Crossover to Electric: The BYD Atto 3

With all of the electric cars coming into the Philippines, you may wonder what kind of models are going to be the market leaders, and given the current state of the market, there is a lot of room to grow. 

Blown wide open, and with fresh customers who are looking for or at least considering the prospect of an electric car, BYD’s stake in the Philippines is anything but misplaced. The time is ripe for new and affordable models to populate the market. BYD’s specialty is electric, so it’s safe to say that the brand knows what they’re doing with their battery power. Let’s take a closer look at the Atto 3 and how well it sits in the market. 

The Atto 3 is in a good place at the moment. The model is currently in the upper middle of the market and given that it is an all-electric vehicle, it’s priced exceptionally well. Given its launch price that starts at P1,598,000 and goes all the way to P1,798,000, BYD is looking to corner a good chunk of the market right off the bat. Its distributor in the Philippines, AC Motors, wants to make a big splash in the coming years, and with a price tag as aggressive as that, it’s going to be an extremely enticing option in its segment. 

A good majority of the electric vehicles in the market are priced at about P2,000,000 or way over, with some Chinese brands like MG adopting the same affordability strategy that BYD is going with. However, just because it’s more affordable than other brands doesn’t mean that it’s falling short in the quality department. 

While BYD may be a relatively young company, the cars that it makes adopt a lot of modern vehicle-building techniques which are on full display on the dashboard, the interior trim, and also the key touch points are all solid-feeling. What impresses us is also how well the car looks and feels on the outside. No panels are out of place and the finishes are well-made. Things are a tinge more solid than our initial impression and things translate well once you really get up close and personal with the car. 

While not many people have held and seen a BYD in person yet, we implore you to at least explore it. Get a feel. BYD is one such brand that is an outlier in the market given how young it is and how good its cars already are. Its commitment to all-electric mobility actually makes it a great brand to go with since it designed its platforms to work exclusively with battery electric power. 

One thing you may not know about cars and their platforms is that, in a general sense, most manufacturers come up with a car that is patterned after an existing model, in a sense to cut costs. While adapting a platform to accept an electric system totally acceptable, a model developed from the ground up would feel a lot better in comparison. 

The thing with electric cars is that the architecture is fundamentally different compared to one that runs off fossil fuels. BYD patterns its electric cars, even the more affordable ones, from a base that was built from the ground up to be electric. Because of that, we’re getting a more bespoke experience compared to perhaps a hybrid or mild hybrid. 

All-electric cars tend to be the smoothest of the electrified bunch, and when it comes down to it, the cars that come with electric-only powertrains behave super linearly and are faster than you think. The Atto 3 has a very competent electric motor that produces 201 hp and 310 Nm of torque that will bring you up to speed before you know it. In comparison to other gasoline-powered cars, you will rarely see a turbocharged crossover go over 200 horses, but the Atto 3 simply comes with it and it lets it out. Acceleration happens at the flip of a switch compared to a gasoline-powered vehicle. There is no waiting for a gear change, there is no waiting for a clutch to engage, and you could say that the act of accelerating in an electric car is a lot simpler than a traditional internal combustion model. 

With a modern powertrain, it’s backed up by all of the modern offerings that BYD can deliver. Because the model is new, it comes packed with everything that you could want and then some. From its infotainment display to its information display, everything is clear and concise, and the interior’s design also complements the futuristic theme of the model. 

The Atto comes with a lot of standard features in its dynamic trim. All of them are geared towards making the drive a lot better. Stuff like Auto Hold, Hill-Descent Control, and Traction Control, are standard for the entire lineup, but stepping up to the Premium trim brings you adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. 

Would you crossover to electric? The thing with BYD is that it is a brand that is going places and it’s doing so with its own spin on things. Its decisions are squarely set in the electric vehicle segments. 

Now the real question is, is it time for you to cross? The thing with other electric vehicles is that the price is too high at the moment, but with the Atto and once other BYDs get the spotlight, owning and driving off with an electric car won’t be such a big ask anymore. As your first EV, this could be quite a car to own.