[purohitanuj]

Originally Posted by DIY410

Heat pump can heat up the battery using air conditioner compressor rather then a heater coil. This is usefull if you live in the north where temperature falls really low in winter, like single digit to below zero.

For rest of the country where its really hot, it won't make a difference.

Heat pump is just a regular air conditioner compressor with a external reversing valve, which reverses the flow of the refregerant to evaporator and condenser coil and vice versa.

But when heat pump is used to heat up the battery from sub zero freezing condition, it will take a lot more time to do this then a heating coil but will consume lesser energy.

Also for cabin heating, if it uses the heat pump it will save energy. Most of the EVs use heating coil and some of them do it like IC vehicles by using the heat produced from the motor, inverter and battery to heat up the cabin with the addition of heating coil.

But for EV owners in general, if you are driving alone or with a passenger in front seat. Its more efficient to use heated seat then to use the heating coil in the cabin blower.
Since the fuse rating of heated seat is 10A per seat while the blower is 40A.

The air conditioning compressor/heat pump on the other hand consumes upto 3 kW at maximum compressor speed, for a MG ZS the fuse is 10A but its a HV fuse.
Once it cools or heats up the cabin it will throttle down but it will still consume quite a lot more then say a heated seat.

Sir,
Thank you for the write up and I am well versed with heat pumps.
My point was that it's a good feature and should have been highlighted. Also your explanation is about true, but do miss few details on how heat pumps scavenge heats from other sources like ECU etc. If one goes blindly by this explanation, then COP of heat pump would be near 1 and not above that.

I, for example do use heater in winters and it's a feature for me. Hence if I am making a decision to buy, this feature can explain the higher cost when compared to the other options in the market.

[shyampsunder]

I think the Atto 3 at 25L is a great price and I would've definitely picked it over the ZS EV if it was available when I was buying my car. Reasons:

1. Car has much more space especially in the rear seats.
2. Interiors feel more premium, especially the 12.3 inch screen.
3. The service interval for BYD is 1 year or 20k KMs vs 1 year or 10k KMs for the MG.
4. More powerful motors

I think stuff like tyres can be changed, the car with the BYD blade cells makes it a compelling option at this price

[purohitanuj]

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

I think the Atto 3 at 25L is a great price and I would've definitely picked it over the ZS EV if it was available when I was buying my car. Reasons:

1. Car has much more space especially in the rear seats.
2. Interiors feel more premium, especially the 12.3 inch screen.
3. The service interval for BYD is 1 year or 20k KMs vs 1 year or 10k KMs for the MG.
4. More powerful motors

I think stuff like tyres can be changed, the car with the BYD blade cells makes it a compelling option at this price

True. Also BYD does balancing while discharging as well; hence one can do 100% DC fast charging unlike other EVs which require slow AC charging after about 3-4 DC fast charging.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

True. Also BYD does balancing while discharging as well; hence one can do 100% DC fast charging unlike other EVs which require slow AC charging after about 3-4 DC fast charging.

Even the ZS EV can be extensively DC charged. I did 8 consecutive DC sessions and no issues whatsoever.

Only the Tata EVs used to have this limitation but I think it's sorted there as well but broader point about BYD's BMS and battery being very good holds.

[84.monsoon]

BYD has set a starting price for its new Yuan Plus crossover - known as the Atto 3 in overseas markets - at 119,800 yuan ($16,644). This is after the recent price cuts earlier this year. This means, BYD is able to sell this car for 13.8 lakhs INR in China. If only the Indian government was willing to include them in the new EV manufacturing-linked Import scheme (15% import duties for companies committing a large investment in local manufacturing), we could have got this car for close to INR 15 lakhs in India for the base variant, instead of 25 lakhs!

[DIY410]

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

Sir,
Thank you for the write up and I am well versed with heat pumps.
My point was that it's a good feature and should have been highlighted. Also your explanation is about true, but do miss few details on how heat pumps scavenge heats from other sources like ECU etc. If one goes blindly by this explanation, then COP of heat pump would be near 1 and not above that.

I, for example do use heater in winters and it's a feature for me. Hence if I am making a decision to buy, this feature can explain the higher cost when compared to the other options in the market.

The hottest part in a EV is the motor/motor control unit and the CCS unit. The motor and motor control unit in every EV other then Comet, E2o, Xpress-T are liquid cooled.

The ECU or in a EV its called VCU doesn't even have a heatsink fins.

BYD and most of the chinese brands including all SAIC models sold globally do not take the heat from the motor and motor control unit to the heat exchanger to aid the heat pump. This requires complex system of valves and cooling lines and chambers in the heat exchanger.

[DIY410]

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

I think the Atto 3 at 25L is a great price and I would've definitely picked it over the ZS EV if it was available when I was buying my car. Reasons:

1. Car has much more space especially in the rear seats.
2. Interiors feel more premium, especially the 12.3 inch screen.
3. The service interval for BYD is 1 year or 20k KMs vs 1 year or 10k KMs for the MG.
4. More powerful motors

I think stuff like tyres can be changed, the car with the BYD blade cells makes it a compelling option at this price

MG ZS ev service interval in Australia and NZ is 24k KMs, the only thing they do in India is inspect or if needed replace the cabin filter.

Wouldn't be suprised if all manufacturers start doing this to bump up the revenue.

The only thing bad about BYD cars is really poor regen.

[purohitanuj]

Originally Posted by DIY410

The only thing bad about BYD cars is really poor regen.

I saw a techinical video in which BYD explained their "way" of regen in which the brake pedal has 2 regions. In the first region, they use the regen to slow down and this region is linear. Once the brake pedal is moved to next region, the physical brakes actually engage.

So the regen setting i.e. Normal and High seems like similar during coasting, but the main regen happen when user slightly press the brake pedal.

It made sense, but also meant that single pedal driving is not possible.

Many reviewers failed to notice this as the brake felt like any normal brake system, which I think is a win for the design. Also this means that one does not have to fiddle with multiple regen modes depending upon the city or highway drive.

[sushanthys]

I test drove the BYD Atto 3 today( the present version- the new ones have not arrived yet).The car is for my wife.
We own a MG ZS EV.
Points worth mentioning.
- The driver's seat & the back seat are more comfortable & spacious.
- The cabin is classy with quality materials( same as MG)
- Touch screen is superb( better than MG)
- The reversing camera & 360 camera are very good. Superb clarity.
- There are rear cabin LED lights( Not there in MG)
- Power is more than adequate( Though I felt MG was slightly more powerful. Maybe owner bias)
- The blade battery. So far, heard only good things.
- There is a storage space under the front console.Very handy( was there in the pre- facelift version of MG.Not there in the present car)
- One touch tailgate button
- According to the dealer, supposed to come with Continental Tyres.

- The dash instrument panel is not great, just a small screen with crowded numbers. My only grouse with the car( MG dash digital screen is awesome).But it is something that can be lived with.The screen is mounted on the steering wheel and moves with it, hence visibility is all right. Nothing is
obscured.
- When you are attending a phone call, the A/c fan speed automatically reduces( for call clarity).
- Red colour, which was popular, is no longer available.
- No spare tyre.
But a space saver is available as an accessory( size details NA)

All in all, impressed. I had made a booking 1 week back.
Will most likely proceed with the car.Will go for the Premium Version. The only extra things in Superior version are ADAS, Adaptive Cruise Control and Adaptive Headlamps( Not sure whether the 5 lakhs premium is worth it).

[sai47]

Does the new Atto come with black interior unlike the white interior from the outgoing version?
Are you sure the new Atto has continental tyres instead of Atlas Batman?

[newenergy]

Originally Posted by sai47

Does the new Atto come with black interior unlike the white interior from the outgoing version?
Are you sure the new Atto has continental tyres instead of Atlas Batman?

As per the dealer here in Pune, all the versions will come with dark interior. They did not say anything about tyres though.

[utkarshgoel]

When I asked the dealer today they said that the new variants will come with Continental tyres.

[thejaguar]

Any idea when the new models will hit the road? I am thinking of going in for the base model (which falls just below the 25L threshold for road tax in Karnataka). Any gotchas, etc that I should be aware of?

I would really appreciate inputs regarding after sales service, etc - thanks!

PS: This will be replacing our Honda Jazz as our driving within the city car (maybe short trips close to Bangalore)

[Pacifier]

I was told in another 10days it will be available in showroom. They are offering home charger and installation. Booking amount of 50k.
Waiting period is being quoted 45-60 days
This is in Hyderabad - Gachibowli

Test drive done on existing top end variant. Compared to zs ev, didn't feel as zippy as that one did. Liked the camera system. Rear seat under thigh support is not great but guessing it's same in zs ev as well. May be the dynamic variant , with lower battery spec has slightly better support. Need to check.

[newenergy]

Originally Posted by Pacifier

Test drive done on existing top end variant. Compared to zs ev, didn't feel as zippy as that one did. Liked the camera system. Rear seat under thigh support is not great but guessing it's same in zs ev as well. May be the dynamic variant , with lower battery spec has slightly better support. Need to check.

Here are a few key things to consider if you are comparing with ZS EV.

1. Atto 3 is based on e-Platform 3.0 which is a pure EV platform
2. More power - 201 PS/150kW, 310 N.m
3. BYD Blade battery (enough said about this already), Also bigger battery if you opt for higher spec
4. Faster charging (although not by much, up to 80kW)
5. Heat pump is standard
6. Bigger cabin space (due to longer wheelbase)
7. Independent rear suspension (better ride quality, tough Atlas tires aren't good)
8. 7 Airbags as standard
9. Much better interior quality
10. Much better infotainment
11. Much better 360-degree camera setup
12. Proper under-thigh support at the back
13. All LED lights (you will not find any halogen lights anywhere)
14. Electric 4-way seat adjustment for passenger side

I think the price premium over ZS is justified.