What are the best electric cars on the market?
In this article, we have a look at some of the best electric cars that are currently on the market in the UK (and one that isn’t). We share options for different needs – whether you’re after a cost-effective city car, a big family car or a luxury sports car.
What’s the best electric city car?
Winner: Dacia Spring
- Cost: £14,000
- Range: 140 miles (six days of city driving)
- Pros: Affordable and practical for city use, 80% charge in under an hour
- Cons: Limited range, safety concerns
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.32 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner up: Skoda Citigo
- Cost: £16,000
- Range: 170 miles
- Pros: Value for money
- Cons: Smaller and less premium interior
A city car needs to be small enough to nip around and park easily, but still handle the occasional trip to Ikea and the countryside. The winner here is the Dacia Spring.
Dacia (a subsidiary of Renault) designed the Spring to meet all your basic needs, and then they stopped. They avoided adding anything unnecessary and in doing so kept the cost to a very reasonable £14k.
With a 140 mile range, the Dacia Spring can handle a few days of inner city driving before needing a charge, and can charge to 80% in less than an hour. Dacia cars are also pretty reliable, finishing mid table in the What Car? Survey.
A watch out: previous Dacia Spring models scored poorly for driver and passenger safety. While this new model includes enhanced safety features such as lane assist and automatic breaking, safety concerns remain.
What’s the best electric sports car?
Winner: MG Cyberster
- Cost: £54,500 – £59,500
- Range: Approx. 250 miles
- Pros: More affordable, 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds, stylish design
- Cons: MG has been called out for being unreliable by What Car
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.82 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner up: Rimac Nevera
- Cost: £1.7M
- Range: 340 miles
- Pros: 0-60 mph in 1.85 seconds, innovative, attractive design.
- Cons: Extremely expensive.
Until recently looking for a decent two-seater electric sports car that cost less than £500k was a hard task. But then the MG Cyberster came along. It’s a fully electric soft top sports car, designed in London, manufactured in China.
It’s larger than a traditional sports car, as it needs space for the batteries. But it comes out top as it’s one of the first to market, costs from £54,500 and can do 0-60 in 3.2seconds. It also has beautiful scissor doors, which make it look premium.
Watch out for issues though – MG recently faired very poorly in a What Car survey on reliability.
What’s the best electric family car?
Winner: Kia E-Niro
- Cost: £33,000 (new), £15,000 (used
- Range: 250 miles
- Pros: Good space, reliable, advanced features
- Cons: Outdated brand perception for Kia
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.50 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner up: MG 4
- Cost: £25,000
- Range: 280 miles
- Pros: Affordable, stylish
- Cons: Smaller boot
A good family car needs to handle the daily rigors of life. That means motorways, urban areas and muddy lanes. It also needs to be affordable. In this category, we have two winners: the Hyundai Kona and Kia E-Niro. Both built on the same platform, so the decision between them mainly comes down to which you like the look of best.
Both offer a good amount of space, a great dealer network (if things go wrong), decent range and a good amount of tech for your money like digital displays, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. New ones start from a reasonable £33k, but quality second hand ones are less than half of that.
What’s the best electric people carrier?
Winner: Mercedes Benz EQB
- Cost: £50,000+ (new) £30,000 (used)
- Range: 260 miles
- Pros: Quality build, Mercedes brand
- Cons: Rear seats suitable only for children
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.87 on our Fixed EV Tariff
Runner up: Kia EV9
- Cost: £64,995
- Range: 300 miles
- Pros: Spacious, ideal for long trips
- Cons: Too large for city driving
Not everyone needs a seven-seater or a big SUV. But if you do, you wouldn’t go wrong with the Mercedes Benz EQB.
You get the Mercedes quality and brand appeal; and all in a package that takes up less road space than a Tesla Model 3. New prices were out of reach for many, starting at just over £50k, but second-hand prices are more attractive, starting at about £30k for low mileage examples registered within the last two years.
Watch out for the rear two seats. Only small children would fit in there for a meaningful journey. So if you regularly transport seven adults, check out our runner up: the Kia EV9.
What’s the best luxury electric car?
Winner: Rolls-Royce Spectre
- Cost: £330,000+
- Range: 300 miles
- Pros: Ultimate luxury, unique features like a starlit ceiling
- Cons: It’s 5.5 meters long
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £2.32 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner up: Lotus Eletre
- Cost: £100,000
- Range: 315 miles
- Pros: Luxurious, high performance
- Cons: Not as prestigious as Rolls-Royce
Our winner is the true epitome of luxury: the Rolls-Royce Spectre. It’s not the cheapest, fastest, most efficient or best driving EV, but it is the market leader in luxury. It’s got rear hinged doors, so it feels more like you are entering a lounge rather than a car. And it has unique features, such as being able to spec the car with a starlit ceiling to mimic the night’s sky. Until we get a decent electric helicopter, the Rolls-Royce Spectre will remain the electric transport mode of choice for the very wealthy.
Watch out: it’s 5.5 metres long. Make sure your chauffeur knows how to handle a car that’s closer in dimensions to a yacht than a car.
What’s the most popular electric car?
Winner: Tesla Model Y
- Cost: £45,000
- Range: 331 miles
- Pros: Popularity, great design, Tesla Supercharger network
- Cons: Controversies surrounding Elon Musk
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.69 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner Up: MG 4
- Cost: £25,000
- Range: 280 miles
- Pros: Affordable, stylish
- Cons: Boot size
The most popular electric car by some margin is the Tesla Model Y. In 2023 alone, over 35,000 Tesla Model Y cars were sold in the UK – that’s 50% more than second place on the list – the MG 4.
The Tesla Model Y is roomy, has some great design features like the glass panoramic roof, the clean looking dashboard and infotainment screen. It’s got access to the Tesla Supercharger network which makes road trips a breeze, and it looks pretty cool too.
What’s the best electric van?
Winner: VW ID Buzz Cargo
- Cost: £40,000
- Range: 276 miles (200 miles fully loaded)
- Pros: Quality build, fast charging, stylish
- Cons: Limited cargo allowance of 592kg
- Cost to drive 100 miles: £2.32 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
Runner up: Renault Master E-Tech
- Cost: £60,000
- Range: 285 miles
- Pros: Higher cargo limit (1.6 tonnes), excellent range
- Cons: More expensive
We’ve tried and tested electric vans here at Good Energy – and our winner is the VW ID Buzz Cargo. This work van has all the usual quality you’d expect from Volkswagen (having ironed out some bugs they had in their early EVs) and crucially comes with a decent load capacity of nearly 4,000 litres.
The range is up to 276miles, although closer to 200 when fully loaded up. Fast charging means our solar and heat pump teams aren’t held up, and can charge quickly while grabbing a coffee or taking a break. The small turning circle also makes it simple to drive around city centres and small neighbourhoods.
Watch out for the maximum cargo of 592kg, if you need more than this, check out our runner up.
What’s the best electric car you can’t buy in the UK?
Winner: Denza Z9
· Cost: £60,000
· Range: 400 miles
· Pros: Luxurious features, impressive range
· Cons: Not available in the UK
· Cost to drive 100 miles: £1.73 on our Fixed EV Tariff*
If you’ve never heard of Denza, you wouldn’t be alone. The brand was a 50/50 joint venture between Mercedes Benz and BYD. It’s now wholly owned by BYD – known for the BYD Seal: a direct competitor to the Telsa Model 3.
The Denza Z9 looks like a Porsche Panamera, is fully electrified, and will likely cost about £60k. And unlike the new Tesla Roadster which has been promised for years but has never turned up, the Denza Z9 already exists in China, it just hasn’t made it to UK shores quite yet. Here’s hoping they don’t wait too much longer.
There you have it. Electric cars to suit all budgets and requirements. If you want to charge your electric car for less, check out our EV tariff. 100% renewable electricity, with an ultra-low overnight rate of just 6.75p.
*Cost to drive 100 miles is calculated based on each car’s average miles/kWh. This is then multiplied by 0.0675 – the overnight rate on our available Fixed EV tariff.
| Car | Miles/kWh | KWh for 100miles | Cost per kWh | Cost for 100 miles |
| MG Cyberster | 3.7 | 27 | 6.75p | £1.82 |
| Dacia Spring | 5.1 | 19.6 | 6.75p | £1.32 |
| Mercedes EQB | 3.6 | 27.8 | 6.75p | £1.87 |
| Kia E-Niro | 4.5 | 22.2 | 6.75p | £1.50 |
| Rolls-Royce Spectre | 2.9 | 34.5 | 6.75p | £2.32 |
| Denza Z9 GT | 3.9 | 25.6 | 6.75p | £1.73 |
| Tesla Model Y | 4 | 25 | 6.75p | £1.69 |
| ID Buzz | 2.9 | 34.5 | 6.75p | £2.32 |
