BYD Atto 1 vs Genesis GV80

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?

The Genesis GV80 SUV has cultivated a quiet but firm following since its debut but there's a new variant on offer - the coupe.

Offered in one highly-specified grade level for our market, the GV80 3.5T Luxury AWD Coupe proves to be a fierce competitor with luxury and handling for it's European rivals - the BMW X6, Range Rover Velar and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

However, the price point is starting to creep a little closer to its rivals, which might not be to everyone's fancy.

I've been family testing the GV80 for a week to see if it gets the seal of approval from my little family of three, read on to find out how it went.