BYD ATTO 2 vs Nissan LEAF

The Nissan LEAF costs £5,149 more than the BYD ATTO 2. For that premium it adds 162 miles more WLTP range, 68 kW faster peak rapid charging and 30 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Nissan LEAF comes out ahead overall.

The BYD ATTO 2 is £5,149 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £136 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the BYD ATTO 2 comes out roughly £5,029 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 178 miles for the BYD ATTO 2 and 313 miles for the Nissan LEAF - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Nissan LEAF goes roughly 134 miles further between charging stops.

The two are within 20 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 590 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF and about 570 mm of total clearance for the BYD ATTO 2. The BYD ATTO 2 also turns in a 0.3 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 2 and 84% for the Nissan LEAF. That gives the BYD ATTO 2 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The BYD ATTO 2's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Nissan LEAF's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.