201 horsepower and 310 Nm of torque. All power is sent to its front wheels.

The BYD Atto 3 media drive event started at the brand’s new flagship dealership at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig.

The first leg of the drive took us out of BGC and into the Skyway, then at NLEX. During this section, the Atto 3 demonstrated pliability and responsiveness, particularly useful when navigating tight traffic.

At the Shell Mobility charging station in Rosario, La Union

Cruising was done easily on NLEX, and passing slower vehicles was effortless thanks to the Atto 3’s instant torque. Upon reaching a quick stop at Shell Mobility in Rosario, Pangasinan, we had more than enough range to go ahead to Baguio, but other cars in the pack needed to top up. This is where the Atto 3 showcased its charging.

One car managed to gain up to 53 percent battery level in just six minutes of charging. This is thanks to Shell’s powerful EV charging boxes capable of handling 80 kW charging, which the BYD EV is compatible with.

After dealing with Marcos Highway’s curvy roads, and overtaking slow-moving rows of cargo trucks, the BYD Atto 3 drive delegates arrived at The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay in Baguio City. For our car, we had a range of 15 percent with 44 kilometers left.

The Atto 3 performs well on uphill climbs

That’s more than enough to reach a charging station within the city. But guess what, the hotel we stayed at also had EV charging points. They weren’t as powerful as Shell’s EV charging boxes, but after a night of charging, we had more than 90 percent battery levels which is plenty for the trip back to Shell Mobility at Rosario.

We took the long way around during the trip back via some fun and curvy backroads. This section showcased the Atto 3’s quick acceleration, as well as its ability to regain power from regenerative charging.

This EV can do zero to 100 km/h in just 7.3 seconds. We didn’t give it the beans during our drive, but it was well-balanced enough not to feel shaky or unstable when driving at speed. It did show some body roll when taking sharp corners, but I believe this is par for the course for this model to maintain a plush-feeling ride quality.

The cockpit is well-arranged and is rich with features

We likewise saw the EV’s regenerative charging braking system in action. Handling-wise, it does get a bit of taking used to as it does feel different from engine braking. Nevertheless, a few hours on downhill roads gave us 5 percent back. This, though, was quickly used up once again as we returned to the flats of central Luzon.

Judging by its performance, there’s no doubt that the Atto 3 can now fill in as a road-trip chariot to destinations such as La Union and Baguio City. I particularly mentioned those two to stress that some locations might still lack EV charging facilities. As such, it still pays to research and look up ahead of time if one’s route does have EV charging points. This applies to all EVs, not just the Atto 3.

The BYD Atto 3 starts at Php 1,598,000

For the BYD Atto 3, however, its comfort, onboard tech, power, and range are more than enough for anyone to consider it a viable daily and road-trip companion. I say this after considering the entry-level Dynamic’s price of Php 1,598,000 and the Premium’s price of Php 1,798,000.

Sure, there are cheaper EVs out there right now, but only a few of those can reach the levels of sophistication that the Atto 3 showcases.

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