BYD Atto 1 is a likeable EV with an oversized COE burden

SINGAPORE – A $1,000 Grand Cru can feel like a better bargain than a $30 supermarket Shiraz because both wines carry the same alcohol duty of around $10.

As is with the certificate of entitlement (COE). At the latest tender exercise, a Category A certificate costs $130,001, taking up an outsized proportion of the overall price of any mass-market car.

For the BYD Atto 1, more than 76% of its asking price, at just under $170,000, after all the applicable discounts, goes towards the certificate.

Opt for a premium Category A hatchback such as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and the COE costs around half the asking price.

Little wonder, then, that small, accessible runabouts are becoming rarer in car showrooms, outnumbered by larger and more premium options.

The Atto 1 is the absolute baby in the local BYD line-up. While the Atto 2 and Atto 3 are electric sport utility vehicles, the Atto 1 is an electric hatchback.

Measuring 3,900mm from bumper to bumper, the Atto 1 is shorter than almost every new car today, except for the three-door Mini Cooper (3,876mm) and Suzuki Swift (3,860mm).

Yet, the car’s cabin does not feel small at all. This is because most of the Atto 1’s footprint is devoted to the cabin. The car has the stubbiest of bonnets, carrying the compact electric motor and cooling ancillaries.

This arrangement gives the Atto 1 a cab-forward silhouette. Paired with sharp body creases, slender headlights and trimmings in contrasting black, the Atto 1 has a purposeful look, more like a Gundam humanoid robot helmet than a meek little hatchback.

Finished in tennis ball yellow – BYD calls it “Sprout Green” – there is no risk of losing the tiny car in a large carpark.

Given how little of the retail price goes towards the machine itself, the Atto 1 is surprisingly well-equipped.

For example, both front seats are electrically adjustable. While some may consider fabric upholstery a less premium finish than synthetic leather, the stretchy, diving-suit-like material cladding the seats fits the car’s youthful, utilitarian brief.

The vanity mirrors under the two sun visors are illuminated – another useful feature that BYD could have taken out to save a few dollars but did not.

Besides the standard transponder key, the car has a digital key, so you can unlock it with your smartphone. It also has various driving assistants, including adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping.

The infotainment touchscreen perched in the middle of the dashboard is not particularly large, but it is packed with features. The fonts could be a bit bigger, but the digital buttons are sizeable enough to tap even on the move. The screen mounting feels solid too, providing good support for the driver’s hand when using the screen.

Swiping the screen with three fingers adjusts the air-conditioning temperature and fan speed, which is convenient once you realise the feature exists.

Even without this handy trick, the air-con controls and some other frequently used functions are permanently illuminated at the bottom of the touchscreen, making them easily accessible. A bank of physical buttons beneath the screen houses the quick-access keys to set driving modes and deactivate the automatic parking brake.

The materials used are surprisingly substantial too. Most high-touch surfaces, such as the door grab handles, centre armrest and the panel near the row of physical keys, feel robust. The lower half of the dashboard, especially the corner near the driver’s door, feels a bit thin if you happen to press against it, but it is no worse than most budget hatchbacks.

That said, there is something about the Atto 1’s presentation that lacks the freshness seen in BYD’s other recent models such as the Sealion 8 and the Atto 2 – the most obvious being the Casio calculator-style fonts on the driver instrument display.

While the model is new to Singapore, its roots can be traced to the BYD Seagull, launched in China in 2023.

Given its compact size, there is no such thing as a too-tight multi-storey carpark ramp or too-narrow city street when you are out and about in an Atto 1. All-round visibility is excellent, with the crisp reversing camera helping to make parallel parking along Tanjong Pagar Road on a weekday afternoon a non-event.

The ride quality on smooth roads is good. But the soft suspension can be caught out on uneven roads. Hit an expansion joint or mid-corner bump at an angle, and the car will bob diagonally, taking a while to regain its composure. Otherwise, it delivers almost big-car levels of refinement on the expressway with minimal wind noise.

With an output of just 65 kilowatts (kW), the Atto 1 is the least powerful electric car on sale in Singapore today. But it is still more than sufficient in the city. The car gets off the line briskly with its instantaneous torque and is more than able to keep up with traffic, whether on arterial roads or the expressways.

Being relatively light at 1,370kg, the Atto 1 is also quite energy-efficient. The test car posts an average energy consumption rate of 12.6kWh/100km, well below the claimed 15.6kWh/100km. This suggests that the car should be able to cover about 300km before it needs to be plugged into a charger.

With Singapore’s ever-growing electric-vehicle charging network, the Atto 1’s range should pose no issue for most. But the COE system is now stacked against useful little cars like this.

Currently, the Atto 2 and Atto 3 are priced identically. The premium that BYD charges for the larger models over the Atto 1 works out to $1,800 a year in depreciation, or an additional $150 a month – not a huge sum in the grand scheme of things.

If not for the cruel COE reality, the Atto 1, with its small footprint, spacious cabin and decent energy efficiency, would be well-suited to Singapore.

BYD Atto 1

Price: $236,888 with COE, before applicable discounts
Motor: Front-mounted permanent magnet synchronous with 43.2kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed
Power: 100kW
Torque: 310Nm
0-100kmh: 10 seconds
Top speed: 180kmh
Power consumption: 15.4kWh/100km
Charging capacity: 7kW AC; 110kW DC
Range: 322km
Agent: E-Auto
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Comparable considerations

Suzuki Swift 1.2L ($174,888 with COE before applicable discounts)

Like the Atto 1, the Swift struggles under the weight of extremely high COE premiums. Its plight as a mild hybrid car will worsen from Jan 1, 2027, with an additional $7,500 surcharge under the revised Vehicular Emissions Scheme. The car itself is a sweet, smooth drive, although its cabin may be too snug to carry a child seat.

Dongfeng Box ($246,888 with COE before applicable discounts)

The Box is slightly bigger than the Atto 1, without costing much more. But its more screen-centric user interface takes longer to get used to. Like BYD, Dongfeng has endowed the Box with a soft and pliant suspension that handles speed strips well.

Proton e.Mas 5 ($223,988 with COE before applicable discounts)

The 5 is the second model from Proton’s e.Mas electric car sub-brand for Singapore. Beyond its cuddly look, the car, like the Atto 1, is a packaging wonder with a roomy cabin. What makes the car extra appealing is its sparkling dynamics.