Patriot X1 vs BYD Atto 2

What's the difference?

The Patriot X1 GT is an expensive camper-trailer but there’s very little on the market with such attention to detail, such well-thought design and such practical features. 

There’s almost nothing like it, which means, to some extent, as long as people keep buying them, the price, beginning at $52,990, is right on the money. I’d buy one, if I could afford it. 

Of course, there is the standard X1, at around $46,000, which pares back the features a little to bring the price down. 

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.

Once the tent’s set up, the living space is quite clever. So that the bed and tent base doesn’t hang over the sides of the trailer when packed up, and so it can fit a king-sized bed anyway, the bed folds in the middle. Patriot has also developed (and patented) a staircase up to the bed, rather than a ladder, which makes the climb up and down far less daunting. 

A zippered cut-out in the tent wall provides access to the two-large storage area in the driver’s side of the camper, which is where you’d keep clothes, charge phones and maybe store a second fridge or Porta-Potti. 

If you’re travelling with kids, the zip-on kids’ room (pictured) is easy to set up, can be left attached to the tent while packed up and has enough room for two to three stretchers across the floor (depending on which stretchers you use). Another bed can be laid out under the master bed’s overhang. 

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.

As compact as the camper is, it’s not a drama to tow. Underneath the camper is the Cruisemaster suspension that Patriot helped develop and which is exclusively available on Patriot campers and products. That’s quite significant, as others have tried that with Cruisemaster, but have usually ended up developing their own. It’s a dual shock, air-bag set-up that’s completely adjustable, whether that’s for extra clearance or to level out the camper at camp.

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.