The small BYD Atto 3 will soon receive a visual makeover, as well as a pair of new, more powerful drivetrains.
According to Australian government approval documents, the revised Atto 3 will be available with two new drivetrain options: 230kW single-motor rear-wheel drive, and 330kW dual-motor all-wheel drive.
The government website doesn’t provide any further details about the revised Atto 3, but the facelifted model has just been launched in the UK and Europe, where it will be sold as the Atto 3 Evo.
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In the UK, all Atto 3 Evo variants are based E-Platform 3.0 that has an 800V electrical architecture and supports DC fast charging up to 220kW, which is a huge improvement over today’s car that tops out at 80kW. AC charging maxes out at 11kW.
Over there, the base rear-wheel drive Atto 3 Evo variant has a 230kW/380Nm motor that’s capable of hurling the SUV through the 0-100km/h dash in 5.5 seconds
Range-topping all-wheel drive versions gain a motor up front, boosting total output to 330kW and 560Nm, and helping the upgraded model crack the century in just 3.9 seconds.
For reference, Atto 3 models currently gracing Australian showrooms are available solely with a 150kW/310Nm motor driving the front wheels. This can be paired to either a 49.9kWh or 60.5kWh battery pack.
All UK-bound models come with a much larger 74.8kWh lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) Blade battery. Under the WLTP standard, the rear-wheel drive model has a range of 510km, while the all-wheel drive version can go up to 470km on a full charge.
The battery pack is integrated directly into the chassis, which improves torsional rigidity and liberates an extra 50L of space in the boot, which is now rated at 490L with the rear seats up and 1360L when they’re folded down.
Thanks to the new electrical architecture, the Atto 3 Evo gains a 110L storage area under bonnet — a ‘frunk’ or ‘froot’, if you will. Also included is vehicle-to-load capability, allowing the car to power external devices at up to 3.3kW.
Despite the substantially revised underpinnings, the Atto 3 Evo’s visual makeover is slight. Externally it’s distinguished by lightly revised front and rear bumpers, slimmer side skirts, a redesigned spoiler at the top of the tailgate, new tail-light graphics, and a fresh design for the 18-inch alloy wheels.
Inside the instrumentation screen has grown from 5.0 to 8.8 inches in diameter, and the transmission controls have moved from the centre console to a wand behind the steering wheel.
The larger 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen no longer swivels, but does come with Google apps pre-installed, including Maps, Assistant, and the Play Store.
Available features include a wireless smartphone charging pad with cooling, 360-degree camera system, front and rear parking sensors, heated front and rear seats, and a head up display.
The safety sheet includes adaptive cruise control, front and rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring, lane departure assist, front and rear collision warning, traffic sign recognition and automated speed limit control.
