BYD Atto 1 vs Audi Q6 E-Tron

What's the difference?

Back in 2010, Mitsubishi released Australia’s first mainstream electric vehicle (EV) in nearly a century.

That model, the i-MiEV, was a four-seater city-sized Kei car from Japan that cost $48,800, before on-road costs, or from roughly $70,000 in today's money. Little wonder it bombed. That was four times more than petrol-powered equivalents of the time.

Now, in 2026, the new BYD Atto 1 is the first EV sold here since the i-MiEV’s 2013 departure to be considered a four-seater city car.

It’s also the least-expensive EV money can buy, being even cheaper than many internal-combustion engine alternatives like the Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris hybrid. The fact is, there’s nothing remotely near the Chinese supermini’s base price that’s electric.

But is the Atto 1 any good?

From a few paces back, the Q6 e-tron is easy to mistake for just another Audi.

After all, Audi, perhaps above all its contemporaries, has established such a consistent look and feel for its entire range.

But this is no regular Audi. The brand tells us the Q6 e-tron is the most significant new vehicle it has launched in a decade.

Underneath its familiar visage, Audi is so excited about the Q6 e-tron because it brings with it a ground-up new-vehicle platform, which brings with it some forward leaps when it comes to technology.

But does being new actually make the Q6 e-tron a good car? We went to its Australian media launch to find out.