2025 BYD Atto 3 Premium: Building Electric Dreams with the Best-Selling EV

BYD is short for BYD Auto Company, Ltd. of China, a car brand that manufactures battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which are now collectively known as New Energy Vehicles (NEVs). BYD is also the abbreviation of the phrase “Build Your Dreams”, which is the foundation of the car brand’s visual identity. From 2020 to 2024, BYD experienced a ten-fold increase in vehicle sales from 427,302 units up to 4,272,145 units after the introduction of innovative proprietary technologies such as the Blade battery in 2020 and the e-Platform 3.0 in 2021.

This third-generation platform integrated and standardized core components with a new body structure, new electrical architecture and operating system. The e-Platform 3.0 became the basis for BYD models such as the Dolphin subcompact hatchback and Atto 3 compact SUV, which helped BYD achieve its phenomenal global sales growth. As one of the best-selling electric vehicles in Australia, BYD maintained the Atto 3 model name instead of naming it after a marine creature like they named their new models, such as the Sealion 5 SUV and Shark 6 pickup truck.

Electrified Work Week

Our friends from BYD Cars Philippines sent us this 2025 BYD Atto 3 Premium to enjoy for a whole work week. When it was delivered on a Monday at our home in Project 8, Quezon City, the battery charge was at 98% and immediately, we drove it to our favorite spot in Diliman for the requisite photoshoot, and then to C5 Road in Taguig City to return another demo unit. From there, we joined the crawling evening rush hour traffic, went up the Skyway at Buendia, exited at Quezon Avenue, and then stopped at SM City North Edsa to have dinner. When we got home, the battery charge was at 81%.

On Tuesday, we drove the BYD just nearby to do our weekly errands and shopping rounds. On Wednesday morning, with 76% battery charge, we drove from Quezon City to San Simon, Pampanga via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to attend a track day event at the R33 Drift Track. In the afternoon after the event, we drove back to Metro Manila via NLEX, went up the Skyway at Balintawak and exited at Araneta Avenue to attend to some personal matters in Sta. Mesa, Manila and Cubao, Quezon City. When we got home, the battery still had 37% charge.

No Range Anxiety Whatsoever

On Thursday, we checked on the repairs of our family car in Valenzuela City after we drove our son to school. When we got home, the battery charge was at 32%. On Friday morning, we just drove our son to school, which was just a few kilometers from our home. In the afternoon, the BYD Philippines car jockey picked it up with the battery charge at 31% and a remaining range of around 180 kilometers. We weren’t around when the driver picked up the BYD but our son said the driver didn’t look worried because there was enough range to make it back to their base where it can be cleaned, plugged in and charged before it can be delivered to the next media tester.

Thus, we were able to prove that the advertised range of 480 kilometers with a fully-charged 60.5 kWh lithium iron phosphate BYD Blade Battery is a real, actual and reliable figure. We didn’t have the opportunity nor the need to charge the battery during the 5 days that the Atto 3 was with us simply because we didn’t have to. And if we did, we would only need to plug its 7kW AC charger overnight (around 8 to 8 ½ hours) into a 220V wall socket to bring the battery charge back to 100%. Or we can plug it into an 80kW DC charger and wait just 30 minutes for the battery to recharge from 30% to 80%. Range anxiety is truly becoming a thing of the past.

Exciting Acceleration, Quiet Power

The nice thing about our BYD’s Permanent Magnet Synchronous Electric Motor is that it makes instantaneous torque – 310 Newton-meters in the case of our Atto 3. Channeled to the front 18-inch 5-spoke wheels, we get catapulted forward almost immediately once the meaty Continental Eco Contact 6Q 235/50R18 tires transfer that torque to the ground. Of course, pedal modulation is the key but having 201 horsepower at the tip of your toes with just 1,750 kilos of curb weight to propel, means that this BYD 5-door compact SUV with its modern family car vibe can surprise unsuspecting boy racers and their modified rides.

While its Cosmos Black paint finish gives it a menacing look, its quiet electric operation makes it a stealthy road car – too stealthy perhaps that pedestrians walking in the middle of the road often get surprised that a black sinister-looking SUV has crawled up behind them. Thankfully, BYD designers gave the Atto 3 a friendly “smiling face” front end that makes the surprised pedestrian smile back at us when we pass by. What they didn’t know is that stepping on the brakes and slowing down for these jaywalkers gave the regenerative braking system a chance to trickle charge the battery and extend the range a bit more.

Youthful & Modern Interior

Our Atto 3 Premium features a unique black/gray interior with blue inserts. The two-tone leather seats with side bolsters feature blue inserts, red piping and red stitching, while the multi-function steering wheel is wrapped in blue leather with red stitching. A small but easy-to-read 5-inch LCD instrument cluster shows the speed (km/h), time (AM/PM), outside temperature (°C), power consumption (kW), and remaining range (km) while a colored graph shows battery charge (%). With indicators for drive mode selection (Eco, Normal, Sport), gear selection (R, N, D) and odometer reading, this small instrument cluster is packed with so much information.

So much so that the large 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen infotainment display seems overkill until we realized that it shows even more controls (vehicle performance, ambient interior light adjustment, regenerative braking level, etc.) and more information such as power consumption graph and data, pictograph of the power deliver/charging, and more. We love the music generated from its Dirac HD 8-speaker system, especially the thumping bass, and we appreciate the rounded theme of its A/C vents, interior door pulls, and physical controls. However, we found the guitar-like 3-string red accents on the door pockets a bit too funky for our taste.

Enjoyable & Economical Electric Drive

We always enjoy a drive with the large panoramic sunroof letting the sunlight in, as much as we enjoy the comfortable ride of this BYD’s independent suspension system with front McPherson struts and rear torsion beam that works well with its 2.7-meter wheelbase. Its EPS electric power steering, 4.5-meter length and 1.9-meter width makes it even easier to drive around the crowded metropolis. Disc brakes with ABS anti-lock braking system assists the regenerative braking system while the 60/40 split folding backseat helps increase luggage/cargo capacity from 440 to 1,340 dry liters.

Throughout our 5-day stewardship of the Atto 3 Premium, we recorded an Average Electricity Consumption of 13.8 kWh per 100 kilometers, which translates to around P1.70 per kilometer, if we plugged it into our home where Meralco charges us an average P12.31 per kWh. However, since we didn’t plug it in and charged the battery during the work week, we actually spent nothing during our 5-day drive. We believe that if we invest in a solar charging system to charge this BYD EV, we could save more money and help the environment at the same time.

At P1,798,000, the 2025 BYD Atto 3 Premium represents value that’s hard to fault and even harder to ignore. Despite the upgrades, BYD Cars Philippines has kept the same price for this fully-equipped variant as well as its P1,598,000 Atto 3 Dynamic stablemate. It’s no wonder then that the number of BYD vehicles on the roads is increasing and the BYD dealership network is rapidly expanding. Taking a cue from their visual identity, perhaps it’s time for people to consider “building their dreams” of electric mobility with BYD. We know we want to.

SPECIFICATIONS

Vehicle Type: 5-door compact electric SUV

Price: P1,798,000

Motor: Permanent Magnet Synchronous

Power: 204 PS (201 hp)

Torque: 310 Nm

Battery: BYD Blade Battery, Lithium Iron Phosphate

Cooling: Liquid

Battery capacity: 60.5 kWh

AC charging time: (SOC 0% – 100% @ 7 kW) 8.0-8.5 hours

DC charging time: (SOC 30% – 80% @ 80 kW) 0.5 hours

Charging standard: CCS2 / Type 2

Driving Range: 480 km

Wheelbase: 2720 mm

Length: 4455 mm

Width: 1875 mm

Height: 1615 mm

Minimum ground clearance: 150 mm

Curb weight: 1750 kg

Trunk space: 440 / 1340 liters

Front suspension: Independent, McPherson struts

Rear suspension: Independent, torsion beam

Front brakes: Ventilated discs

Rear brakes: Solid discs

Steering system: Electric Power Steering (EPS)

Wheels: 18-inch 5-spoke 5-lug 2-tone Aluminum Alloy

Tires: 235/50R18