In this instalment of John Murdoch's Drive Time, John samples the latest electric import from China and looks at changes being made to the Cupra Ateca, including two new engines and equipment levels.
The latest all-electric SUV to arrive in the UK from China is the BYD Atto 3.
BYD may not be a big name here (the company is called Build Your Dreams) but it is huge in China.
It was only established in 1995 and made its name producing mobile phone batteries before going on to produce car batteries and eventually electric vehicles.
It now produces 1.5 million vehicles a year and employs over 600,000 staff.
It has big plans to launch more products in the UK and has already signed a major deal with the Arnold Clark group.
The Atto 3 costs from £36,490 for the base Active model, Comfort which is priced from £36,990 and a range topping Design model costing from £38,900.
All Atto 3 models have a 204hp motor which is good for a 0 to 62mph time of 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 99mph.
The range is claimed to be 260 miles and the manufacturer says a fast charger will take just 29 minutes to boost the battery to 80 per cent.
A full charge from a domestic supply will take a little under 10 hours while from a 11 kW home charger that will be six-and-a-half hours.
The company claims their batteries are up to 20 per cent more efficient in cold weather than rivals - an important bonus for the UK.
The Atto 3 is a good looking car that feels well built and it offers good space and a more than decent 440=litre boot that can expand to 1338 litres with the rear seats folded.
As you would expect, the top model offers a huge amount of kit and there is a massive central display screen which can also be rotated from horizontal to vertical at the touch of a button.
Most features are operated from this 15.6-inch screen but I did not find it easy to use at times as it seemed to be over complicated.
There is also a five-inch TFT display behind the steering wheel which shows the really important info.
The Atto 3 offers four drive modes - eco, normal, sport and snow - and is front wheel drive only. It drives well and is very quiet with good comfort levels.
Braking regeneration is not strong and is not sufficient to allow for one pedal driving and surprisingly it does not have paddle shifters fitted to alter things.
It is very modern inside and will not suit all tastes although most people seemed impressed with its style. It has a number of quirky touches including unusually shaped door handles and banjo-like red restraint bands across the door pockets that you can get a tune out of.
The Atto 3 has gained a top five star safety rating from Euro NCAP - and its safety systems include traffic sign recognition, cross traffic alerts, lane keeping and lane change assist and hill descent control as well as blind spot detection and front and rear collision warnings. The car also tells you when you go above the speed limit.
Other standard features on all models include vegan leather upholstery, an electric tailgate, heated front seats and a panoramic sunroof.
On mixed road driving the range seemed to be very accurate, while the performance matched most of its rivals without any fuss.
From a standing start it will be difficult to pull customers away from better known brands but It is a very high-tech EV that offers another choice to drivers and more BYD models are on the way.
Moving on to other motoring news, Spanish sport brand Cupra is expanding the Ateca’s range of engines and equipment levels with the performance SUV’s 300ps 2.0-litre TSI engine being joined by a 1.5-litre TSI 150ps petrol engine and a 2.0-litre TSI 190ps unit.
Both new engines are matched with a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG-auto transmission but the larger engine also incorporates advanced 4Drive all-wheel drive technology.
“The Cupra Ateca was key for the brand to base its growth on, and we’re now focused on developing the vehicle to maximise its offering, fulfilling our customers’ needs,” said Kai Vogler, vice-president for sales and marketing at Cupra.
“With the new range of engines, our ambition is to increase sales of the Cupra Ateca, following the same trajectory we have taken with the Cupra Leon.”
With the arrival of the new engines the Ateca’s exterior design gains a new rear diffuser, adding to the vehicle’s sculpted look while inside there are bucket seats, a Cupra steering wheel which on VZ3 models can be specified with satellite controls and Cupra specific door inserts and copper stitching.
Prices for the new line-up of engines and equipment are still to be announced and they are expected to enter production later this year.
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