By Dr. Long See Pin
I have always had a soft spot for affordable and value-for-money automobiles (battery electric vehicles or BEVs included and even more so). Of course, many will digress on this automotive preference: upscale neighbours, professional associates, sportscar club friends (fiends?), blood relatives and even some car companies’ bosses – grinning or smirking with puzzled or even subtly disdainful expressions. Or just painful silence, on their part.
Understandably, most if not all, have been indoctrinated over the past half a century to think that cheap equals nasty. Shopping for a good ‘base model’ – usually from the B-segment – can be quite a daunting but fun experience. Since the usual choices don’t usually tick all the right boxes. With the BYD ATTO 2, it looks like you can have the cake and eat it too… well, almost.
BYD ATTO 2
The ATTO 2 has ticked off the first box as a relevant offering, in the form of a modem yet attainable crossover SUV. BYD Malaysia has rightfully replaced the Dolphin by offering the ATTO 2 at RM100,000. Placed squarely at the floor price dictated by MITI for CBU BEVs and possibly into the future as a locally-assembled BEV sold in Malaysia.
As a B-segment crossover SUV, its dimensions are 4310 mm in length, 1830 mm wide and 1675 mm tall – riding on a compact wheelbase of 2620 mm. From the outside, this little but tall crossover looks deceptively bigger, somewhat like a B+ segment offering.
Don’t let that rather short wheelbase fool you, though. With a flat-floor plus smart packaging, the ATTO 2 offers a spacious rear legroom complemented by a rear bench which is thick, chunky and nicely angled to be supportive of the rear passengers’ thighs. Sitting three abreast at the back is still manageable, albeit at a squeeze. As expected of a B-segment vehicle, which characteristically lacks width.
With the never-ending race to make modern BEVs interiors minimalistic, bucking this mind-boggling trend is ATTO 2’s back-to-basics interior. Items like flickable air vents on its dashboard, door armrest mechanical switches, steering Left-Right stalks with physical buttons are simply functional, intuitive to use while offering good old tactile feedback.
Aircond controls are digitally rendered within the 12.8-inch touchscreen but logically stays as a locked taskbar at the bottom of the screen.
Another intuitive selectable driving safety function is the Lane Departure Warning/Assist which requires just a one-time setting to turn off – permanently. No frustrating, recurring default ‘ON’ annoyance when the car restarts for a new drive.
Over a weekend, I found the ATTO 2 to be a highly livable and practical city car. Generous headroom, soft surfaces on dashboard to door cards, with leatherette-lined seats and stitch-wrapped steering. It doesn’t feel like bargain-basement model at all.
BYD ATTO 2
With a claimed WLTP range of 350 kms from its 51.13 kWh Blade battery, I covered about 300 kms easily before needing a recharge – topping up from a level of about 10%.
The single DC front motor generates up to 130 kW (174 hp) with a maximum 290 Nm of torque delivering effortless and zippy acceleration, though not seamlessly progressive into the regeneration