You would think now that EV ownership would be more ubiquitous, but a decade of anti-climate change, anti-renewable energy, and anti-electric vehicle rhetoric held Australia back. Part of the trolling referred to in this story we covered recently HERE.

The mis-information surrounding Electric Vehicles and renewable energy more widely, seems to come from a segment of society will never acknowledge the part humans have played in the changing of our environment.

A reader sent this story in, here are her thoughts on buying and owning an Atto 3 EV:

A Reader’s Story: Why I bought a BYD Atto 3

I was sick of paying way too much for fuel.

I said to my work colleague that I was considering buying an electric car. He said, oh you’re looking at a BYD Atto 3? I said… a What?

I decided to look into 2 electric SUVs, the MG ZS EV and the BYD Atto 3. I had never driven an EV before and was pleasantly surprised with the acceleration when I test drove a MG ZS EV. It was fun but overall was not enough for me to sign on the dotted line. I went to check out the BYD Atto 3 at Automall West at Indooroopilly, which was a novel way to look at new cars.

I found the BYD Atto 3 and loved:

  • its different looking interior
  • their blade battery is safer than normal electric car batteries
  • 7 airbags
  • 5 star ANCAP safety rating
  • Vehicle to Load option

To be honest so many features that are standard on this car that would be optional extras on others. I was keen to see if it was as impressive on the road as it was in the showroom. I test drove it around Mt Coot-tha, and long story short, I was sold!

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ABOVE: 2023 BYD Atto 3

The Purchasing Process:

I went with a Novated Lease through work so I could pay for everything car related with pre-tax dollars. No FBT on full electric and no GST. I paid extra for the Surf Blue and decided to go with the extended range model with a purported 480km range. In real life range is likely much less, dependant on factors like how much weight is in the car, whether it is highway driving (all output) or around town (where regenerative braking comes into play) etc.

I ordered the car around 20 March with an ETA of May/June. I got a phone call a week later saying delivery would be 22 April!

I found a Novated Lease provider that I was happy with. There were a lot of docs to be completed with both the Novated Lease and Finance provider and BYD, all via email. Suddenly it was time to pick it up.

My experience with this was great. BYD did it as an event with up to 100 cars being handed over in the course of the day. I was given a time slot. When I arrived there was live entertainment, face painting for the kids, free coffee/juices/donuts etc. The staff were all very friendly and helpful with all of my questions (Thank you Justin and Chuan from Indooroopilly and Steve and Charlotte from Robina)

I went armed with a check-list from one of the BYD Facebook groups I had joined, and did my due diligence before taking some happy snaps and driving out in my new car. The next day I had my windows tinted, interior and nano ceramic paint protection applied. It looks amazing.

Charging:

The car comes with a “granny charger” that plugs into the normal PowerPoint at home but this takes around 24 hours to do a full charge, so I’m told. So, I’m considering installing a wall charger so I can tap into my solar to charge it up. This should take about 6-8 hours for a full charge. I haven’t tried the DC chargers at the shopping centres yet. I’m told they can go 0-80% in about 45 mins, or 1.5 hrs for the full charge.

The Drive Experience:

In the few days I’ve had it, I’ve done some driving around town but no big road trips yet.

When i do, I’ll use the Plugshare app and plan my trips accordingly. I love that the car has an app where i can turn on the air conditioning in the car while still in the house but the doors stay locked, so on a hot day I come out to a beautifully cold car.

I also love that I can talk to it. For example: Tell it to open/ close my sunroof, open/ close the windows etc. It comes with Apple Carplay, but Android Auto will come in an Over the Air update later this year.

It is the highest selling electric car in China, making is really easy to get aftermarket bits for it online, like a custom “frunk”, custom boot protector, floor mats, door inserts/seat gap inserts etc.

The EV community, short of the unavoidable odd troll, is very supportive. There are lots of groups out there who can answer any question you might have about this car, if you have it, or are thinking of getting it. It is such a joy to drive. I’ve even had other drivers point at my car with a smile and give it enthusiastic thumbs up. Loving the positive vibe.  Absolutely loving this car! Short of marrying my beautiful wife, this is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

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