What's the difference?
There has never been a better time to be shopping for an electric SUV in Australia, with the avalanche of Chinese brands constantly smashing through the price floor as they bid for the title of Australia’s cheapest.
MG led the charge with its S5, which is $40,490, drive-away. Then Leapmotor upped (or downed?) the ante with its B10 with a $38,990, drive-away, price tag. And now BYD has knocked them both out with its Atto 2, officially Australia’s cheapest electric SUV (at least for now), with a MSRP of $31,990, which, in NSW, translates to a drive-away cost of less than $35K.
Cheap is one thing. But cheerful? Let’s find out, shall we?
Would you consider a European-made small SUV with a terrific turbo engine from one of our all-time favourite hot hatches, a reliable torque-converter auto, ample room for five plus luggage, and all from under $40K?
You’d be at the very least a bit curious, right?
Behold the latest Suzuki S-Cross! Okay. It’s been around the sun nearly a dozen times. And you can clock its age in a couple of key areas.
But this crossover from the class of 2013 is not even close to being the oldest-in-show (stand up, Mitsubishi ASX). And, as our testing revealed, the S-Cross can still teach far newer rivals like the Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, Haval Jolion and Subaru Crosstrek a thing or two.
Because thoughtful design is timeless. Time, then, to crack open the S-Cross.
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.
Back in the day, you’d hear people say they’d never buy an all-new car, but instead get the last of the old model that would have had all the bugs ironed out.
If this sort of homespun logic makes sense, then maybe the latest S-Cross might just be the perfect SUV car for you.
Not only has it been in production for years, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. Indeed, for performance, packaging and ease, it does plenty that's right. Thoughtful design is timeless.
But there are newer alternatives that look way fresher (particularly inside) yet cost the same or less, and offer more, including updated driver-assist safety.
Still, you can do a lot worse than take an S-Cross for a test drive.