2027 BYD Atto 1 Premium review

Talk about hitting the ground running!

The new BYD Atto 1 has been a smash hit since the pint-size electric hatch arrived in Australia in December 2025, quickly becoming one of the nation's top-selling light cars and actually topping the segment in May 2026.

The MG 3 continues lead the segment year-to-date, but it was the first time that an electric vehicle (EV) had owned the light-car segment in a month.

And there’s good reason that people are being drawn to the Atto 1 – with its stylish design, sharp price and spacious cabin, this is a fairly complete EV package.

It isn’t perfect, though. Read on to see what annoyed me after a week of driving the Atto 1.

Spoiler – they were only minor frustrations!

How much does the BYD Atto 1 cost?

The cheapest version is the cheapest new EV on sale in Australia. And the high-spec one tested here? It’s the third-cheapest new EV on sale in Australia, at least for now.

Scroll down and you’ll see how clearly that Premium model variant deserves its higher price point based on added spec, tech, power, torque and EV range.

Now, based on NSW pricing, you’d be looking at about $30,800 in your driveway for the flagship grade, which is still very affordable. 

But if you’re not sure if this is going to be the right size for you, or maybe you want a bit more EV range, then it will be worth having a look at the much larger GAC Aion UT (from $31,990 drive-away), which has significantly more EV range, or the impressive little MG 4 EV Urban, which also kicks off at $31,990 drive-away for the smaller-battery model, or a few grand more for extra EV range capability.

There's also the new Geely EX2, which is priced from $26,490 before on-road and has a shorter range but might be a cracking choice for value buyers, and BYD's own larger Dolphin hatch (from $29,990 plus ORCs).

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the BYD Atto 1 like on the inside?

For the money, it’s pretty impressive inside the Atto 1.

The cabin has some really nice trim touches, but a few quirks worth unpacking, too.

There are nice soft finishes where it matters, including on the door touch-points. Up high it’s a bit scratchy, but that’s fairly typical in this class. And while it mightn’t come across as a typical highlight, the door handles are big and easy to grab – many new cars can’t boast that.

The seats are genuinely pleasant, with a light grey finish that works well to break up the darkness, and in the higher-grade model you get fake leather upholstery with heating and electric adjustment for the front seats.

The catch is that while you’ve got electric seat adjustment via the side toggles, the seat heating controller isn’t a physical button. It’s buried in the touchscreen. So you’ve got to go into the climate menu, then into the seat submenu, and adjust it from there. Or you can try and speak to the car to get it done by voice control.

Like some of the other controls, though, there can be a few too many steps, which is made worse by the fact the screen icons themselves are on the small side. Even if you have good eyesight, you’re going to struggle to pick some of the icons, and if you want to make adjustments while you’re driving? Well, you’ll want to make sure your aim is good.

The interior design does feel a touch more old-school compared to BYD’s newer stuff, but it’s still fun and well presented up front.

On the controls side, you’ve got steering wheel buttons for media, volume, and screen navigation, while the other side handles cruise control and the surround-view camera.

That camera system, by the way, is excellent in the higher-grade variant, and genuinely one of its strong points when you’re manoeuvring in tight spaces.

You’ve also got adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, and all the usual safety kit. And importantly, the stalk layout is familiar enough. Frustratingly, though, there’s no rear wiper – annoying on cold mornings if you’re parked outside.

The central control setup is where things get a bit more divisive. You’ve got a roller for audio volume and another for gear selection. Push up for reverse, down for drive, and press the end for park. It works, but it takes a bit of mental recalibration early on.

Next to that is a drive mode button cycling between Eco, Normal, and Sport settings, plus a slippery road mode and an auto-hold toggle.

Climate control is where you may find some frustration.

There are no traditional fan-speed controls, only on the screen. And the interface itself isn’t especially intuitive. There aren’t actual temperature readouts – instead, it's a cool-to-hot scale of 1 to 17. WHY?!

Further small adjustments can swing things from too hot to too cold, and doing that while driving isn’t ideal. It’s fiddly, and there’s no way around that, unless you figure out a voice control command to get it right.

The screen itself measures 10.1 inches, and while it’s functional with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and has menus for vehicle settings, energy, regen and charging, it does feel like it could be bigger. The icons are small, the bezels are noticeable, and its usability suffers as a result.

Amenity is well covered, with a wireless phone charger, USB ports, an SD card slot, a 12-volt outlet, a decent-sized open tray, cupholders, a glovebox, and door pockets. It’s practical, even if the cupholders don’t really hold items securely.

In the rear, space is genuinely impressive for the footprint of this car.

At 6’0” or 182cm tall, I had good kneeroom, headroom and footroom, so no complaints there.

But it’s strictly a two-seat layout, and it does feel a bit dark back there thanks to the black headliner and the steeply raked rear window line. My five-year-old daughter in a booster seat complained about not being able to see stuff out the windows. And there are no rear air vents and no rear lighting either, so it’s not a top-notch back-seat experience.

However, there are ISOFIX points and top-tethers for child seats in the back, but no recline adjustment for the backrests.

The boot space is bigger than you’d probably think, thanks to a deep well-style cargo zone that will mean you might struggle to lift heavy things out of there.

Even so, with 308 litres, there’s more capacity here than in a Corolla hatch, despite this being significantly smaller overall.

And it has a 50:50-split/folding rear seatback if you need to drop it down for bigger items.

There is some underfloor storage, which might actually be pretty handy because you’ve got enough space in there for a tyre repair kit and charging cables. But there are no provisions for a spare wheel.

And it's strange that a city car like this doesn’t even have shopping bag hooks, though there are some tie-down hooks.

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

Here’s a rundown of the two versions, and you’ll see there is a significant difference if you spend the extra $4000 for the top-spec model.

I was impressed by the efficiency of this model during my mix of driving, which included urban, highway, freeway, and errand running. I saw 16.1kWh per 100km over my test.

That should equate to around 260km of driving from the 43.2kWh battery, based on my mix. If you do only urban driving there’s a chance you might actually achieve the claimed range, because you’ll be calling on the regen braking system more.

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the BYD Atto 1 drive?

I really enjoyed my time in this car. 

It’s one of those small cars that just offers more than just urban mobility.

Not because it’s trying to be something it’s not, but because it genuinely nails the basics and adds more than a bit of character on top.

It’s not just good “for the money”, either.

Within the small car class, this thing stacks up really, really well. It’s easygoing and relaxed when you want it to be, but there’s also this underlying punchiness to it. It’s got that light-on-its-feet, zippy feel around town that makes everyday driving feel a bit more fun than it probably should. And honestly, it’s just an easy car to live with.

I had it for a week, during which time my partner drove it, and she didn’t want to stop driving it. My mum also had a go and absolutely loved it. That tells you a fair bit about the audience the Atto 1 will resonate with – it’s an easy, likeable, genuinely appealing everyday EV.

And you don’t need to go hunting for performance modes to enjoy it either. Leave it in Normal and it’s already lively enough. Sport mode just sharpens things up a touch, but it’s not suddenly turning it into a hot hatch. 

The powertrain in this higher-output version has plenty of punch for a car like this. You won’t win drag races that go beyond 50km/h, sure, but in real-world urban driving it feels more than adequate. 

The predictability of this car’s behaviour is a big part of the appeal. For example, if you buy a Kia Picanto with the four-speed auto, things can be harder to pre-empt, but in this car it’s just a matter of point and shoot. You can hustle in traffic and thread through tight streets, and it even feels comfortable and settled on the highway as well.

The steering is well-weighted and accurate, and it actually gives you a decent amount of feel, which is not always a given in this class. The Hankook tyres deserve credit here too, with plenty of grip to help the car feel planted and predictable.

Ride quality is another highlight. It’s genuinely impressive. There’s a level of control and composure here that feels more mature than you’d expect from a small, relatively affordable EV. It deals with rough surfaces in a way that reminds me of something like a Volkswagen Polo, and it may be even better than that stalwart in some situations. For a short-wheelbase, city-focused car, I was staggered at how compliant it was.

Regenerative braking will try and add some potentially lost energy back to your battery pack, and there are two modes for it – but there isn’t a single-pedal driving mode, like some rivals offer. Even in its stronger setting it’s quite subtle, but thankfully the brake pedal feel is generally well judged.

The safety systems offer plenty of tech on board, but don’t constantly nag you. The tech stays in the background and only steps in when it actually needs to. 

It’s not all perfect, though.

At higher speeds on coarse-chip surfaces it can get noisy in the cabin. That's not unusual for this segment, but it is maybe more noticeable as the car is otherwise largely silent.

Also, the sound system is terrible. And using the screen, with its tiny icons, while driving is painful.

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

The extra $4000 nets you lots of additional kit, plus more power and torque, and more EV range. Makes it easy to justify, right?

2026 BYD Atto 1 Essential equipment highlights:

• 15-inch steel wheels in 175/65 R15 Hankook tyres
• Tyre repair kit
• Automatic halogen headlights
• Keyless entry and start
• 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster
• 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• BYD App Suite
• 4G cloud services over-the-air software updates
• 4-speaker sound system
• USB-A, USB-C outlets
• Leatherette seat upholstery
• 4-way manually adjustable front seats
• Leatherette-wrapped steering wheel
• 2-way steering column adjustment
• 50:50-split/folding rear seatbacks

Premium adds:

• 16-inch alloy wheels in 185/55 R16 Hankook tyres
• Surround-view camera system
• Automatic LED headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Power-folding exterior mirrors
• Wireless phone charger
• 6-way power driver’s seat
• 4-way power passenger seat
• Heated front seats
• 4-way steering column adjustment
• One-touch up/down driver’s window

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the BYD Atto 1 safe?

The BYD Atto 1 scored a five-star ANCAP rating against 2025 criteria.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• • Pedestrian
  • Cyclist
  • Junction
  • Car to car
  • Head on
  • Crossing
• Lane-keep assist
• Intelligent speed limit control
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Front, front-side and curtain airbags
• Reversing camera
• Rear parking sensors
• Driver monitoring camera system

The Premium adds:

• Surround-view camera

All versions of the Atto 1 have six airbags, including dual front, front side and curtain airbags for both rows. Weirdly, it doesn’t have a centre airbag, yet it still managed the maximum rating.

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the BYD Atto 1 cost to run?

The BYD Atto 1 is a budget car, and the ownership promise looks like an affordable one, too.

This electric car is well considered from an ownership perspective, with lengthy service intervals, low service pricing (lower than a Kia Picanto), and a decent warranty.

To see how the BYD Atto 1 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert's Take on the BYD Atto 1 Premium

For a customer looking for a really small EV with loads of features and equipment, this makes perfect sense.

It’s mature to drive, smartly packaged for its dimensions, and has pretty usable range, too.

The question might be whether you’re better off spending a few grand more to get into a larger EV with more range. 

But if you know you don’t need that, then buy this. And you should be very happy indeed!

CarExpert can save you thousands on a new BYD Atto 1. Click here to get a great deal.

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MORE: Explore the BYD Atto 1 showroom