So, I’m two weeks and over a thousand miles into owning the Atto 3. I’ve done a couple of rapid charges, made two long journey and covered several routes which I had done with the MG5 so I’m beginning to get a handle on the differences. Just a reminder, I’m comparing it to a pre-facelift MG5 Exclusive LR to an Atto 3 Design so some things may no longer be relevant on the 2023 MG5s! I might throw sone stuff in about my previous car, a 2016 Ford S-Max, just for context.
A lot of things are better in the BYD, some things better in the MG, and some are just plain different!
Some of the ownership experience has left me feeling like I’m beta-testing the product, but without any effective way of feeding back information. Two weeks in and BYD still haven’t enabled the app, it won’t charge on at least 3 networks, (Tesla, Porsche and Polar) and there are a couple of bugs in the Sat-Nav (If you set a destination with voice it overrides the defaults and will always avoid motorways (which it calls “Highways” on screen)).
Anyway, back to the comparison…
As this is the MG forum I’ll start with a clear win for the MG – the door handles. It may seem minor, but the MG has an unlock button on the front passenger door, which the BYD doesn’t. Over the last 7 years my wife has become accustomed to easily getting into the car without waiting for me, as she carries the spare key in her handbag (the S-Max also allowed her to do that). An annoyance they could easily have designed out of the BYD. Another point on the BYD doors, the plastic trim at the bottom of the doors extends a good few inches below the door seal and collects dirt and mud on the inside, I’ve ordered some mudflaps from AliExpress, and would say that they are essential in the country or in winter.
Once in the car there are a few wins for the BYD, both seats are electrically operated, and are very comfortable. The integrated headrest may not be to everyone’s taste, but we have found it easy to find a comfortable position by adjusting rake of the back. The font seat belt buckles are quite low down next to the centre console, and elderly relatives have found them awkward, however the rear ones don’t disappear into the seat like the MG5 so are much better. The occupancy sensors in the rear seats of the BYD are way too sensitive, a bag or even someone leaning onto the centre seat is enough to trigger a seatbelt warning.
The central screen is huge after the MG5. It’s really fast and the voice controls can handle anything you need to adjust whilst driving. By comparison the driver’s screen seem unnecessarily small. All the info you need is on there, but the central screen makes it look stingy. It moves with the steering column, so it’s always in the optimum position. Mostly a win for the BYD, but Android Auto isn’t available as yet. I’ve already received an OTA software update for the BYD, but I couldn’t find any useful changes in the update.
The charging point seems better on the BYD, the flap hinge seems less flimsy and it’s a one-piece moulding inside, the screw-heads on my MG5 were already rusting and there was a rust stain running down from one side if it. The BYD also has a light in the port which comes on when the flap is opened. Like the MG5 there’s no indicator for when the flap is open, but it is clearly visible on the 360 degree camera when pulling away. I can’t decide whether font or side is a better position, I can park the BYD either way around on the drive and the 5 metre cable on my Wallbox will reach, so a win for the BYD. At a Shell recharge the cable was so short it fouled the driver’s door and I couldn’t get back into the driver’s seat whilst recharging, but using the same charger on the MG5 I have previously had to leave the car half out of the bay to use the charger.
DC charging is faster on the BYD, on 50kW chargers it ramps up faster than the MG5, on higher speed ones it easily exceeds the maximum I ever achieved on the MG5. The bundled granny charger is 10 amp, opposed to the MG5’s 13 amp and is noticeably slower. The MG5 newer displayed more than 17 hours on the charging time, even if it was likely to take longer. The BYD shows realistic, but sometimes frightening times. (28 hours in one case!)
The BYD is quieter and more comfortable when driving. BYD’s version of MG Pilot is easily as good, the controls are on the steering wheel, and took a little getting used to. On the MG I could occasionally hit the wrong stalk and flash the lights when I didn’t mean to. The voice controls are really good, with commands like “I’m too cold” or “Open rear windows a crack”.
Overall I’m impressed with the vehicle and I’m happy that I swapped. I’m sure the competition will make MG improve their product again – why produce an estate without an auto-boot opener? There's loads more I could write, but if you have any questions post them!
