BYD Atto 2 vs Nissan LEAF

What's the difference?

The BYD Atto 2 isn't just the cheapest electric SUV in Australia, it's also one that doesn't feel all that cheap, which is a hell of a magic trick. If it's easy, comfortable city motoring you're after, the Atto 2 delivers in spades. But if your blood type is high octane, there are better driving EVs out there.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, the Nissan Leaf e+ is the perfect starting point.

It looks and feels for the most part like a conventional car, and it doesn’t throw any of its tech in your face.

It might sound like a criticism, but the Leaf e+ is easy-to-use and unintimidating, which is refreshing in a world dominated by TikToks, smart watches and cryptocurrency.

With a boosted driving range and a bit better performance, the Nissan Leaf e+ certainly puts a strong case forward as your next – or first – EV.

I think it’s a sharp-looking thing, this Atto 2. Kudos to BYD for not making the design look like it’s trying too hard, or like the Atto 2 is something it isn’t. It’s just smooth, sensible small SUV with styling that looks like it will age gracefully.

I like the chunky black moulding which makes it look a bit tougher than it is, plus the LED DRLs and swept back (and spoiler-equipped) roofline add a bit of visual drama.

Inside, BYD has made two pretty good choices. The first is that the cabin feels toned down from the one in the Atto 3 (which is all chunky wheel-style controls and vents). 

This one feels far more sedate and conventional in its design, which I think is a win.

The other good decision is to equip the Atto 2 with soft plastics, rather than hard scratchy ones, in places like the door panels. In some cheaper cars, you feel your elbows constantly rubbing against cheap-feeling plastics, but that’s not the case here.

Too much stuff is still controlled through that central screen, and BYD has an awkward way of shortcutting functions. They call it a three-finger swipe, meaning that if you run three fingers across the screen horizontally you can adjust the climate-control’s fan speed, while swiping horizontally adjusts temp, but it feels like a weird movement.

If you were expecting all electric cars to look like something out of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you might want to lower your expectations a tiny bit with the Nissan Leaf.

From the outside, the Leaf looks just… fine?

You can tell it’s an electric car because there aren’t big gaps in the front grille to let in air, and the sharp, angular styling helps the Leaf better cut through the air to maximise its driving range.

Step to the side and you’ll see a silhouette of a small hatchback, but spruced up with ‘Zero emissions’ badges and 17-inch wheels with low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The blacked-out C-pillar is kind of cool, and pinches the rear end a bit for a more stylish and even coupe-like roofline.

That roof is finished off with a subtle spoiler that carries down into the half-blacked-out tailgate and sharp tail-lights. There’s also a little diffuser down there and, being an electric car, there are no exhaust outlets to ruin the plastic.

Inside, once again, the Leaf looks just fine.

The biggest thing that really stands the Leaf e+’s cabin apart from a conventional small hatchback is the shifter, which is now a small puck-like thing.

It still functions the same, you pull it towards you and down to chuck the Leaf in drive, it’s just not a gear stick, and is one of the only giveaways that the Leaf is an EV from the inside.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen dominates the centre stack, and it's great to see that, despite the Leaf’s futuristic feel, there are still buttons and switches for the climate controls, rather than being an all-touchscreen affair.

It might sound like I'm a fan of the way the Leaf e+ looks, but it doesn’t really break the mould in terms of styling.

Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is completely up to you, as some would rather a more traditional looking vehicle, but I’d prefer a bit more zing in the style department.

The Atto 2 measures 4310mm in length, 1830mm in width and 1675mm in height and it rides on a 2620mm wheelbase. It also sits on BYD’s fully-flat EV platform, which helps to maximise space in the back seat.

I’m 175cm tall and could get comfortable behind my own driving position, with enough knee and headroom to ensure I didn’t feel cramped.

There are two ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back as well as USB-A and -C connection points.

Boot space is a not cavernous, but also not tiny, 380L with the rear seats in place, growing to 1320L with the rear pews folded flat. Both models also offer a V2L (Vehicle to Load) connection, too, so you can power up household devices.

Measuring 4490mm long, 1788mm wide, 1540mm tall and with a 2700mm wheelbase, the Nissan Leaf e+ sizes up nicely against small hatchbacks like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

Up front, there’s no denying the Leaf’s practicality, and the cabin feels light and airy thanks to big and generous windows, even if the A-pillars are a little on the thick side.

However, the seats are positioned a little too high – at least for our tastes – and without a telescoping function on the steering wheel, it can take a bit of time before you find the most comfortable driving position.

Storage options in the front seats include door pockets that will take a big water bottle, two cupholders between the seats, a deep storage cubby under the armrest and a tiny little recess that will fit your wallet and smaller phones.

In the rear seats, space does get a bit tighter, at least for my six-foot-tall frame, but there is still sufficient head and leg-room in the two outboard seats.

The middle position is pretty compromised, however, because of the lithium-ion battery underneath and all the components needed to get juice up to the front wheels, which eats away significantly at the footwell.

In the back, storage options extend to a bottle holder in the doors and map pockets behind the two front seats.

Opening the boot reveals a cavity that will accommodate 405 litres officially, but you might want to be careful not to load the Leaf to the brim.

There’s a Bose sound system device positioned right behind the back seats, which emits a beeping sound when reversing to warn pedestrians you are there, so you’ll have to be careful not to damage it with anything big and heavy.

It’s a bit disappointing to see there are no bag hooks or luggage tie-down points in there, but at least there are storage nets where you can put your charging cables.

Fold the rear-seats down and available volume swells to 1176L, but the seats do not fold flat, making it trickier to transport longer items.

New tech is always going to cost a premium, just look at how the latest flagship smartphones have crept well over $1000!

So, if you’re expecting to pay a little more for an electric car than a petrol or diesel-powered model, you’d be right on the money.

You can get into a base Nissan Leaf for $49,990 before on-road costs, but the new 2021 e+ raises the bar to $60,490. Ouch.

There is quite a long list of equipment to justify the price though, but both Leaf and Leaf e+ actually mirror each other in spec, meaning the $10,500 difference in price is due to the latter’s improved driving range, performance and charging – but more on those in a bit.

As standard, the Leaf and Leaf e+ comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, rear privacy glass, heated front and rear outboard seats, heated steering wheel, and a leather and suede interior trim.

Drivers are also treated to a 7.0-inch multifunction display, which can be customised to show driving range, energy consumption and more.

Handling multimedia duties is an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, seven-speaker Bose sound system, digital radio and satellite navigation.

There are some noticeable omissions on the spec list, however, which are especially jarring given the Leaf e+’s forward-facing powertrain.

There’s no wireless smartphone charger and there’s no head-up display, plus the park-brake is foot-operated, which is a big disappointment in a new car in 2021.

Both Atto 2 models share the same powertrain - a front-mounted electric motor producing 130kW/290Nm which is sent to the front tyres. It feels fairly sedate, even under flat-footed acceleration, though BYD reckons you can knock off the sprint to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds.

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+, you will find the electric motor and inverter, which drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

The Leaf e+’s electric motor produces 160kW of power and 340Nm of torque, which is a noticeable step up over the standard Leaf’s 110kW/320Nm output.

As a result, the Leaf e+ is quicker in the 0-100km/h sprint, needing just 6.9 seconds, compared to the Leaf’s 7.9s time.

Both models also share the same battery, a 51.1kWh LFP unit, which should unlock a WLTP driving range of 345km. AC charging is pegged at 7.0kW, so a good match for a standard home wallbox, while DC fast charging is 82kW. Using the latter, BYD says you should go from 10 to 80 per cent charged in 38 minutes.

Officially, the Nissan Leaf e+ consumes 18kWh per 100km … which we’re betting means absolutely nothing to you.

Translating this into real-world terms, the Leaf e+ will travel about 385km with a full charge.

This is much higher than the 270km afforded in the standard Leaf because the e+ has a much larger 62kWh battery, which is part of the reason it costs so much more.

However, with things like regenerative braking and careful use of the air-conditioning, your mileage can greatly vary.

In our week with the car, I actually managed an average consumption rating of 17.3kWh/100km, bettering the official figure.

Regardless, using a standard household socket will get the Leaf e+ from 30 per cent battery to full in about 11.5 hours, and using a DC fast-charger will cut the 20-80 per cent charge to just 45 minutes.

Do note that the Leaf e+ features the CHAdeMO DC fast-charging ports, which are a little harder to find than the CCS varieties.

The Leaf e+, as well as the Leaf, also now support bi-directional charging, so you can use your car to power your home to charge things like your phone and Nintendo.

Your drive experience in the Atto 2 very much depends on what you ask of it.

Or to put it another way, the first half of my drive route was a breezy run through the city and suburbs, then onto the freeway, before arriving at our destination. 

It was probably 60 kays or so, and across it all the Atto 2 felt quiet and comfortable, with enough power at its disposal to easily get up to speed and stay there. 

In the second half, though, I hunted down some twisting roads and cracks started to appear. The ride is pretty solid and there isn't huge amounts of body roll during more enthusiastic cornering. 

But the steering is vague and there's plenty of slack – you can turn the wheel a fair bit without eliciting much response from the tyres.

Interestingly, turning the wheel with a bit of aggression also produced a weird sound up front, like you could hear the mechanicals shifting the tyres.

The tyres make a difference, too, with the Premium's more expensive Hankook rubber far happier to hang on without squealing than the Dynamic's Westlake tyres. 

But context is key here. The Atto 2 is an accessible, affordable city-focused EV, and it performs those duties admirably. But if you're sold on a car-driver connection, there isn't much of that on offer here.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, there is a bit of a learning curve. For starters, the torque is available instantaneously, and there isn’t any exhaust or engine noise to contend with.

But don’t worry, because Nissan has made it really easy to just get into the Leaf e+ and go.

Firstly, there is nothing intimidating about the cabin. The layout for all the controls and switches is well thought out, and everything is just where it should be and does what it's meant to do.

This means that, despite having an electric drivetrain, the Leaf e+ feels familiar – and that’s important to some.

Turn the car on, put it in Drive and – just like a regular car – push on the throttle to move. But even though torque is available right away, the Leaf e+ never shoots forward at a mind-blending or uncontrollable pace.

Can you tell the Leaf e+ has a peppier engine than the base offering? It’s hard to say without driving the Leaf and Leaf e+ back-to-back, but Nissan’s new electric hatchback offers spritely enough performance.

What is noticeable is the boost to driving range.

While an extra 110 or so kilometres might not seem like that much in the grand scheme of things, it means you don’t have to worry about plugging in and recharging as often, and it's always nice to look down at the range-remaining display and see a three-digit figure.

In our week with the car, we only charged up once, and there was never a moment where we stressed about running out of juice before getting the car back to base.

And if you really are worried about your range, or are into hypermiling, there is always the Eco mode, or Nissan’s e-Pedal, to play around with.

The former will just dial back performance to add about 15km to the overall range, while the latter allows the Leaf e+ to be operated with just the throttle pedal.

Lift off the right foot, and the Leaf e+’s aggressive regenerative braking will kick in to recoup energy and slow down the car, forcing you to think about and be careful with your inputs.

It might sound like a marketing gimmick, but it really is the best way to drive the Leaf e+ if range is a concern.

The Nissan Leaf e+ isn’t the last word on dynamics by any stretch, turn the wheel and the car will travel where you direct it, but it does so without any great flair or panache.

No, the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+ is a not dynamic wunderkind, but it absolutely nails being a comfortable, familiar and unintimidating step into the world of electric cars.

The Nissan Leaf e+ wears a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from the testing of the regular Leaf in 2018.

The Leaf scored notably high on the adult and child occupant protection tests, with six airbags as standard.

Advanced safety technology also extends to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic-sign recognition, high-beam assist, driver-attention alert, tyre pressure monitoring, front- and rear-parking sensors, and rear cross traffic alert.

Our favourite feature, though, is the surround-view monitor, which helps you nail that parallel park without curbing the wheels.

BYD’s warranty is an okay six years but just 150,000km, which is underwhelming compared to the best in the business. The battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km.

BYD vehicles typically have 12 month, 20,000km service intervals with capped price servicing, but the details are yet to be confirmed for the Atto 2.

Like all new Nissan models sold in Australia in 2021, the Leaf e+ comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, along with five years of roadside assist.

The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km assurance period, which ensures three quarters of capacity after that time.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first, matching the industry standard.

With Nissan’s capped-price-servicing schedule, the Leaf e+ will cost around $1742 to maintain over five years, averaging out to be about $290 per year.

Without the need to change things like oil and sparkplugs, the all-electric Leaf e+ is much cheaper to keep on the road than petrol-powered competitors.