2026 BYD Atto 2 review: Australian first drive

Trying to prove that bigger isn’t always better, the BYD Atto 2 is a new small electric SUV that promises an impressive driving range, smart tech, and urban-friendly proportions.

Essentially, if the medium-sized BYD Atto 3, introduced to Australia in 2022, is slightly too big for your needs, or its styling is too jazzy, the Atto 2 fits the bill.

However, this little electric car has some tough competition outside of the sibling rivalry, going up against the likes of the Kia EV3, MG 4 and Hyundai Inster.

While it’s likely to be the cheapest of the bunch, is it the best? We took it for a quick spin around Holden’s old proving ground at Lang Lang to find out.

BYD is keeping the pricing cards close to its chest on this one, although it is expected to end up somewhere in the low-to-mid-thirties, which would make it the cheapest electric SUV in the market.

Currently, that title belongs to the Chery E5, which is priced from $36,990 before on-road costs. The Atto 2 also needs to come in less than the Atto 3, which now starts from $39,990, also before on-roads.

We also don’t have a lot of information about what the full specification of the Atto 2 is going to look like. However, there are two grades: a Dynamic and a Premium.

On the drive day, we got to experience the Premium, which, as standard, comes with a 12.8-inch touchscreen that rotates, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charger, a 12V socket, and four USB ports – two Type-A and two Type-C.

It also has heated and ventilated seats that can be electrically adjusted, a panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera, and 17-inch wheels.

Expect the Dynamic to have a bit less kit, but if the Atto 3’s entry-level grade is anything to go by, it could miss out on things like wireless phone connectivity, a charger, and a sunroof.

From the off, the BYD Atto 2’s rivals are well equipped, but depending on how low the price is, they could be more expensive.

The base Hyundai Inster starts from $39,000, while the MG 4 is priced from $37,990 and the Kia EV3 from $47,600, all before on-road costs.

The Atto 2 is attractive, but not in a way that particularly stands out from the crowd. It’s essentially a Dolphin hatch on stilts, with a slightly longer body but shorter wheelbase.

It’s part of BYD’s Dynasty Series of cars, wearing its dragon-inspired design language on the front, while at the rear it has a full-length LED light bar featuring a Mobius Loop pattern, said to represent fortune and luck.

On the example I drove, the subtle pastel green shade on the exterior was paired with black/dark grey faux leather and green contrast stitching on the inside, which was soft and appealing. Although some harder plastics are found lower down, they don’t look or feel particularly cheap.

Unlike the quirky Atto 3, the Atto 2 almost seems like it’s doing its best not to be noticed, or perhaps it's more aimed at buyers who want something livable rather than in-your-face. A bit like buying a white Apple iPhone over an orange one. BYD says it has a “more contemporary look” than the Atto 3, with a focus on minimalism.

The faux leather seats are quite comfortable to sit in; they’re on the squishier side, almost like sitting in an armchair. However, the headrest is also ultra-padded and can’t be adjusted as it forms part of the seat itself, with your head forced forward slightly as a result.

The 12.8-inch infotainment screen on the surface is a good one, though we didn’t have the opportunity to delve right into its functionality on our quick run-through. 

It’s the same unit used by several BYD models, though, and features things like YouTube, Spotify and navigation, and seemed to work well with no lagging or malfunctioning. The quality of the 360-degree camera is also very good.

The heating and ventilation controls are entirely housed within it, though, with no physical buttons, dials or switches, with the compromise being some shortcuts are permanently displayed at the bottom of the screen.

The inside of the Atto 2 is also fairly practical in terms of space. There’s enough room for a large bottle in each of the front doors, plus two more cupholders in the centre console area. 

Underneath this, there is a small space to store small items such as a clutch handbag or a wallet, but access is somewhat restricted from either side. Better is the deep cubby bin underneath the armrest.

Despite being BYD’s first foray into the world of small SUVs, the leg room in the second row is decent. I had a few inches of space in front of me, and plenty of head room above my head – although stashing your feet underneath the front seats is not really an option.

As well as air vents and two USB ports, rear occupants have room in the doors for a standard drink bottle and two layers of map pockets, with the top-most one split in two, to store things like mobile phones or very small items.

There are also ISOFIX anchors on the two outboard positions for child seats, with three top-tether points accessible from the boot. However, you wouldn’t realistically be able to fit three seats across unless they were all very narrow.

The boot itself is a little on the small side for the segment, and is even bested by some petrol-powered light SUVs. 

At 380 litres with the seats up and 1320L with the rear seats folded down, it is larger than the Hyundai Inster (280L/1059L) and the MG 4 (363L/1177L), but smaller than the Kia EV3 (460L/1251L).

BYD hasn’t yet revealed the full list of safety technology the Atto 2 gets. However, it claims the small SUV has level 2 driver assistance, which includes features such as lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist, and front and rear cross-traffic alert, and this will be standard across all grades.

Alongside the 360-degree camera, the vehicle features front and rear parking sensors.

For reference, the Atto 3 Essential comes with safety features such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and door exit warning, so it’s likely the Atto 2 will be the same.

Indeed, many of these are now required by ANCAP to get a five-star rating, which is crucial for fleet buyers. The Atto 2 is based on the Dolphin, which already has a five-star rating, so, in theory, we can expect similar results from the Atto 2.

Testing these systems at Lang Lang was tricky because a lot of the lines don’t reflect those found on normal roads. Occasionally, the lane-departure warning and lane-keep assist would cut in, but not aggressively and certainly not in a nannying way. The driver attention monitor was also not over-the-top, only triggering once when I baited it by looking at the screen for too long.

Perhaps most important to buyers, at least after the price, is how far it can go on a single charge.

The BYD Atto 2 has a claimed driving range of 345km (WLTP), and takes 39 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 per cent at a maximum 82kW.

We had such a limited amount of time to drive the car that it wouldn’t be fair or accurate to suggest how close the real-world figure is to this claim. We’ll reserve judgment for now until we have a chance to get the Atto 2 through our garage for a full review soon.

Powering both versions of the Atto 2 is a single electric motor making 130kW/290Nm combined with a 51.3kWh (net) battery. Power is sent to the front wheels only through a single-speed transmission.

Overseas, the Atto 2 also shares the larger 51.3kWh battery, but in the base ‘Boost’ grade, with the higher-spec ‘Comfort’ getting the Atto 3 Premium’s bigger 64.8kWh pack for a longer 420km driving range and a more powerful 150kW/310Nm electric motor.

Taking the Atto 2 for a spin around the track at Lang Lang, the ride was fairly compliant. It’s a touch soft and more geared towards comfort than performance, which is no bad thing. The little SUV was responsive to accelerator inputs, but it is not particularly quick, despite its low 1590kg kerb weight.

It handled train tracks with ease, though over the rough stretches that were riddled with potholes and pockmarks, I found I was being jiggled around in the cabin even though the feedback from the suspension – MacPherson strut at the front and torsion beam at the rear – wasn’t especially harsh.

Noise from the Hankook iON GT 215/60 R17 tyres was not particularly invasive, though the wind penetration was noticeable even at low-to-middling speeds, and an outright roar at anything over 80km/h.

Flicking through the drive modes, of which there are three – Eco, Normal, and Sport – there were no vast differences to be found. The steering, which is otherwise quite light, firms up in Sport, but that’s pretty much it.

The light steering, which would be good for parking as it’s nimble and able to achieve a 10.5m turning circle, was not especially confidence-inspiring in corners – especially when coupled with a fair amount of body roll in the tighter bends. 

Grip from the Hankooks is not great, not helped by a somewhat squidgy brake pedal feel.

If BYD has the price right, the Atto 2 has a lot of potential to be a solid little electric runaround for urban commuters. But it needs to be cheap enough to set it apart from the Atto 3 and significantly undercut its rivals.

The 345km driving range isn’t stellar, but it’s enough for a run up and down the freeway a few times a week, even from the furthest stretches of the major cities.

Its design may not be captivating, but it’s also inoffensive and would be easy to live with. It’s not exciting to drive, but it also isn’t massively doing anything wrong either; it’s comfortable and capable enough for everyday driving.

Much like the Dolphin, it could be a nice second car for families with one to two children who also have either a larger electric car or a petrol or diesel vehicle for longer trips.

A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

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