However, the Volvo EX30 boasts nearly 300 miles of range, and the ‘Extended Range’ version costs about the same as the equivalent Atto 2 Comfort. The long-range variants of the Skoda Elroq and Kia EV3 cost slightly more, but offer up to 360 and 375 miles of range, respectively.
We averaged 3.3 miles per kilowatt-hour when we drove the Atto 2 Boost across a mixture of roads in cold, very rainy conditions. That equates to a real-world range of around 168 miles, or nearly 50 miles shorter than the car’s official claimed range.
It may have helped that the Atto 2 is fitted as standard with a heat pump, which is uncommon for this class of EV, and BYD claims it can extend the driving range by up to around 20 per cent in the winter months.
The Atto 2 lags behind rivals when it comes to charging speed, with the Boost model topping out at 82kW, and as a result, a 10 to 80 per cent top-up takes nearly 40 minutes. That’s disappointing, because its Vauxhall, Renault and Citroen rivals all reach 100kW, and the Kia and Skoda can hit even faster speeds.
Thankfully, the Comfort model can reach a much more impressive 155kW. As a result, even with the larger battery, a 10 to 80 per cent top-up takes as little as 25 minutes.
| Model | Battery size | Range | Insurance group |
| BYD Atto 2 Boost | 51.1kWh | 214 miles | 30D |
| BYD Atto 2 Comfort | 64.8kWh | 261 miles | 32D |
Insurance groups
The Atto 2 falls into insurance group 30 or 32 (out of 50), depending on which version you go for. Key rivals will be cheaper to insure, for instance, the Renault 4 falls into insurance group 27, while the Ford Puma Gen-E sits in group 18.
Tax
Electric cars now attract the same £195 annual rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or ‘road tax’ as any other cars on the road. Meanwhile the Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax rate for EVs is currently three per cent, compared with a Kia Niro Hybrid, which attracts a 26 per cent tax rate.
The interior is solid and features lots of technology, but feels quite bland because it lacks the quirkiness found inside other BYDs
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Compared with the beefy Citroen C3 Aircross, the funky Renault 4 or the futuristic Kia EV3, the BYD Atto 2 looks rather plain and nondescript. The humdrum design will hurt the newcomer’s chances of catching potential customer’s eyes when there’s a sea of small electric SUVs now on the market.
