Jayco Penguin vs BYD Atto 2

What's the difference?

At nearly $25,000 the Penguin can't really be called cheap, but what does make it worth a look is the completely contained living space – the sitting, sleeping and cooking are all done inside, and that's a boon when the weather turns.

It's ideal if you want the comfort of a caravan without the bulk of one, and the ease of towing a more traditional camper-trailer offers, without the struggle of set-up.

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.

Inside, the layout is simple, but comfortable for two people. The rear of the camper is dominated by the east-west oriented bed.

The dinette, to the front of the camper, is cosy and only good for two people. It does actually fold down into a second bed for a third body (or a second body who's not allowed in the first bed), but although there's sleeping for three, seating that many would be difficult. Maybe a small grandchild, occasionally. It's comfortable, though and both seats lift up to reveal a little extra storage. There's even a hidey-hole behind the driver's side back-rest.

Typical of all campers of this sort, the bench heights are low and will frustrate taller people who need to stoop to use them.

This camper has a canvas skirt, but really there's more see-through plastic window than actual canvas, so it's quite panoramic inside. It's not hard to gain a bit of privacy, though; there's a dark tint to them so it's hard to see through during the day, and all the windows have curtains, so you can shut everything out, easily enough.

Lighting is simple, with just two LED lights in the roof, although unless you pay extra for a battery, they'll only work at powered sites.

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.

Because the Penguin is so light – as mentioned above – and because the towing height is just 1660mm, lower than the roof of most cars and certainly below that of SUVs, it's easy to tow, even if you don't have the largest 4WD to haul it around.

The Subaru Forester I tested this camper with, for instance, did the job quite well and would be ideal if you towed the camper down the coast a few times a year.

Underneath, the camper's got a simple beam axle with leaf slipper springs and shock absorbers. They do a commendable job and, as this is a purely on-road camper, there's no need for it to be anything else.

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.