BYD Atto 1 vs Citroen Berlingo

What's the difference?

The BYD Atto 1 has already earned its place in history as the cheapest new EV ever sold in Australia. And the good news is that, on the strength of bigger-battery Premium version, it rarely puts a foot wrong as a city car, exceeding performance, efficiency, refinement and comfort expectations. The Atto 1 really delivers around town.

But the baby BYD’s price is too close to larger EVs with better range, while extended exposure reveals issues with seat comfort, touchscreen access/distraction, ADAS interference and nervous steering feel at speed. Australian road tuning is required to rectify these.

Still, as a cheap urban EV runabout, the Atto 1 Premium still (just) stands alone. A glimpse into the future, someday, all city cars will likely follow in the bold BYD’s footsteps.

Given Citroen’s proud heritage of innovation, the Berlingo has a few unique and quirky features, but is overall quite conventional in its design and performance (though in a well thought-out and practical package).

With sub-$20K run-out pricing, it should have plenty of appeal for commercial customers, as it costs much less than its major rivals yet offers a superior payload.

Fun fact. Designer Wolfgang Egger was responsible for the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 156 of 1997 among others, as well as some Audis and Lamborghinis later on. You can definitely see the latter’s influence in the Atto 1’s angular face.

Based on the Dolphin architecture and badged the Dolphin Surf elsewhere (as well as Seagull but that name wouldn’t fly here), the BYD’s boxy proportions are pure supermini and is about the size of the previous-generation Honda Jazz.

However, the designers have added some crossover cues to the styling, including plastic cladding around the wheel arches, to give it a pseudo SUV look.

Inside, though, the Atto 1 is unashamedly hatchback in layout and appearance, with a contemporary, minimalist dash, big central touchscreen with precious few buttons and loads of storage.

In other words, a typical modern small car from China.

The smallest Berlingo rides on a front-wheel-drive, 2728mm wheelbase with an overall length of 4380mm and width of 1810mm. Compared to the Caddy, the Berlingo is 46mm longer in wheelbase, 28mm shorter and 37mm wider.

Suspension features MacPherson struts up front and a tidy trailing arm arrangement at the rear, which is well designed for carrying heavy loads. Steering is via power-assisted rack and pinion and four-wheel disc brakes provide reassuringly strong braking. The turning circle is a compact 11.0 metres.

The cabin and cargo bay are separated by a removable grey vinyl screen, with a large clear section in the upper half to allow rear vision for the driver. Citroen says this screen is primarily to reduce air-conditioning requirements, which in turn reduces the A/C load on the engine to optimise performance and fuel economy. 

It’s also claimed to (slightly) reduce noise intrusion from the cargo bay, which is mostly caused by tyre roar through the rear wheel arches. However, Citroen has taken a commendable step in trying to muffle these noise paths by surrounding each wheel arch with large plastic mouldings which are claimed to contain sound-absorbing material.

Glazed rear barn doors with wiper/washer and 180-degree opening, plus solid sliding side doors, are standard issue. The barn doors also feature an asymmetrical design (one wide, one narrow) to off-set the centre pillars and reduce the large blind spot they create in the rear-view mirror. 

The cabin layout is simple and functional with decent-sized door mirrors, although the kerb side would benefit from a wide-angle lens due to a big blind spot for the driver created by the solid side door. The fold-down inboard arm-rest is a nice touch and the cabin is quite spacious, although tall drivers will find the left footrest too high for a comfortable leg position.

The BYD’s boxiness sure pays dividends accessing the Atto 1's interior, aided by tall doors, a high roof and lofty seating.

Initial impressions are very positive.

Lots of space, a decent driving position (in the Premium at least; the Essential has rake-only steering adjustment), grippy little wheel and a solid look and feel impart a sense of quality. This does not seem built down to a price.

The elevated centre console/fixed armrest provides ample storage below and easy reach of USB ports, sturdy cupholders above and a raised smartphone rest that doubles as a charger (again, only on Premium), allowing for quick downward glances without having to touch the device. Helpful.

Further points are won due to the very clean and minimalist dash presentation, with an electronic instrument display ahead of the driver (not a given nowadays thanks to Tesla’s minimalism-gone-mad influence), offering all the information you need in a concise and notably colourful manner.

That 10.1-inch central touchscreen, meanwhile, is probably one of the better examples from China, possessing superficially logical operation, clear markings and a row of fast-access icons for climate, audio, vehicle function, home screen and other controls.

However, the more time you spend in the Atto 1, the more the cabin doesn’t stand up that well under scrutiny.

The shapely tombstone-style front seats, which look a million dollars, are comfortable on short journeys but disappoint during longer drives, revealing a lack of sufficient back and thigh support.

There are no regenerative braking paddle shifters for single-pedal driving, just an on/off tile requiring a distracting and time-consuming touchscreen-menu deep-dive.

In fact, most functions demand at least one or two eyes-off-the-road-ahead prods of the screen, which is annoying and potentially hazardous.

Using the climate control is a good (bad) example.

Infernally fiddly screen slide controllers that are hard to pin-point with a hovering finger while the car is moving, let alone modulate, leads to temperature-selection fury. And those vinyl seats are clammy regardless of humidity levels and their perforations don’t help. Setting the desired climate environment is an utter faff.

And why must BYD’s synthetic leather smell so pungent? The off-gas odour can be nauseating for some on warmer days.

Worse still, even a glance towards the touchscreen sets off the distraction nannies. Frustrating. So is the intrusive lane-keep assist tech, unless you keep the car perfectly centred, with its constant nudging of the wheel while it nags away. More like Aggro 1.

Inevitably, turning these and other ADAS warnings off requires several menu deep-dives, leading to more driver-distraction paranoia. It’s a circle of stupidity for tech that’s meant to protect. And every new drive defaults to ‘on’. It's an infuriating mess.

Meanwhile, the Atto 1’s (two-person-only, remember) rear seat area also starts off promisingly, with easy entry/egress, adequate space (even for long legs and big feet) and a backrest and cushion combo offering sufficient comfort and support.

Amenities include useful door storage, overhead grab handles and map pockets, while the back of the centre console provides a cubby area just wide enough hold a bottle or larger keep-cup. That’s necessary because there is no folding armrest or subsequent cupholders back there, nor reading lights or USB ports.

And while the upward sweep of the window line means the rear can seem dark, the shape of the front seats allows some vision around and even through them for rear occupants.

Further back, the boot area is larger than the BYD’s diminutive size suggests, at 308 litres with backrests erect and 1037L with them folded forward.

The deep floor hides an even deeper cavity that’s large enough for charger cables, laptops and other paraphernalia that should be out of sight. That almost negates the need for the AWOL luggage cover.

But there's also a tyre repair kit instead of a spare wheel in there, and regular readers will know how incorrect that is. Every vehicle sold in Australia should come with one. Even city cars.

Loading/unloading is easy and there are hooks to secure things to, but clearing the high lip may be an effort for some.

And, though an EV, the is no extra storage to be found under the bonnet. The Atto 1 has no front boot, or froot.

The Berlingo’s 1433kg kerb weight and 2150kg GVM would normally result in a 717kg payload. However, Citroen’s official payload figure is 133kg higher, at a class-leading 850kg, because PSA calculates kerb weights differently to the norm (typically French). So, 75kg of that can be carried on the roof when shared across three racks with the mounting points provided.

Its robust 3250kg GCM allows up to 1100kg of braked trailer to be towed without any reduction in payload. Citroen states that this GCM applies up to a maximum altitude of 1000 metres above sea level, with a 10 per cent reduction for each additional 1000 metres. So keep those stats in mind if you’re heading for Mount Kosciuszko.

The cargo bay, which offers 3.3 cubic metres of load volume (or 3.7 with passenger sear folded), has a floor length of 1800mm and a roomy 1229mm between the wheel arches. This means it can carry one 1160mm-square standard Aussie pallet, easily loaded with a forklift through the rear barn doors and held in place by six tie-down points. There’s also internal lighting, a 12-volt outlet and sturdy ladder-frame cargo barrier behind the driver. Nothing for the passenger, though.

Cabin storage options include two pockets and a combined cup/bottle holder in each door. There’s also a large lidded compartment and two open bins set into the dash-top, two circular storage slots in the centre display plus two smaller pockets below and beside the gearstick; the latter a slim-line 'holster' complete with USB port.

The single glovebox has two-tier storage, and there’s a full-width cabin shelf overhead. The centre console, which is a module that can be unlocked and removed if you want floor space between the seats, has a cup holder at the front, a big internal storage area with sliding lid in the centre and two cup/small bottle holders at the rear. There’s also lots of vacant space for additional storage under both seats.

The Citroen Berlingo range comprises three models; the L1 Short Body Manual, L2 Long Body Manual and L2 Long Body Semi-Automatic.

Our test vehicle was the L1 Short Body Manual (aka M Confort VTi), which, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and five-speed manual gearbox, is normally $22,990. This compares favourably with the Kangoo L1 SWB (1.2-litre petrol/six-speed manual) at $23,990, and is a huge 24 per cent saving over the Caddy TSI220 SWB (1.4-litre petrol/seven-speed dual-clutch auto) at $30,390. 

However, the Berlingo’s run-out price is now a bargain basement $19,990 drive-away, so you’ll save even more up front, plus be eligible for an immediate tax deduction if you're a business owner.

Given it’s a commercial van, our Berlingo came with all the usual visual cues of a hard worker, like the solid white body colour with contrasting black bumpers, door mirrors, handles and side rubbing strips, plus black hub caps inside 15-inch steel wheels with 195/65 R15 Michelin tyres and a matching spare. However, the cabin does at least get floor carpet.

Its standard equipment list includes useful stuff like a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors (essential in any van with solid side doors), guide-me-home headlights, height/reach adjustable steering wheel, RDS stereo sound system with a 7.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity options (including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth), cruise control with adjustable speed limiter, one-touch electric front windows and more.

The Atto 1's electric motor is offered in two output choices. Either way, it can be found under the bonnet and driving the front wheels via a single-speed transmission.

The Essential scores a low-power version making 65kW and 175Nm of torque, which is enough for a 0-100km/h sprint time of a still-decent 11.1 seconds, while the Premium’s high-power unit ups those to 115kW and 220Nm respectively, shaving two seconds off in the process. Top speed is said to be 135km/h.

Note that, while the latter grade’s 43.2kWh battery adds 96kg overall compared to the smaller 30kWh model, it still enjoys a way-superior power-to-weight ratio of 82.7kW/tonne versus just 50.2kW/tonne.

The Euro 6-compliant 1.6-litre multi-point fuel-injected four-cylinder petrol engine is conspicuously rev-happy for a commercial vehicle, as evidenced by its tachometer which displays rpm increments all the way up to 7000rpm - with no redline.

The needle has to reach 6000rpm to access the engine’s relatively modest maximum power of 72kW (less than Kangoo/Caddy, which are both turbos), with peak torque of 152Nm (also less) at a relatively high 3500rpm. It also requires 95-octane fuel.

The five-speed manual gearbox has useful spread of ratios for both city/suburban delivery work and load hauling on the highway.

The official consumption average for the Essential is 15.5kWh/100km and its 30kWh 'Blade' LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery offers a WLTP range of 220km.

The 43.2kW Premium bumps the energy use figure up to 16kWh/100km but offers 310km WLTP.

We came close to latter claim, with 263km of mixed driving and still showing about 10 per cent of range left, while the car’s consumption readout averaged 13.7kWh/100km overall. That rose to 16.5kWh/100km during a stint of harder, highway-heavy driving.

Charging times vary. With an 11kW AC capability on both grades, the Essential needs up to 16 hours and the Premium 22 hours plugged into a regular socket, and five and seven hours respectively using an optional 7.0kW Wallbox.

Meanwhile, switching to DC fast charging, the Essential’s 65kW capability means a 10-80 per cent top-up can be achieved in under 40 minutes, against the 85kW Premium’s 30 to 50-minute requirement.

Our Berlingo achieved a combined figure of 7.2L/100km over a distance of 422km on a variety of roads and with different loads, including near-maximum GVM. Impressively, that was line-ball with the official combined figure of 7.1. With its 60-litre tank, you could expect a realistic driving range of 580-600km.

Sadly, we cannot comment on how the 65kW/175Nm Essential drives, but with 77 per cent more power and 25 per cent more torque, the 115kW/220Nm Premium’s performance is one of its calling cards.

Lively off the mark, even in Eco, it thrives in inner urban environments, with instant throttle response for effortlessly zippy and smooth acceleration, as you’d expect of an EV.

And it just keeps on keeping on at speed, giving the Premium a terrific breadth of performance flexibility. We’re now very curious to see how the Essential goes.

Armed with light and alert steering, the Atto 1 can weave in and out of traffic gaps with confidence and precision, and is backed up by a super-tight turning circle to boot, so parking manoeuvres around town is a doddle.

BYD’s decision to set up the chassis for a soft, long-travel suspension is appreciated, since the Premium takes most bumps and humps in its stride, making this one of the comfier city cars around.

Road and tyre noises are omnipresent, but aren’t not too bad overall by supermini standards, while the Hankook 185/55R16 tyres deliver sufficient grip, even over some rain-soaked roads we endured.

Most of these Atto 1 attributes also translate well at freeway speeds, with the Premium offering ample muscle for overtaking, slick steering responses and a planted chassis feel.

But, once you hit some faster corners, the BYD’s reactive steering, lofty seating and cushy suspension conspire to create considerable body movement, especially through tighter bends, scrubbing the front wheels as it turns wide (understeer).

Yet, press on a bit harder, the Atto 1 can instantly change its attitude to oversteer, feeling darty as weight shifts from the rear, making the steering suddenly too sharp and the car too nervous, Even experienced drivers might hesitate to carry on. And this happened on dry roads.

Of course, the BYD is a city car so not designed for sports-car handling, but it does lack the confidence and control of a hard-driven Mazda 2 or Suzuki Swift. Strangely, it seems more SUV-like than supermini, dynamically.

Most owners won't care, but they will have to live with the infuriating ADAS tune, with inexplicably sudden braking when the adaptive cruise control is on, and lane-support systems that all-too-often tug and bleat endlessly like an agitated goat, becoming too distracting, and requiring far-too-fiddly touchscreen menu diving to silence, especially as they default back on with every restart.

The driver-attention warning is also in a semi-permanent state of nerves, squawking all-too-regularly unless the driver is sat perfectly still, and will easily escalate the danger level to “take-a-break” should you dare move about in your seat. Which would be regularly, due to the latter’s lack of enduring support. A literal and metaphorical pain.

Clearly, then, the Atto 1 can really do with some Australian road tuning and on a number of fronts at that. Until this happens, these are the dark clouds blighting the blue skies that this car’s otherwise sunny disposition delivers with every urban drive on a daily basis.

Or, in other words, stick to the urban jungle.

The first thing we noticed was the relatively low cargo-bay noise, combined with low wind and engine noise. The ride quality was firm but acceptable without a load, and the steering responsive and linear in weight, with a strong self-centering effect ensuring good directional stability. 

The slick-shifting manual gearshift was nice to use, with well-defined gates and a light clutch action. Braking response was strong, but four discs designed to cope with a 3250kg GCM could bite hard if you pressed too firmly without a load.

With maximum torque at 3500rpm and peak power at 6000rpm, the 1.6-litre non-turbo engine responded best around town when kept revving freely between those two numbers. Although torque started to fall away sharply below 1800rpm, a useful amount remained between 1800-3500rpm, as evidenced by 2750rpm at 100km/h and 3000rpm at 110km/h in top gear on the highway.

With 600kg in the cargo bay plus a 100kg driver, our 700kg payload was 150kg below GVM. Handling and ride quality with this load was excellent, particularly over large bumps and on heavily patched bitumen roads. Braking was also reassuringly strong and it continued to track straight in cross-winds at highway speeds.

The engine’s rev-happy nature was noticeable on our 2.0km, 13 per cent gradient set climb with this load, finding its sweet spot in second gear at 3750rpm - which it happily pulled all the way to the top. Engine braking on the way down was non-existent, but the powerful brakes easily covered this shortfall.

No ANCAP rating here, but a LHD diesel version with dual airbags achieved four stars when tested by Euro NCAP in 2009. Evidence that our local model is aimed at cost-cutting fleet buyers is a front airbag and cargo barrier for driver only, with passenger front airbag and side airbags for both sides only available as optional extras. There’s no AEB either, but you do get an electronic stability control program with traction control and hill start assist, plus a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors.

Here’s where the BYD slips up a bit.

Yes, it comes with a better-than-industry-standard six-year warranty, but many rivals offer between seven and 10-year coverages, while the Atto 1’s mileage warranty is capped at 150,000km when most others include unlimited mileage. And roadside assistance is only for one year, as well.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km. Capped-price servicing is available, but no precise figures were available at the time of publishing.

Estimates are from under $200 for the first and third annual services, and from $500 and $650 for the second and fourth yearly visits, respectively. Please check with BYD for updated figures.

Currently there are about 105 BYD service outlets throughout Australia, with 30 more expected by the middle of 2026. This should address one of this brand's biggest concerns – sufficient after-sales care.

A three-year/100,000km warranty includes roadside assistance, plus there’s a five-year anti-corrosion warranty. Scheduled servicing is 12 months/20,000km, whichever occurs first. There is also fixed pricing for the first three scheduled services of $416 (12 months/20,000km), $777 (24 months/40,000km) and $416 (36 months/60,000km).