A family AFFAIR
Jenni Mortimer gets to grips with her first EV: the BYD Atto 3
‘Goodness me, what’s happened here?” These were the words I muttered while getting a tour of the interior of the BYD Atto 3 Tachyon, from the Driven team who handed me the keys to my mode of transport for the next week.
It’s safe to say, if I were on The Bachelorette, the Atto 3 and its very masculine gym-inspired interior, would not have got my first-impression rose.
But if we know anything about a great reality TV love story, it’s that it’s not the first impression rose that matters, it’s the final rose. And after a week with Atto, I found myself standing at the end of a petal-lined driveway, questioning if maybe gym bros were my thing and wondering how I ever lived without it.
Having never driven an EV before, I assumed that the practicality aspect simply would be compatible with my lifestyle — a busy working parent with a toddler.
Having to stop and find a charging station sounded more painful than the price of petrol, and more frequent; however, I found myself pleasantly surprised that a full charge on the Atto 3 lasts just as long as a full tank of gas, and simply plugging it into the garage wall socket overnight would top it up almost 100km overnight.
So, yes if a long journey was on the horizon, a faster charging station was the safer bet, and plugging into the Driven Wallbox at work (which many EV owners would also have at home) gave me a speedier full charge while I worked for 8+ hours.
The lack of having to stop at petrol stations was truly the stuff of dreams.
Not only did I save well over $100 (my weekly minimum fuel cost) on petrol, but I also didn’t have to navigate stopping a car with a toddler. There were no bank-breaking snack requests, or tantrums after I picked the petrol pump that wasn’t his favourite colour, and I even saved some time in our journeys.
While the positive impact on emissions, and the money savings were massive pros of the batterypowered vehicle, another shock (pun not intended) pro came in the form of being able to use this vehicle as a literal plug-in kitchen.
Taking my toddler on a mini road trip, we decided to take the air frying trend to the next level and cook chicken nuggets for a beachside picnic.
Plugging in was simple with the V2L (Vehicle to Load), that uses the BYD’S charging port as a power outlet for fresh, hot food wherever we wanted.
I also had a stroke of parental genius in connecting a hairdryer and cool-blasting sand off feet before we got back in the car.
Sometimes genius is made, not born.
When it came to added features on this car, right up there for me was the electric hatch, opening and closing at the touch of a button on the keyfob or hatch, meaning parental hands — which are never not full — have one less thing to pull up or down.
Its super-tight turning circle was well-utilised and appreciated, along with its electric-operated interior which included a display screen that flips from portrait to landscape at the push of the button, and voice control that opens and closes windows, or turns the AC up or down as required.
My only functional irritation was the headrest that tilted too far forward for my propensity to wear a ponytail, meaning my head was either at a pushedforward angle, or — which is not a woman’s prerogative — I had to untie my tail, to avoid potential osteo issues.
However, after my week with the Atto 3, it was hard to imagine going back to a petrol car after I realised just how nonexistent the imagined challenges of an electric car, as a parent.
I also realised that maybe I could put up with an interior that didn’t fit the aesthetics of my dreams, and had side pockets that mimic a banjo or ukulele, when the car was so practical, smart and honestly, a really nice guy.
It ticks a few of the key boxes for me: Child seat compatibility: Super simple installation and perfect height, 9/10.
Cleanability: Fully leather seats so a breeze to clean (but many grooves for crumbs), 8/10.
Space: Plenty of room to swing tiny legs in the back seat and not be crowded in the front, but average boot space for its size, 8/10.
Boot open/close ease: Remote button open and close — 10/10.
Despite all the odds, it turns out that car personality really is more important than looks — strings and all.