BYD Atto 2 review: It’s Australia’s cheapest electric SUV but what else does it offer?

Set on achieving market dominance, Chinese giant BYD is continuing to expand its model line-up in Australia. Not satisfied with achieving a top 10 position on the sales ladder during 2025, its goal to be in the top three brands locally by the end of 2026 is bold but considering its rate of expansion in both product and dealer presence, certainly possible.

The latest BYD model to launch in Australia is the Atto 2, which has become the cheapest electric SUV on the market priced from just $31,990 plus on-road costs. Is the BYD Atto 2 key to BYD achieving its sales goals?

BYD Atto 2 pricing (plus on-road costs):

The Atto 2’s pricing makes it – easily – the cheapest new electric SUV on sale in Australia, significantly undercutting rivals such as the Chery E5 (starting at $36,990 plus on-road costs), Leapmotor B10 ($38,990 +ORC) and Kia EV3 ($47,600 +ORC).

The Atto 2 is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty, with 12 months of roadside assistance and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.

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Both variants in the Atto 2 range are well equipped, especially considering that a heat pump and vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality is standard. The Premium especially is loaded with kit, but it’s difficult to overlook the Dynamic’s $31,990 +ORC entry price. Head to the bottom of the page for the full run through of the Atto 2’s standard features.

The cabin of the Atto 2 is a quiet, comfortable and well featured place to spend time. Material quality is impressive with plenty of soft touch materials and no noticeable panel gaps or loose-feeling switchgear. Front seat comfort is good as well, though there’s no lumbar adjustment or under-thigh angle adjustment. Plus, the lack of seat ventilation in the Dynamic means that the front seats would likely get quite hot in summer thanks to the standard synthetic leather trim.

The touchscreen in the Atto 2 looks a bit dated to look at but is packed with plenty of features like live services, wireless smartphone mirroring and inbuilt sat-nav. It’s more user-friendly than a lot of other new cars, too, because a shortcut bar lies at the bottom of the screen so that functions such as the climate, headlights and home button are always visible (though it features precious few physical buttons). And, being a BYD, it rotates as well for some extra pizzaz.

There’s plenty of storage space, including big central cup holders and a huge central box, while two adults will fit fine in the rear seat – keep it to two though as the Atto 2 isn’t a wide car. For child seats, there are two ISOFIX and three top-tether points. plus, air vents, two USB chargers, map pockets and door pockets.

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There’s a healthy 380 litres of bootspace behind the rear seats, which expands to 1320 litres with the seats folded. Clever touches include a dual-level boot floor, side storage and hooks to hang bags off. There’s no front boot unfortunately, and the tailgate is manual, but it is quite light.

Both Atto 2 variants use a 51.13kWh ‘Blade’ LFP battery for a claimed WLTP range of 345km, which is less than both variants of the Leapmotor B10 (361km–434km), but that car costs $5000+ more to buy. On the local media launch of the Atto 2, we drove it mostly on the motorway from Sydney to the Central Coast and back for around 160km of driving and the range still showed just over 50 per cent of charge, making the WLTP claim fairly accurate in those conditions.

BYD claims that the battery of the Atto 2 can be DC fast charged at up to 82kW and a 10 to 80 per cent charge takes just under 40 minutes, which is around half that of the Leapmotor B10. Its 7kW AC charging limit is even less, and a full charge takes a minimum eight hours. There could be improvements made to the Atto 2’s charging ability, for sure, and there are also only two modes of regenerative braking, with no one-pedal driving functionality.

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Dynamically, the Atto 2 is nothing special either. There’s more than enough performance from its 130kW/290Nm motor with a claimed 7.9-second 0-100km/h time, but its odd steering and pronounced body roll even during moderate cornering mean that enthusiasts won’t be too impressed. Perhaps it was just our Premium test car with its slightly larger wheels than the base Dynamic or the unsophisticated torsion beam rear set-up but the suspension thuds over smaller undulations and it’s otherwise too soft over larger bumps. A local steering and suspension tune would serve the Atto 2 well.

The light steering of the Atto 2 is especially odd when you realise that it’s actually quite quick, so any movement off centre has the car turning more sharply than you expect. That’s not so bad around town because it adds a light and nimble feel, but when you’re on a motorway and the Atto 2’s over-sensitive lane keeping assistance is trying to steer you back to the lane – and you accidentally correct it more than needed – it’s alarming.

Otherwise, there’s plenty to like about the Atto 2. It’s an in-vogue small SUV powered by electricity and it’s more than practical enough for its intended purpose as an urban roundabout. Overall quality is impressive and it’s loaded with features.

Its low pricing is an obvious drawcard in an age when most ICE-powered rivals cost more and it’s further proof of how hard BYD is pressing in the Australian market. Combined with the smaller Atto 1, the age of cheap EVs is well and truly upon us with the BYD Atto 2.

BYD Atto 2 specifications:

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BYD Atto 2 Dynamic standard features:

• 16-inch alloy wheels with a tyre repair kit
• Dusk-sensing automatic LED exterior lighting
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Heated mirrors
• Keyless entry and start
• NFC card, Bluetooth key and digital key
• Synthetic leather steering wheel
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• Manual height-adjustable driver’s seat
• Automatic air-conditioning with rear vents
• 8.8-inch digital driver’s display
• 10.1-inch touchscreen with over-the-air updates
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• FM and DAB+ digital radio
• Satellite navigation
• Four-speaker sound system
• 4x USB ports
• Heat pump
• Vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability
• Snow, eco, normal and sport driving modes

Atto 2 safety features:

• 6x airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Adaptive cruise control
• Lane keeping assistance
• Adaptive lane guidance
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert (with braking)
• Door open warning
• Auto high beam
• Traffic sign recognition with speed limit alert
• Reversing camera
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Rear parking sensors

The Atto 2 is yet to receive a safety rating from Euro NCAP or ANCAP.

Atto 2 Premium model adds:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Roof rails
• Panoramic sunroof
• Auto-folding exterior mirrors
• 360-degree camera
• 6-way electric driver’s seat
• 4-way electric front passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Larger 12.8-inch touchscreen
• Wireless phone charger
• Front parking sensors
• Auto-dimming rear mirror
• Four extra speakers (eight in total)