October 20, 2022 I ordered the BYD Atto 3 at Louwman BYD because of, amongst other things, its fast delivery option.
BYD is a new brand in the Netherlands of which the Atto3 will be available from early November for a limited number of quick orderers.
The dealer indicated that the car has about 2 to 4 weeks delivery time and that it was about halfway with the shipment on its way to the Netherlands.
That appeared to have been a conservative estimate because:
Update 25-10-2022: The car has already been unloaded from the ship, will be homologated this week, then registered and will be delivered Monday, November 14th 2022!
A homologation is the determination that a vehicle or vehicle part meets all European technical and administrative requirements.
UPDATE 4-11-2022: In the public Dutch RDW vehicle register, I saw that there have been 6 BYD Atto3’s registered at the 31st-of October-2022. One of which is a convertible!!??. That’s completely new to me! I really need to get me more info about this because I would actually prefer a hard top electric convertible over the normal Atto 3 SUV-version. Another quick contact with Louwman and the 6 licensed Atto 3’s are to be used as demo models. My car will be registered in the next week so I have the newest possible issue date for the registration of the car…. Good thing that the delivery will now be within 1 week!
Update 2022-11-14: The car has been delivered!
About the BYD Atto 3:
I ordered the car in the color red metallic, design version and it will look like this:
Test drive IMPRESSION 25-10-20220 BYD Atto 3
We viewed the car on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at the dealer in Amsterdam, Louwman BYD. The address is Pieter Braaijweg 8. There, the Atto 3 is displayed in 3 available colors. We test-drove the gray BYD Atto 3 in Amsterdam South-East.
And the first impression is : Wow! What a beautiful car.
The seating is well fitting, despite my 193 centimeters the seats sit as if they were made for me. Nice soft shape around the shoulders and firm at the bottom.
The primary controls are otherwise similar to my present car, a Volvo V70 III. On the left behind the steering wheel are the turn signals, and much can be operated on the steering wheel, pretty much in the same spot I’m already used to. On the left in the wheel is the cruise control and on the right the audio system.
Since the BYD Atto 3 does not yet speak and understand Dutch, we operate the car in English for all secondary commands such as the roof controls, radio and navigation. With the navigation it went almost all right but via voice control the built-in navigation went wrong with driving back. Try getting an English speaking navigation system to drive to the Pieter Braaijweg 2…. Manual touch screen control on the big screen went perfect, of course!
Otherwise accelerating and braking is fine, a very soft just audible high noise below 10 km/hr seems to occur at the inverter, possibly because of the low speed but both at standstill and at speeds higher than 10 km/h it is not audible at all.
Regeneration can be done in 2 modes, I used the highest mode and that works well, but I did use the mechanical brake the last few meters before the traffic lights. Perhaps I need to get more used to that or the car still needs to learn what my driving style is.
The car feels more like my Volvo V70 II, which is built on a GM chassis, and the BYD Atto3 does not feel sluggish and behaves like a 1750-pound midsize car, with well damped suspension all around. Cornering is tight, the turning radius is quite short and acceleration is fast but without slipping front tires. The continental tires give lots of grip.
As a comparison, the length of the BYD Atto3 is about the same as my partner’s Mazda 3. That Mazda does not feel like a mid-size car, but more like a smaller type of car when in terms of exterior size it is not. Acceleration of the Mazda is quick, so is braking, and steering is pretty direct. The Mazda’s suspension is short and feels less dynamic than the BYD Atto 3. Actually, the Mazda 3 is more mechanical suspension, OK but not very luxurious. I do find that luxury present in the BYD Atto 3, both in terms of suspension and handling. I can also just imagine the BYD Atto 3 as a cab.
In the Atto3, vega materials have been used in terms of upholstery. Moreover, the seats are ventilated and also have heating, should you want it.
There really is not a piece of bare plastic to be found in the car, both the dashboard and the console are covered with different colors of vega upholstery. This gives it a luxurious look that you won’t find in all EVs in this sub-class.
A word about the external look: It was really a surprise that both the front and rear running lights continue across the middle of the car. While subtly done, it is very present.
My verdict: BUY THIS CAR! I had already ordered the car before the test drive, and delivery is going to take place on Monday, November 14. TOP!
RIMS:
TYRES:
For European deliveries: Continental-ecocontact-6-XL-235-50-r18
Classy summer tires, also good in the wet, economical and quiet.
The BYD atto3 is a crossover and is spacious and modern inside, finished with soft materials.
Whether you like it all is a matter of taste, of course.
Interesting detail: the car has been in production for over a year under the name BYD YUAN PLUS , and almost all cosmetic after-market parts are just available, including the FRUNK:
And- a tow bar will also become available, somewhere Q1-Q2 2023.
What is known already is that the car may pull 700 kg unbraked and 750 kg braked.