Boasting a 55-mile official electric range, a low 10% BiK rating and a spot among the UK’s cheapest plug-in hybrids, the BYD Atto 2 DM-i Boost has a lot to commend it on paper. Al Suttie tests it for a week to see if the reality lives up to the hype.

BYD Atto 2 DM-i Boost

List price (BiK): £29,825 (10%)  CO2: 13g/km  Economy: 55.4mpg/55 miles  Test efficiency: 53.2mpg/41 miles

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Takeaway One:

For a compact car, the BYD Atto 2 DM-i serves up an echoingly large amount of interior space. The tall-sided SUV styling helps here to offer a lot of headroom, but the Atto also delivers good elbow room and more than enough adjustment in the front for taller drivers to fit with ease. It’s the same story in the back, where lanky teenagers can and do fit without any complaints, aided by equally lofty space for heads and hairdos. Add in a large boot for this class of car and the BYD is an excellent people lugger.

Takeaway Two:

Plug-in hybrids often make bold claims about their official EV range and overall combined MPG, and the Atto 2 DM-i is no different. However, this small SUV got a lot closer to delivering on its electric driving range promise than most in my experience. With a fully topped-up battery, it covered 41 miles on electricity alone in mixed driving, though it’s never the easiest to accurately gauge when the petrol motor comes into play automatically.

Takeaway Three:

BYD’s hybrid system is, in almost every respect, very good. The one area where it lets itself down is refinement as you accelerate up to the national speed limit or join a motorway. In these circumstances, the 1.5-litre petrol engine is rowdy as it whirrs away at high revs and sounds rather coarse. Fortunately, it then settles into a much calmer background hum as you cruise, though steeper hills can bring that noisier edge come back.

Takeaway Four:

The Atto 2 DM-i has a good handle on its infotainment set-up and the large central screen is easy to read and reach. I’d still much prefer physical dials for the heating and ventilation in place of onscreen icons, but at least the BYD’s are a decent size to make prodding with a finger an easy job rather than a point-and-hope exercise as in some rivals. The rest of the driver’s environment works a treat, with a wireless phone charging pad in this Boost trim.

Takeaway Five:

It may be billed as an SUV, but we all know this type of vehicle will never see more than a muddy car park. However, a side benefit of the Atto’s looks is the higher set-up of its driving position, which offers excellent all-round vision. Forget off-roading, this has practical benefits for driving in town, as I found when trying to squeeze into a roadside parking bay in Edinburgh. Anyone who has experienced these snug spots will know you need every bit of help going, which was further enhanced by the 360-degree parking camera in the Boost trim.