The BYD Atto 3 has been given a new battery pack and changed from front- to rear-wheel-drive, bringing a significant boost to its range.

Now named the Atto 3 Evo, its battery capacity has grown from 60.5kWh to 74.8kWh, which, together with the repositioned motor, improves its range from 260 miles to 317 miles.

The motor is notably punchier than the front-mounted one in the original Atto 3, putting out 308bhp and 280lb ft of torque – up from 201bhp and 229lb ft. That cuts its 0-62mph dash time from 7.3sec to 5.5sec.

There's also a new dual-motor, four-wheel-drive variant with 443bhp and 413lb ft, which slashes the sprint time to 3.9sec. The extra grunt does incur a range penalty, however, cutting it to 292 miles.

The electrical architecture of the Atto 3 has been upgraded from 400V to 800V, boosting its peak charging rate from a below-par 88kW to a competitive 220kW.

On a suitably fast charger, that significantly improves its charging speed. It previously took 29 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%; now it takes 25 minutes to go from 10% to 80%.

The new battery can also be used to power external devices at up to 3kW.

The change in the motor’s position also brings a new multi-link suspension design, with five links instead of four. This is claimed to improve its handling.

It also frees up 50 litres of extra space in the boot, to 490 litres in total. Under the bonnet, the Atto 3 has gained a frunk with 101 litres of space.

Inside the car, the gear selector has been moved to a stalk mounted on the steering column, while the 8.8in digital instrument panel and the 15.6in infotainment touchscreen have updated software.