00:00do you know the joke about mixed feelings no i'll tell you at the end of this episode and now
00:05let's
00:05take a look at the byd auto 2 dmi a car i have um mixed feelings about
00:18byd auto 2 dmi is a b crossover about the size of a hyundai kona or dacia duster however this
00:25one has a plug-in hybrid powertrain dmi stands for dual mode intelligent more about how it works
00:31in a moment byd auto 2 can also be had without dmi as a pure ev however since evs are
00:40not for
00:40everyone byd offers a ph ev alternative with pure electric range of up to 150 kilometers
00:46and a total combined range of up to 1000 kilometers while front and side of the car aren't particularly
00:54interesting auto 2's rear features tail lamps with infinity motif according to byd this symbolizes
01:02never-ending happiness some of which i'm sending to you right now the car is small by today's standards
01:11at just 433 centimeters in length and 183 centimeters wide wheelbase is 262 centimeters however at 167 and
01:22half centimeters the auto 2 is almost as high as the much larger toyota rav4 i assume the designers
01:29wanted to hide the traction battery in the floor in case of the ev we're talking about 65 kilowatt hour
01:36battery in case of the ph ev it's up to 18 kilowatt hours you have to operate the tailgate manually
01:43regardless of the trim interestingly there is a boot release button on the screen inside but it only
01:48unlatches the lock but won't raise the hatch up because there are no electric motors to lift it
01:57byd states the boot volume in five seat configuration is 425 liters according to my measurements that's a
02:03very optimistic result the boot dimensions are 75 centimeters from the sill to the seats 93 centimeters
02:10wide between the wheel arches and 39 centimeters from the floor to the parcel shelf you can drop the floor
02:18and gain additional 15 centimeters or so so all in all we're talking high 300s maybe if you get rid
02:27of
02:27the styrofoam insert with the repair kit you'll arrive at 425 liters Hyundai Kona has a larger and better laid
02:36out
02:36boot boot boot at least in five seat configuration because with the seats in the second row folded
02:40Atto 2 has a larger boot than the Kona 1335 liters versus 1300 liters probably because the Atto 2 is
02:49higher
02:54the rear space is similar to that in the Kona legroom is similar there is slightly more headroom
03:02however here doors cover the sills and the floor is completely flat there are usb-c ports an air vent
03:09i-spex anchor points are on the rear seat and on the front passenger seat the backrest splits 40 60
03:17and
03:20the tilt angle is adjustable however Atto 2 lacks an armrest and it has no rear seat heaters which are
03:28an option
03:29on the Kona the BYD Atto 2 cockpit is a mix of what chinese and european customers prefer so on
03:37the one
03:37hand we have physical switch gear for example here on the doors for the mirrors and the windows there are
03:44physical switches on the steering wheel and here on the center console however in order to turn on the
03:51lights you have to go into the settings on the central display and to the best of my knowledge low
03:57beams
03:58aren't linked to the wipers so unless it gets dark you'll be driving with daytime running lights on
04:05instead of low beams in the rain on the other hand something that's rare in european cars these
04:12days you can force the position lights to work regardless of whether you're driving or whether you're
04:19stationary in most cars modern cars these days especially without a physical light switch
04:24after you get moving the car defaults to low beam or daytime running lights depending on the time of
04:30the day and the lighting situation but here you can continue driving with the position lights on for
04:36as long as you like now the trip odometer settings are also somewhere here on the screen i know bmw
04:45has
04:46it on the screen as well but i don't think it's a good solution if something is displayed before the
04:49driver
04:50i think the settings should be on the driver screen as well on the plus side isa which byd calls
04:57slw
04:58can be switched off easily with one button here from the pull down menu on the center screen it's
05:04unmarked by the way the pull down menu but the shortcuts here can be edited and if you just bought
05:10the car and hear an annoying sound that you can't assign to anything in particular
05:16it's probably the default turn signal sound fortunately you can change it to the normal ticking sound of
05:27the indicators in the auto 2 byd got rid of the rotating feature for the central display perhaps
05:35they realized that this is a gimmick used for the first couple of days and then never again or maybe
05:42it's a problem with google inside operating system android auto and apple carplay didn't work in byd's
05:48vertical screen orientation unfortunately i cannot show you how google navigation works because the
05:54system claims it has no internet connection this didn't stop it from downloading a software update
05:59but that's how it is with press cars in the age of always-on connectivity and over-the-air updates
06:05it doesn't always work regarding the physical elements of the cockpit i like the powerful wireless
06:13charger however i don't like access to the usb-c ports and 12 volt socket under the center console
06:19to get there you have to get out of the car and crawl under the steering wheel a plus for
06:25the deep
06:25storage compartment under the armrest and a large glove box the door pockets are okay the rear view mirror
06:31feels flimsy there is also an unnecessary removable divider in the cup holders in a vw it would probably
06:39double as a bottle opener the start button is hard to find during the day at least it's lit at
06:45night
06:46and the volume roller is also hard to see when there are drinks in the cup holders
06:51i don't like the fake stitching pattern embossed on the plastic on the doors
06:56from a distance it's probably meant to look more premium the soft seats are also supposed to be
07:02premium but firstly only the driver's seat is electrically adjustable the passenger seat was
07:07also electrically adjustable in the dolphin surf secondly there is no memory function thirdly there is
07:14no lumbar support adjustment fourth the backrest adjustment range is insufficient and fifth the
07:21steering wheel reach adjustment is also insufficient all this means i can't wait to hand back the auto 2
07:30and book a visit with my physio to fix my back after a week with this byd oh and by
07:36the way in the denza z9
07:39gt i also couldn't set the backrest to a more upright position that's weird
08:05i found two more issues with the byd auto 2 dmi first of all visibility is terrible and whoever
08:11thought that the flat reflecting mounting elements for the wing mirrors are a good idea
08:17should burn in hell or listen to a looped playlist of eurovision hits with a particular focus on
08:23dana international and the second issue is a single phase 6.6 kilowatt hour charger in 2026 seriously
08:35and that's all when it comes to the negatives because the byd auto 2 dmi also has some positives
08:46depending on the trim the car has 166 or 212 horsepower and a traction battery with 7.8
08:53or 18 kilowatt hour capacity this translates into a pure electric range of 50 or 150 kilometers
09:00respectively in the urban cycle this is the more powerful version with a bigger battery and more range
09:09you can force the car to work in electric mode with the press of a button on the center console
09:13in urban cycle i managed to get 11.3 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers which means a range of up
09:19to 160
09:20kilometers on electric byd claims the car should use about 12.3 kilowatt hours so my result was better
09:32of course the weather was ideal and the car moved mainly in city traffic take it on a longer road
09:38trip especially on a motorway and the range would drop but the idea is that if you don't have a
09:43regular
09:44cheap charging spot you go about your everyday business using the hybrid mode the car will then
09:49decide whether it takes energy from the battery or uses the engine to generate energy or power the front
09:54wheels and that's how you can get up to 1000 kilometers range without charging and refueling
10:02in ideal conditions of course to simplify we're talking about less than 2 liters per 100 kilometers
10:09with a 45 liter tank
10:14a couple of weeks ago i was with byd in china and while visiting the byd test truck in
10:20zhangzhou i got to drive the auto 2 dmi dynamically in a safe environment besides a rather slow steering
10:29rack the car handled surprisingly well back on polish roads i can't say a bad thing about this car's
10:36right and handling the suspension absorbs bumps well and the auto 2 corners like it's on rails and
10:43this impresses me as most chinese cars i drove were only good in a straight line
10:49in the byd auto 2 you can safely perform an invasive maneuver even if a wild animal jumps out on
10:55the road
11:00i also checked the acceleration byd claims 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in seven and a half seconds
11:06i got 7.3 seconds in sport mode and 7.7 in normal mode under the bonnet is a four
11:13cylinder 1.5 and sorry for
11:15the pronunciation hyun engine byd's own design driver aids may not be market leading but they are
11:24sufficiently average better than in most chinese cars i reviewed so far the attention monitor can be
11:30covered up and it won't bother you unfortunately it cannot be turned off permanently lane keeping assist
11:36it's okay price of the byd apto 2 dmi started 26 990 euro for the active trim boost costs 29
11:57990 euro
11:58and someone decided it's worth to pay 750 euro extra for the dull gray when the rather nice midnight blue
12:06is standard this test car costs 30 740 euro that's less than the base kona with a regular hybrid but
12:15more
12:15than a fully loaded hybrid dacia duster even with all-wheel drive
12:22so what are mixed feelings it's watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand new
12:28ferrari and that's how i feel about the byd apto 2 dmi this could have been a great car but
12:35there are too
12:36many issues often hard to spot at first glance for me to recommend it to you and how about you
12:43would you
12:44consider a byd apto 2 dmi do you like the way it looks what do you think about having a
12:49ph ev instead
12:50of an ev let me know in the comment section below the backrest splits 40 60 and the angle is
13:00adjustable
13:00however the apto 2 lacks an armrest and if you like my sarcastic down to earth and possibly mildly amusing
13:18car reviews join me every friday at 3 pm central european time and don't forget to subscribe and
13:24like this video as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in
13:30the next one
