[amitjha086]

Checking out Atto3 in Nepal a month ago

https://youtu.be/-OCqxUBZngU

[Venkatesh]

BYD Atto 3 - Charge Curve on our 50kW Charger.





Link

[evolvo]

A more elaborate update:
Got our Atto 3 at the start of the month.

Pros:
- Super good looking car (especially red)
- Super comfy interiors and ride
- Super slick LED light bars in front and back
- Apple CarPlay works fine (looks gorge on the big touch screen)
- rear seat comfort is good (look ma, no floor hump )
- range is very good ~420km, which means no “need” for stops if your journey is around 400km.
- great experience overall


Cons:
- Braking at high speeds does not inspire confidence (probably due to the low resistance tyres)
- battery depletes “real fast” at 110+ speeds
- no frunk (can be resolved with after market fitment on alibaba)
- playing music via Bluetooth mixes up the album art
- window reflections on centre screen as it is not tilted towards driver
- 2nd screen (near steering) is ok, but needs much better graphics and legibility
- UI/UX for both screens could be lot better
- no BYD app in India (yet)


The BYD experience:
- The experience with Mody BYD Hyderabad was generally good. A special mention to the ever pleasant Srikanth
- Still awaiting the RSA, SIM card and 7kW charger from BYD
- The accessories kit is pretty lame and better to avoid (yet to get many items still)

Charging Challenges:
- still awaiting 7 kW charger from BYD
- currently managing with 3kW mobile charger, seems fine as it charges upto 60% overnight
- tried only one DC charger so far, it charged fine but no cellular service means could not disconnect from app
- no option to charge in apartment, but luckily my office parking has a port just beside my parking slot

Real world Range:
- Average range of 420km can be easily achieved on full charge (considering worst and best figures of 380 - 480 km)
- Best range 480km achieved by hypermiling between 80-90 kmph (extrapolated from 360km trip ending with 25% charge)
- worst range 380km achieved by aggressive driving between 110-120 kmph (extrapolated from 360km trip ending with 5% charge)


I’d be happy to answer any specific questions

[Kevinrevvz]

Congratulations on this beautiful machine. I own a ZS EV and the highway range of 250km when cruising at 100kmph is quite bad. With cruise set to 100 and a couple of launches from toll gates for a bit of giggles, what kind of real world range can we expect from the Atto3?

[evolvo]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

With cruise set to 100 and a couple of launches from toll gates for a bit of giggles, what kind of real world range can we expect from the Atto3?

I’m guessing around ~400-420. Will reconfirm in next run 👍

[Turbo Head]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

Congratulations on this beautiful machine. I own a ZS EV and the highway range of 250km when cruising at 100kmph is quite bad. With cruise set to 100 and a couple of launches from toll gates for a bit of giggles, what kind of real world range can we expect from the Atto3?

I have completed 3000+ on mine, usually get anywhere b/w 460-480 kms (even 500 kms, if driven sedately) on single charge in city drive, surprisingly it fares better in traffic, compared to open roads. On highway it's mixbag for me, with a heavy foot on expressways, it gave me measly 325 kms, however if you keep under speed limits (90-120 kmph), it easily returns 400+ on single charge.

[Phantom 510]

Originally Posted by Turbo Head

I have completed 3000+ on mine, usually get anywhere b/w 460-480kms (even 500kms, if driven sedately) on single charge in city drive, surprisingly it fares better in traffic, compared to open roads. On highway it's mixbag for me, with heavy foot (125-150kmph) on expressways, it gave me measly 325kms, however if you keep under speed limits (90-120kmph), it easily returns 400+ on single charge.

That's a great range for sure. Nothing beats the torque laden silent performance of an EV and that range you're able to achieve further sweetens the deal. Regards

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by Turbo Head

I have completed 3000+ on mine, usually get anywhere b/w 460-480kms (even 500kms, if driven sedately) on single charge in city drive, surprisingly it fares better in traffic, compared to open roads. On highway it's mixbag for me, with heavy foot (125-150kmph) on expressways, it gave me measly 325kms, however if you keep under speed limits (90-120kmph), it easily returns 400+ on single charge.

Not surprising. EVs and hybrids always have better range in the city and even more in traffic as regen braking is used more often. Also, EVs generally don't idle like ICEs, so if the car is standing still, the motor isn't running. Another factor that reduces the EV range on highways is the lack of multiple gears unlike ICEs (which Porsche/Audi tried to rectify with their 2-speed gearbox in EVs).

[supermax]

Looks lovely, and going by your numbers, it seems to work quite well under Indian conditions. Eschewing the higher speeds shouldn't be that hard, given the juicy carrot of a much better range. Here in Sweden, there are two issues that make EVs less effective; the first is that unless there are adverse weather conditions, one is expected to drive at the speed limits on highways, which is either 110 km/h or 120 km/h. Driving at 80 or 90 on those roads is considered dangerous driving. The long winters rob EVs of upto 40% of their stated ranges, and when you want to drive on highways during the winters, the range on the BYD is expected to be sub 200 km, which makes it more less impressive. I've heard that the battery efficiency also tapers off when the temperature goes north of 25 or 28 degrees, but one doesn't know if it's as bad as in subzero temperatures or not. India for sure will be a litmus test for EV practicality in the days to come.

[qaqa]

Congratulations on your new ride ! Red looks awesome ! The exterior looks are really the best of the current crop of EVs in my opinion.

How's the rear seat comfort ? Are the seats very low set like in some other EVs like the ZS? How is the ride quality on poor roads especially?

How do you find the air-conditioning performance?

[evolvo]

Originally Posted by supermax

Eschewing the higher speeds shouldn't be that hard, given the juicy carrot of a much better range.

Yes, the range anxiety humbles us into driving sanely, especially when going really long without refills.

Rest of the times, you really want to have fun…the 0-100 in sports mode is super addictive

100+ is another story, as the brakes don’t inspire confidence beyond that.

Originally Posted by supermax

Here in Sweden, there are two issues that make EVs less effective; the first is that unless there are adverse weather conditions, one is expected to drive at the speed limits on highways, which is either 110 km/h or 120 km/h. Driving at 80 or 90 on those roads is considered dangerous driving. The long winters rob EVs of upto 40% of their stated ranges, and when you want to drive on highways during the winters, the range on the BYD is expected to be sub 200 km, which makes it more less impressive. I've heard that the battery efficiency also tapers off when the temperature goes north of 25 or 28 degrees, but one doesn't know if it's as bad as in subzero temperatures or not. India for sure will be a litmus test for EV practicality in the days to come.

A 40% loss in range and a measly 200km sounds scary. I guess Tesla would be the only viable option in Sweden.

Originally Posted by supermax

I've heard that the battery efficiency also tapers off when the temperature goes north of 25 or 28 degrees, but one doesn't know if it's as bad as in subzero temperatures or not.

In summer, temperatures touch ~40 degrees around here, so we’ll have to see if the battery efficiency takes a hit. Maybe MG and Tata EV owners can chime in with their past experiences.

Originally Posted by qaqa

How's the rear seat comfort ? Are the seats very low set like in some other EVs like the ZS?

Rear seat comfort is good, not very low set and has space to stretch your legs under front seat.

Also better than the ZS EV, mainly due to it being bigger with better packaging.

Originally Posted by qaqa

How is the ride quality on poor roads especially?

Ride quality on poor roads seems fine.

The tyres are set to a high default air pressure ~36, probably to reduce resistance and increase range - so it feels like a rolling ball

Adjust the pressure to ~32, and it feels more planted.

Originally Posted by qaqa

How do you find the air-conditioning performance?

Quite good.

[DarthVeda]

Originally Posted by evolvo

Cons:
- battery depletes “real fast” at 110+ speeds

I would say this is Physics and not EV, going at high speed is less efficient as you need to push harder to overcome air/atmosphere. It's the same in ICE, it's just that with the huge tank capacity, you won't notice it.

Charging Challenges:

- tried only one DC charger so far, it charged fine but no cellular service means could not disconnect from app

Are you talking about no cellular service on your phone or the car? for DC charging, it does not need cellular service on your car, but only on phone. I am not sure what you are trying to convey here?

Real world Range:
- Best range 480km achieved by hypermiling between 80-90 kmph (extrapolated from 360km trip ending with 25% charge)

Driving at highway speed limit isn't hypermiling driving at 40 to 50kph is.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by evolvo

A 40% loss in range and a measly 200km sounds scary. I guess Tesla would be the only viable option in Sweden.

In summer, temperatures touch ~40 degrees around here, so we’ll have to see if the battery efficiency takes a hit. Maybe MG and Tata EV owners can chime in with their past experiences.

Bjorn Nyland tests show that an NMC battery with heat pump will have a <30% range hit at -15C, so a Tesla or even a Kona with 64kwh battery gives range of 320km.

Every car loses some energy due to initial pre heating in cold temperatures, electric cars pre heats very fast and can be done 10mins before your drive.

Buying a car with LFP and without heat pump will have poor range in winters like MG ZS EV. India also should do fine with LFP batteries and better cooling systems on NMC batteries.

[evolvo]

Originally Posted by DarthVeda

Are you talking about no cellular service on your phone or the car? for DC charging, it does not need cellular service on your car, but only on phone. I am not sure what you are trying to convey here?

Skipped for brevity earlier. Here’s the longer version:

Charger Location: Tata Power Ez 30kW charger at 7 Midway Plaza, on Hyd-Vza route.

I was able to initiate the charging via the Tata Ezcharge App, and it charged 35% (to full) in about ~60 mins.

However, on completion I tried to disconnect via the app, but the app was now offline due to low/no signal. Tried force quitting the app multiple times, but no use as app was offline.

I looked for a manual kill switch on the Charger unit, but couldn’t see one. After some tense moments, I disconnected the charger and put it back. Luckily after a few moments, the app was back live and showed as charge completed.

It showed the units consumed and time correctly, however the total cost showed 0. It still remains a mystery to this day

Originally Posted by DarthVeda

Driving at highway speed limit isn't hypermiling driving at 40 to 50kph is.

Hypermiling depends on power of car I think. For a Tata Tiago, 40-50 could be optimal speed.

I guess for this car, it is 60-70 where it is cruising optimally with low consumption.

My 360 km drive comprised of rural roads and highways. So I was cruising ~60-70 for about 1/3 of the journey (rural), and about ~80-90 for the rest (highways). Based on this, my hypermiling average came to ~480 for this long trip.

—-
For the first rural 34.1km, I was cruising at 60-70, and only 5% was used. This extrapolates to 682km range

I did not want to sound crazy or biased, hence skipped this part

[DarthVeda]

The internet connectivity brings the IOT apps alive while can prove it to be a bane for the same. Next time you run into that situation where you can't stop the charging, there would be an emergency stop button on the charger, push that in. It would release the gun after few minutes. The positive of that situation is that whatever you were charging when the network connectivity was lost is that it is free

Coming to speed and hypermiling, it is dependent on the drag experienced by the car on highways, you go at low speed, there is little wind resistance to offer and that's why you get more. Everything gets highlighted on EV easily, carry few more passengers you can see the wh/km rise and range drop, it's windy out there, the same as previous. All these issues are there for regular cars as well but we never see it with our eyes due to the enormous tank capacity and energy density that petrol packs in.