2026 BYD Atto 2 Premium review

BYD Australia's stable of electrified vehicles continues to grow, and one of its most recent additions is this, the Atto 2 small electric SUV.

It arrived in late 2025 and, unsurprisingly, slots in below the pioneering Atto 3 mid-size electric SUV, but it brings updated tech and a shockingly low price tag to an SUV segment that is continuously expanding with the constant influx of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

In fact, BYD isn't alone in offering an electric SUV with a low-$30,000 price tag, which, if nothing else, demonstrates just how competitive Australia's EV market is becoming. The most interesting part is that it's led entirely by Chinese brands – manufacturers from elsewhere are still well behind.

In any case, BYD is currently the best-selling Chinese brand in Australia, ranking second in the sales charts for both April and May 2026, behind only Toyota. The Atto 2 has also been among the strongest-selling small electric SUVs.

On test here is the 2026 BYD Atto 2 Premium, the flagship of the two-variant Atto 2 model range. How does it stack up among a stacked set of competitors?

How much does the BYD Atto 2 cost?

The top-spec BYD Atto 2 Premium is priced at $35,990 before on-road costs.

Key rivals for the Atto 2 are also from China. These include the MG S5 EV, Leapmotor B10, Chery E5, and the Jaecoo J5 EV.

The MG is more expensive, starting at $40,490 drive-away, while the Jaecoo J5 EV and Chery E5 are cheaper at $36,990 before on-roads and $37,990 drive-away, respectively.

The Leapmotor B10, meanwhile, is available in two grades. The base Style costs $37,888 before on-roads, while the Design Long Range costs $40,888 before on-roads.

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

What is the BYD Atto 2 like on the inside?

The Atto 2's cabin is visually simple, but while it feels more premium than what you get in a similarly priced Chery or MG, it isn't much more intuitive to navigate.

Screens are the name of the game if you're a Chinese manufacturer, and BYD has diligently stuck to that brief with the Atto 2.

Front and centre is a large touchscreen that looks like an iPad lazily glued to the dashboard, measuring 12.8 inches across in the Premium – up from 10.1 inches in the Dynamic. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and we didn't notice any connectivity issues.

That said, it's a pain that nearly every car function is operated here. Vehicle settings are one thing, but basic items like climate control are – as ever – needlessly cumbersome when they're purely digital. Some physical buttons would be far preferable to that ribbon at the bottom of the screen.

BYD's three-finger swiping gestures (up or down for temperature, left or right for fan speed) are still present and very handy, but aren't immediately obvious. It's a hidden trick that wouldn't need to exist if buttons were still the norm.

Otherwise, the screen is loaded with all sorts of apps and features that'll keep you busy for hours on end. You probably still won't find everything it's hiding, though a shortcut menu (accessible via the four-square button in the bottom left) makes it easier to sift through.

Beyond all that, we can't fault the screen's graphic clarity, nor its snappy response times. It's a well-made system, but it shouldn't be the centrepiece – nobody wants to poke through a touchscreen to change a basic setting while driving.

The only physical buttons in the Atto 2 are found on the steering wheel and the centre console. We'll get to the former in a moment, but we'll first touch on the centre console buttons. There are just seven, and apart from the scroller-like buttons at either end, they are fairly ambiguous.

They all look and feel the same, which isn't ideal when one is the start/stop button, and another is the hazard light switch that you might need to find in a hurry. It feels lazy, and it's disappointing when the switchgear in other BYDs is actually quite robust.

On the steering wheel there's more of the same, though it appears more considered. The buttons and switches may not be any easier to decipher, but at least they don't require you to look quite so far away from the road to use.

As is expected, a handful of these buttons are dedicated to navigating the instrument display. It'll take you a moment to figure out what does what, because the screen is often unresponsive to particular inputs.

It's difficult to pinpoint which inputs, too, as it's inconsistent in what it does and doesn't respond to. To us, it seems the screen will always display one menu at startup, which stays open until you activate something that requires a different menu, such as cruise control.

This is a bizarre limitation, but at least it doesn't impact important displays like the power meter, charge level, and speedo. Capping it off are cheap-looking graphics.

There are positives, though, because the rest of the cabin is comfortable and practical. The seats, for one, are fairly plush and feature sporty-looking integrated head restraints, along with heating, ventilation, and handy power adjustment in our top-spec tester.

The fake leather upholstery is also nice to have, as is the leather wrap on the steering wheel. These luxury-leaning fittings elevate the Atto 2 above its price tag, and they'll certainly impress you before you have to deal with the tech.

Solid material choices are consistent throughout the cabin, as evidenced by the soft, synthetic leather-trimmed armrests and the absence of piano-black plastic. All hard plastic surfaces, including the buttons, are made of metallic grey plastic with a dull finish, which should be more durable over time.

Storage-wise, highlights include a reasonably sized central storage box, two cupholders in the centre console, and a sizable tray below. In that tray are two USB ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), though you can also charge your phone using the wireless pad above.

The second row is spacious enough for a small SUV, and a reasonably comfortable bench seat should keep passengers satisfied. Headroom and legroom are both generous despite this SUV's size.

It's hardly a well-appointed space, even in the top-spec Premium, but there's still more back here than there is in a base Mazda CX-30. BYD's key additions are a single rear-facing air vent and two additional USB ports.

There are also multi-tiered map pockets and bottle holders in the doors, while the panoramic glass roof above makes it feel quite airy, even with a black headliner. Our only small complaint is that the doors don't open wide enough, which isn't ideal for people with limited mobility or for those using child seats.

If you do want to fit child seats, you'll be able to make use of the requisite ISOFIX and top-tether anchors.

At 380 litres, the Atto 2's boot is smaller than the Leapmotor B10's 490L cargo hold, but larger than the 300L space in the Chery E5. It's therefore on par for the segment, but still seems tight in the metal.

While the boot floor is reasonably spacious and there are small nooks on either side for loose items, it's the vertical space that's lacking. That'll have you removing the rigid cargo cover if you want to pack anything tall.

That said, folding the rear seats opens the space right up, even if the floor won't be completely flat. In fact, we were able to squeeze in a set of four full-size wheels this way, and it almost looked as if the Atto 2 was designed for this purpose.

Its wheel-carrying ability is ironic given there's no spare wheel, only a tyre repair kit. That does give you some extra space under the floor, which is useful since there's no under-bonnet storage.

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

Powering the BYD Atto 2 is a single front-mounted electric motor producing 130kW of power and 290Nm of torque. It's fed by a 51.1kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery providing a WLTP driving range claim of 345km.

Our week with the Atto 2 involved a mix of highway commuting and suburban errand-running. The result was a recorded energy consumption lower than BYD's claim, but it didn't help us avoid the feeling that the driving range was constantly running thin.

To put it into perspective, the claimed driving range of the Atto 2 is lower than that of rivals like the Leapmotor B10, which offers 361km or 434km, depending on the variant.

It's also less than the Chery E5 (430km) and the Jaecoo J5 EV (402km). To be clear, we're not expecting world record-breaking figures, but we'd like a touch more from the BYD.

It's also worth noting that the Atto 2's charging speeds are relatively slow. Its maximum DC rate of 82kW is down on both the Chery and the Jaecoo, which can take up to 130kW.

The MG S5 EV, meanwhile, is the only rival with a shorter overall driving range, but it can still fast-charge at either 120kW or 150kW, depending on the variant. The B10 outdoes all of the above, as it's claimed to support DC fast-charging at up to 168kW.

Given the Atto 2's shorter driving range will require more frequent charging, this is disappointing.

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

How does the BYD Atto 2 drive?

The Atto 2 just seems to work once you get it moving.

With decent ride comfort, acceptable performance and good cabin refinement, it once again appears to exceed its price tag. The Atto 2 doesn't do anything necessarily groundbreaking, but it's good enough to be a comfortable, livable EV.

Pressing the nondescript start/stop button fires the car into life, but it takes a second to boot up before you can pop it into Drive. It's only a slight pause, but it's enough to be annoying – at least more so than the get-in-and-go Jaecoo J5 and Leapmotor B10, which have no start button at all.

Regardless, you select Drive by pulling down on the column-mounted shifter, after which you'll set off with not much more than a faint whirr as the soundtrack. The accelerator pedal feels well-calibrated, but the brake pedal took a bit of getting used to.

After a short while behind the wheel, the pedal feels normal, which is good given the lack of regenerative braking assist. There are two modes – Standard and High – that do what they say on the tin, but in typical BYD fashion there's no true one-pedal driving capability.

I'm not a fan of one-pedal driving, but it'd be nice to have a few more brake-regen settings. The two modes it does have are toggled using another nondescript centre console button, and your selection will be displayed by simple 'Standard' or 'High' text on the instrument display.

Powertrain performance is adequate. It's peppy enough not to put you to sleep, but you're unlikely to get yourself into trouble either. The instant torque of an EV also helps the Atto 2 feel quicker than its specs would suggest.

Backing that up are better dynamics than we expected. The car is surprisingly composed around bends, and BYD has done well to mitigate the negative effects of a heavy EV battery pack.

You can therefore carry more speed while turning than you'd expect, which makes it feel nimble and zippy through the city. It could still do with some fine-tuning from a general ride perspective, as it does feel a touch firm on the highway – but not unbearably so.

That's contrasted by overly light steering, which creates somewhat of a disconnect between the front wheels and the driver's hands. While that aids low-speed manoeuvrability – the Atto 2 does have an impressively tight turning circle – it can make the car feel a tad twitchy.

You can tighten that up by selecting Sport mode, but it feels forced. At least it noticeably sharpens the throttle response, making the car feel even spritelier than it already was.

The car's safety systems are pretty much fine too. The only tech that'll make itself known is the speed limit warning, which plays a faint beep whenever you're over the limit. While that isn't terribly annoying, it's more inconvenient that it overrides the sound of the indicators.

Our only real concerns with the Atto 2 are its actual EV capabilities. Its EV range is very short by modern standards, rendering it impractical for trips out of town, and its charging speeds are relatively slow, making it harder to manage its limited range.

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

What do you get?

The BYD Atto 2 is available in two grades.

2026 BYD Atto 2 Dynamic equipment highlights:

• 16-inch alloy wheels
• Westlake tyres
• Tyre repair kit
• Heat pump
• Auto LED headlights
• LED tail-lights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Power-adjustable heated side mirrors
• Synthetic leather upholstery
• 6-way manual driver's seat adjustment
• 4-way manual front passenger seat adjustment
• 8.8-inch digital instrument display
• 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Bluetooth
• DAB+ digital radio
• Over-the-air software updates
• 4-speaker sound system
• 1 x USB-C port front and rear
• 1 x USB-A port front and rear
• Single-zone climate control
• Keyless entry
• 4 drive modes:
• • Eco
  • Normal
  • Sport
  • Snow

Atto 2 Premium adds:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Hankook tyres
• Roof rack
• Power-folding side mirrors
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• 6-way power driver's seat
• 4-way power front passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• 8-speaker sound system
• Wireless phone charger
• Panoramic glass roof

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

Is the BYD Atto 2 safe?

The BYD Atto 2 has yet to be crash-tested by ANCAP nor Euro NCAP and is therefore unrated.

Standard safety equipment highlights:

• 6 airbags, incl:
• • Front
  • Side
  • Side curtain
• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-centring
• Lane-departure assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Rear parking sensors
• Reversing camera
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring

Atto 2 Premium adds:

• Front parking sensors
• Surround-view camera

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

How much does the BYD Atto 2 cost to run?

BYD Australia backs its range with a six-year, 150,000km warranty, and its EV batteries with an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. Servicing for the Atto 2 is required every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.

BYD has yet to outline service pricing for the Atto 2, even though it's been in showrooms for around five months.

To see how the BYD Atto 2 stacks up against the competition, use our comparison tool

CarExpert's Take on the BYD Atto 2 Premium

For the price, the Atto 2 is a solid proposition, but there are other options that do it better if you're willing to stretch the budget by just a small margin.

While its interior feels high-quality and it drives decently, it's held back by a short driving range and slow charging speeds. That'll be fine if you live close to work and can charge overnight, but it quickly becomes a pain if you have a longer-than-average commute.

With that in mind, we'd be more inclined to point prospective buyers towards the Leapmotor B10. The Base B10 Style is less than $2000 pricier than the top-spec Atto 2, and while the driving range is comparable, it can charge faster at a DC rate of 140kW.

The B10 Design is better still, as it does all that and has an even longer WLTP range of 434km. If it's too expensive and you don't mind driving a slightly less polished vehicle, you could also go for the cheaper Chery E5 with 430km of range instead.

All of these EVs are screen-heavy inside, but at this price point it's a matter of which car gives you the most bang for your bucks with its EV capabilities. The Atto 2 Premium simply falls short of the mark – not by much, but enough for us to suggest either the base Dynamic to save some cash, or something else altogether.

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MORE: Explore the BYD Atto 2 showroom