BYD ATTO 3 vs Subaru Solterra

The Subaru Solterra costs £13,515 more than the BYD ATTO 3. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The BYD ATTO 3 is not just cheaper - it also offers 28 miles more WLTP range, 70 kW faster peak rapid charging and 70 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BYD ATTO 3 comes out ahead overall.

The BYD ATTO 3 is £13,515 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BYD ATTO 3 comes out roughly £13,555 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 263 miles for the BYD ATTO 3 and 241 miles for the Subaru Solterra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BYD ATTO 3 goes roughly 22 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 35 minutes in the BYD ATTO 3 and 20 in the Subaru Solterra, so the Subaru Solterra loses less time at each stop. So the BYD ATTO 3 stops less often while the Subaru Solterra stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 15 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 540 mm of total clearance for the Subaru Solterra and about 525 mm of total clearance for the BYD ATTO 3. The BYD ATTO 3 also turns in a 0.8 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the BYD ATTO 3 and 84% for the Subaru Solterra. That gives the BYD ATTO 3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The BYD ATTO 3's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Subaru Solterra's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.