2026 BYD Atto 1 review: Australian first drive

If you’ve been in the market to purchase your first new car, options at the affordable end of the market have quickly disappeared in recent years.

Old stalwarts like the Mazda 2, Suzuki Swift, and Toyota Yaris are now $25,000-plus, and when you factor in on-road costs, well, all of a sudden you are contemplating shelling out $30,000 just for a light hatchback.

And – maybe this is just me – but I can’t help but feel like you are still making a compromise somewhere, whether that’s with the Swift’s (recent) three-star safety rating, the Mazda 2’s decade-old underpinnings, or the Yaris’s old-feeling interior technology.

This is why the BYD Atto 1 has so much potential, as it solves nearly all of the issues found in its perceived peers.

As Australia’s cheapest electric car, the Atto 1 not only has the ability to revitalise the plateauing EV market, but it could single-handedly jump-start interest in the long flat-lining hatchback segment entirely.

No pressure then.

Pricing is still to be confirmed, but two versions of the Atto 1 will be available – the Essential and Premium.

Speculation points to a circa-$25,000 starting price for the former, rising to close to $30,000 for the latter.

Exact specification is also still to be confirmed, but the base car will feature a 65kW/175Nm front-drive electric motor that can scoot the diminutive hatchback from 0–100km/h in 11.1 seconds.

A 30kWh battery will be fitted in the Essential that's good for a claimed WLTP driving range of 220km.

At BYD Australia’s preview drive, the Atto 1 Essential was not there to be sampled, but even those figures seem promising for an all-electric, city-focused hatchback designed to eat up the daily 30-odd-kilometre commute.

For those that need more driving range, the Atto 1 Premium has a larger 43.2kWh battery to boost driving range to a claimed 310km – more than enough for a week of commuting based on the stats.

The Atto 1 Premium also has a more potent 115kW/220Nm electric motor, cutting the 0–100km/h time to a claimed 9.1sec.

Is it fast? Not by a long shot, but there is enough pep in its step up to about 60km/h where you won’t have trouble getting up to speed with the traffic beside you.

Driving the car through Lang Lang’s proving ground at speeds up to 100km/h did reveal a heap of wind and road noise that can intrude into the cabin, though. So if your drive involves a prolonged freeway stint, either turn the music up or think about picking another model.

In terms of comfort, the Atto 1 does an admirable job of soaking up road imperfections and bumps despite its diminutive size.

Aside from the noise, passengers are mostly protected from big jolts and jerks being transmitted to the cabin, so the suspension is clearly up to task.

As part of the drive, there was also a simulated road course marked out with cones, featuring a set of twisty bends and tight corners.

And to say the Atto 1 Premium was a hoot to handle is underselling it.

Like all tiny hatchbacks, the wheels of the Atto 1 Premium are pushed right to the corners, making it easy and engaging to toss it around a bend.

Yes, you will get bouts of understeer when really pushing hard – and I mean really hard – but the same fun-to-drive characteristics of something like a Kia Picanto or Mazda 2 hold true for the Atto 1 as well.

Helping all this is its relatively bantam 1390kg kerb weight, and for context, that’s about as much as a Toyota Corolla hatch and not that much heavier than its similarly-sized peers.

It was hard to ascertain an accurate real-world efficiency figure given the driving conditions, but some quick math indicates the Atto 1 Premium should consume about 14kWh per 100 kilometres – not bad in the EV world.

So, the Atto 1 is affordable, it is efficient, and it is fun, but we’ve all seen that before.

The really neat party trick here is in its packaging.

Built on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0, the Atto 1’s footprint might be small, but it feels anything but on the inside.

Front passengers, of course, have ample room to find the right position, but that still leaves plenty of room for the second row – even seated behind my 186cm-tall preferred driving position.

BYD has been smart here too, because instead of trying to cram three seats in the rear, there are only two, which makes the seat bases wider for more tushy room.

Head and shoulder room are also suitably impressive, and with just my eyeball ruler in use, I cannot foresee any issues even getting forward-facing car seats in the second row.

The boot space is also a generous-for-its-class 308 litres of volume, which is expandable to 1037L with the rear seats folded.

A gripe about the interior could be that there are a few hard plastics strewn throughout, but the Atto 1 is also a cheap car, so some low-rent materials are to be expected.

We also don’t know exactly what features will be offered in the base Essential grade, but the Premium has a nice assortment of modern touches such as a wireless smartphone charger, 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, power-adjustable front seats, and a surround-view monitor.

Handling multimedia is a 10.1-inch touchscreen with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but unlike other BYD models, this one does not rotate between portrait and landscape orientation.

In Europe, this model is known as the BYD Dolphin Surf, and was awarded a maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating from current testing standards – which bodes extremely well for the Atto 1’s ANCAP safety score.

It’s hard to be definitive without the full picture including price and specification, but I’m confident the BYD Atto 1 is going to be every bit the paradigm shift it promises to be.

Whether that will translate to sales is still unclear, but buyers looking for their first car, downsizing from something larger, or needing a second set of wheels for commuting should pay attention.

The Atto 1 also doesn’t do anything to change the mindset of EV non-believers (not much will), and you need to keep in mind your charging options before taking the plunge on this, or any electric car.

In a world where everything is getting more and more expensive and excessive, the BYD has delivered a breath of fresh air with the cheap, cheerful, and charismatic Atto 1.

Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.

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