At 4.3m long, the Atto 2 is a good match in size terms for the MG ZS, Renault Captur and Toyota C-HR and serves as the smallest SUV in BYD’s rapidly growing UK line-up – essentially a high-riding equivalent of the Dolphin hatchback.
We won’t go into too much detail about its design and positioning here, as we’ve covered that off already in our review of the electric Atto 2 and, aside from the significant technical differences, it’s mostly identical inside and out. So the PHEV retains the EV’s chunky, upright proportions and is decorated with various adornments that help it to cut a slightly less anonymous figure than some new Chinese SUVs – although it’s hardly the most daring of treatments.
A recap, should you need it: DM-i (that’s ‘Dual-Mode – Intelligent’) is BYD’s take on the PHEV powertrain, as launched in the Seal U and since extended to the Seal 6. Sort of a fusion of Toyota’s ‘self-charging’ hybrid system and Nissan’s range-extender-esque e-Power one, it uses a petrol engine primarily as a generator to top up an underfloor battery, which in turn powers the electric motor driving the wheels.
Usually DM-i cars drive on electric power (working as a series hybrid), but under heavy loads and at high-speed cruises the engine can also be connected to the drive wheels to give the full combined power output and maximum shove (working as a parallel hybrid).
Here the petrol engine is a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four running on the Atkinson cycle, like a Toyota hybrid’s engine, while the front-mounted motor produces a reasonably pokey 194bhp and 221lb ft of torque.
We drove the top-spec Boost model, with an 18.3kWh battery supplying 56 miles of electric-only range; the cheaper (circa-£25k) Active car uses a 7.8kWh battery for 25 miles as an EV, while halving the maximum charging speed from 6.6kW to 3.3kW.