Kazakh auto blogger Timur Mustafayev put the real-world range of the large BYD Atto 8 hybrid crossover to the test. The first run took place on the Almaty–Astana route, with the vehicle starting out on a full tank and a fully charged battery, the website infohub.kz reports.
Under the test conditions, a full tank and a full charge were supposed to be good for roughly 1,017 km. However, at the 850 km mark the car warned of a depleted battery and limited its power output, and it came to a stop just a few kilometers later.
In the end, the Atto 8 covered 865 km before refueling. About 1.6 liters of fuel remained in the tank, and the battery was at 4%. Combined consumption came to 6 liters of gasoline and 9.7 kWh of electricity per 100 km.
Mustafayev stressed that range depends on operating conditions: speed, temperature, vehicle load, driving style and how the climate control system is running.
On the first route, the result was affected by headwinds and high temperatures — daytime air temperatures climbed to 35 °C. On top of that, the air conditioning was running, and there were two people and luggage on board.
The blogger carried out a second measurement on the Karaganda–Almaty route. This time the Atto 8 started out with a full tank and an 88% battery charge.
The car covered 923 km to Almaty on a single tank. For the last 50 km, gasoline was no longer being used — the crossover kept going on its remaining charge. Fuel consumption came to about 6.6 liters per 100 km. In Mustafayev's view, that figure looks fairly economical for a large hybrid.
In Kazakhstan, the BYD Atto 8 comes with the DM-P hybrid system, featuring two electric motors and a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. Total output stands at 544 hp, with a claimed 0–100 km/h time of 4.9 seconds.
During the test, the crossover accelerated to 100 km/h in roughly 4.8 seconds, covered the quarter mile in under 13 seconds, and reached a top speed of about 200 km/h.
Mustafayev noted that the hybrid system can operate in both series and parallel modes. Under heavy load, the gasoline engine not only charges the battery but also sends drive to the front wheels. This setup allows the car to keep moving even after the charge drops, so the model's key feature really shows itself on long trips.
Ultimately, the test showed that the hybrid's official range should not be taken as a guaranteed result. In real-world use it depends on a host of factors and may come in below the claimed figure.
Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported that BYD had opened pre-orders for three new hybrids in Kazakhstan.