Alpine A290 vs BYD ATTO 3

The BYD ATTO 3 costs £4,995 more than the Alpine A290. For that premium it adds 83 miles more WLTP range, 120 kW faster peak rapid charging and 114 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BYD ATTO 3 comes out ahead overall.

The Alpine A290 is £4,995 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 Alpine A290 comes out roughly £4,875 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 155 miles for the Alpine A290 and 263 miles for the BYD ATTO 3 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BYD ATTO 3 goes roughly 109 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-35 minutes.

The Alpine A290 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 52 mm narrower than the BYD ATTO 3. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 577 mm of total clearance for the Alpine A290 and about 525 mm of total clearance for the BYD ATTO 3.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Alpine A290 and 90% for the BYD ATTO 3. 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 Alpine A290's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.