2026 BYD ATTO 2 DM-i Premium Review

The electric Atto 2 has been a quiet success for BYD New Zealand, a $41k, small SUV that still carries a waiting list. The DM-i version is the same car with a 1.5-litre engine added and the DC charge port taken away. It lands at $34,990 for the Essential, the cheapest plug-in hybrid on sale here, and $42,990 for the Premium we have been running.

From the outside the giveaways are a fuel filler where the charge flap used to be and a DM-i badge on the tailgate. DM-i stands for Dual Mode intelligent, BYD’s name for a system in which the 72kW petrol engine mostly generates electricity for a 145kW/300Nm motor on the front axle. The engine can drive the wheels directly on the open road, but it seldom needs to.

Everything behind the B-pillar is standard Atto 2. The boot holds 433 litres, 1335 with the 60/40 seats folded, and is broad rather than deep, with the cables and tyre kit under the floor. Rear space is adequate for a six-footer behind a six-footer, though knee room is tight and the backrest sits upright with no recline. The rear gets two USB ports and a vent but no cup holders. The Premium adds a panoramic roof with a full shade, roof rails and front parking sensors.

The Premium cabin is the one to have: soft-touch surfaces, imitation leather on the seats and wheel, heated front seats, a six-way power driver’s seat and the 12.8-inch rotating screen. The Essential makes do with fabric, manual adjustment and a 10.1-inch screen. Both get the 8.8-inch driver display, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, a 50W wireless charger, a 360-degree camera and BYD’s column shifter with the indicator stalk on the left. The software is familiar BYD fare and works without fuss. One habit to unlearn if you are coming from the EV: this one has an engine, so the start button matters.

The DM-i is the least busy plug-in hybrid drivetrain we have driven. Most PHEVs hold the engine off as long as they can and then let it buzz to catch up, and we have forgiven that in a way we never did with CVTs. The Atto 2 does not do it. The engine cuts in more often than you would think, but so quietly it barely registers, and the handover in either direction is seamless. The Sealion 5 uses the same system and deserves more credit for it.

It is not quick. BYD quotes 7.8 seconds to 100km/h for the Essential and 8.9 for the Premium, the difference being the 110kg the larger battery adds. Neither feels slow in traffic and you would not pick the gap. The ride is comfortable, the steering light, and the driver assistance well calibrated, without the chimes that spoil so many rivals. We have used it for several Mangawhai-to-Auckland runs for exactly that reason. It is not an exciting car and does not try to be.

The grades split on battery. The Essential has 7.85kWh and 39km of WLTP electric range; the Premium has 18.03kWh and 90km. We have seen a little under 80km of real electric running, most of it around Mangawhai with some open road mixed in. On a depleted battery BYD claims 5.1L/100km against 5.5 in our hands, for a combined range of 930km in the Essential and 1000km in the Premium. We did not quite see the thousand, but it was close.

Charging is the weak point. There is a single Type 2 port limited to 3.3kW and no DC inlet, so either battery is an overnight job at home. That makes the Essential’s 39km touch and go for an Auckland commute with errands, while the Premium’s 90km is enough to treat it as an electric car during the week. We would normally take the base model. Not here.

The DM-i also pays RUC at $38 per 1000km, so against a conventional small hybrid such as the Corolla Cross GX at $44,990, which pays none, it is only clearly cheaper to run if it is plugged in every night.

The awkward part is the car parked next to it in the same BYD showroom. The electric Atto 2 is $40,990 for the Dynamic and $46,990 for the Premium, both with 345km of WLTP range, which is enough for almost everyone and does away with petrol altogether. It pays RUC at $76 per 1000km against the DM-i’s $38, but there is no fuel bill to add to it. Within BYD’s own range the Sealion 5 Essential, at $43,990, offers the same drivetrain with more power and similar electric range in a larger car, though without a five-star ANCAP rating. The Forthing Taikon gives more metal for similar money without matching the quality.

The Atto 2 DM-i is a very good plug-in hybrid, undercut mostly by its own electric twin. If a small PHEV is what you want, it belongs at the top of the list.  

BYD Atto 2 DM-i Premium

$42,990  /  0.7-5.1L/100km  /  16g/km
0-100 km/h 8.9s
Motor  145kW / 300Nm
Battery/EV Range  18kWh / 90km
Drivetrain 2-speed auto, FWD
Weight (claimed)  1620kg