Here's How A BYD EV Holds Up After 12,000 Miles

Name: Here's How A BYD EV Holds Up After 12,000 Miles
Uploaded: 2024-08-05T17:00:00Z
Duration: 11 min 3 s
Description: Wheelsboy's BYD Yuan Up, aka the Atto 3, has been a camera car for the China-based YouTuber. Here's how it's doing after a year and a half.

Wheelsboy's BYD Yuan Up, aka the Atto 3, has been a camera car for the China-based YouTuber. Here's how it's doing after a year and a half.

BWHFu_Vi0Bs

11:03

Kevin Williams

By: Kevin Williams

Aug 5, 2024 at 1:00pm ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

It can be easy to forget that Chinese giant BYD’s latest crop of EVs isn’t exactly new. BYD’s latest EV entries like the Dolphin and Yuan Plus are more than two years old now. Thus, we’re now starting to get some anecdotal data on just how BYD’s EV will hold up with sustained use. A friend of InsideEVs, Ethan Robertson of the YouTube Channel Wheelsboy, just posted a long-term update of his BYD Yuan Plus (also known as Atto 3 in international markets) after 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) and a year and a half of use.

Spoiler: it’s been good.

The small BYD crossover was originally purchased for the use of the YouTube channel itself. Robertson and his camera crew needed a vehicle that could serve as a chase car to film rolling B-roll for his video reviews. Of course, Robertson picked the vehicle partially because it was well priced, but also not explicitly a Chinese-market exclusive. Viewers outside of China would get an idea of what they’re in for if they buy an Atto 3 at their local BYD dealership.

Get Fully Charged

BYD Has Big Global Plans

BYD is currently the second largest manufacturer of EVs, right behind Tesla. It plans to expand into more markets and increase its manufacturing outside of China. It recently confirmed a new EV in Turkey. There are also rumblings that the brand could build a plant in Mexico.

As a whole, the Yuan Plus has been generally flawless, aside from one small hangup in the steering. The steering wheel is weirdly noisy and has an odd lull in the steering when the wheel returns to the center. Otherwise, the car would have been flawless. There were no issues with charging, the vehicle never left the crew stranded, and it behaved as expected. Robertson even added to the vehicle’s utility by installing an aftermarket frunk.

BYD Atto 3

That’s not to say everything was perfect, though. Robertson complained about the noisy, gripless standard tires the Atto 3 came with. The cruise control isn’t great. The USB-C ports in the front aren’t as powerful as the ones in the back seat. He also said that some of the car’s key features, like the rotating center screen or the in-car karaoke microphone, have never been used.

Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox.

back

Subscribe For more info, read our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.

In all, those just sound like minor grievances. The car hasn’t burst into flames, it hasn’t completely fallen apart and left the crew stranded. It’s been a quiet, reliable workhorse for the crew returning 232 miles from its 60 kWh battery.

This bodes well for BYD’s future tie-up with Uber. After all, many EVs have suffered from high repair costs; Hertz has been purging its fleet of Tesla vehicles because of its surprisingly high repair costs and frequent damages. Wheelsboy’s BYD had one accident that facilitated a replacement of the rear passenger door.

What do you think?

View

Comments

It was only $530 for a full, painted replacement. Of course, it’s not clear if that surprisingly low cost will translate outside of China, but at least we can understand that there’s a good chance these things won’t be complete rattletraps when they see service by rideshare drivers everywhere around the world—except the United States. For now, anyway.

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com

More BYD News

BYD Global Plug-In Car Sales Hit Another Record In July 2024

BYD EVs Are Coming To Canada

Tesla Was Still The World's Largest EV Maker In Q2, Ahead Of BYD

Trump Hates EVs, But Welcomes China To Build Cars In The U.S.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story