The best electric cars - driven, rated and ranked

Best for: sports car thrills

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N takes the Korean brand's electric crossover and sends it into electric sports car territory.

The electric driver's car has landed, and it will slot into most of our lives with ease.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

Utilising a dual-motor powertrain, the Ioniq 5 N produces 641bhp and 549lb ft, hitting 0-62mph in a staggeringly fast 3.4sec. 

Hyundai claims it will do 278 miles on a charge, too, thanks to an 89kWh battery. 

While it might feel heavier and much bigger than a traditional sports car, you can make it sound and feel like one.

It has an inbuilt sound generator that lets you select several different 'engine' notes, working in tandem with synthetic gearshifts.

A bit silly? Maybe, but it's more convincing than any other high-performance EV we've tested in terms of bridging the gap between piston power and electric. 

A landmark car? We think so, and a genuine driver's car at that. 

Best for: family appeal

There's a lot to like about the Volkswagen ID 7, the German firm's first electric saloon (and indeed the ID 7 Tourer, its first electric estate).

It rides very nicely indeed, handles with an intuitive ease that befits this style of saloon and is competitive in terms of the prosaic elements of EV ownership.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

A good choice for drivers looking to drive longer distances, the ID 7 comes as standard with a single motor set-up, producing 282bhp and 402lb ft.

Longer-range cars are equipped with an 86kWh battery that offers a range surpassing 400 miles, with maximum charging speeds of 200kW. 

The ID 7 drives brilliantly for such a large, heavy car. It's not quite as sporty as a Tesla Model 3 or a BMW i4, but the ID 7 is very well rounded. It feels agile, offers more than enough poke and grips well in the corners.  

As for space, the ID 7, possesses 532 litres of boot space and limo-like rear space. It really is best-in-class in this respect, and the whole family will be comfortable. 

Many of Volkswagen's EVs have previously come under fire for poor material quality, but the ID 7 comes close to addressing most of these concerns, although the infotainment system is still frustrating to use and there's still a distinct lack of the material richness possessed by other premium options. 

Best for: handling

The Taycan, despite being an EV, still feels every bit a Porsche product.

More than its outright performance, I'm impressed by how nice the Taycan is to drive gently.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

It deftly delivers close body control along with the perfect balance of communication in cornering forces, building up and abating in such neat, linear fashion.

It’s also devastatingly fast in a straight line. In full-fat Turbo S form, it will officially do the standard 0-62mph sprint in 2.4sec.

Range depends largely on which model you choose, but the biggest battery option gives the Taycan an outstanding 422 miles on the WLTP combined lab test.

Our own testing of this model resulted in 3.7mpkWh, making for a real-world range of around 360 miles, which is very impressive for such a car with so much performance on offer.

Access remains quite tight for a luxury GT. Rear passenger space isn’t too generous considering the size, but the driving ergonomics are nothing short of superb. 

Best for: luxury appeal

Charles Rolls noted the potential of electric motors for adoption in luxury cars right at the beginning of the 20th century, but it took the car company he co-founded 120 years to catch up with his embryonic vision.

Drive selection is simple and genteel: you do it with a column shifter. There are no regen paddles or Sport programmes.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

Now that it has, though, and the super-luxury EV class has its first-ranking member, there can be no debate about which electric car comes first for luxury appeal.

The Rolls-Royce Spectre has wowed us in the UK, South Africa and North America.

We've particularly praised its ride isolation and cushioned body control, even on its huge (23in) alloy wheels, the uncommon smoothness of its ‘one-pedal’ driving, its supreme, cocooning quietness and its unexpectedly rewarding steering and handling.

The BMW i7 and Mercedes-Benz EQS set a pretty high bar themselves for low noise levels and lavish on-board feel, but for the best of the best where luxury is concerned and the ultimate sense of occasion, Goodwood’s experts still set themselves apart.

Best for: range versus price

The Tesla Model 3 is still as hugely significant for the American EV brand as it has ever been, helping to spearhead its continued charge in Europe. 

Even in its cheapest, lowliest form, this Tesla blends competitive saloon car practicality, striking performance and reasonable handling dynamism in a manner that makes it a fine all-rounder.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

A great all-rounder, the compact saloon received a mid-life facelift in 2024, bringing with it a sharp design refresh, plus interior and technology updates.

Sensitive, direct steering is a huge draw for the Model 3, and it's fun and engaging in most driving situations. A 0-60mph sprint of 4.4sec is rapid, and few EVs will match it for the same price. 

Refinement and ride were weak points in the old Model 3, but this one improves things slightly. It's still not as comfortable as it should be, but it's far quieter than before. 

Range has increased too. While the previous Model 3 offered 254 miles in its entry-level specification, the latest car manages 344 miles. And the Long Range model does 391 miles, which is far ahead of several rivals. 

Prices start from around £40,000, which remains competitive in a market that is increasing in size year-on-year.

Best for: warranty

If you asked the average Brit on the street why they don’t already own an electric car, what response would you get? We reckon “because they cost too much” would figure highly. 

Our tests, which included a 30-mile trip through city streets and some faster A-roads, returned an economy figure of 4.7mpkWh, equal to a range of around 125 miles.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

Well, the Dacia Spring starts at less than £15,000, making it the cheapest electric car (assuming you discount quadricycles) on the UK market today.

And yet when you actually spend time with this little hatchback, you soon realise that the price isn’t actually the standout thing here; it’s the value.

Sure, it only gets a one-star Euro NCAP rating. But the Spring is smartly styled, well-equipped, reasonably practical and is (officially) good for 140 miles of range – easily enough for most city drivers.

Best for: ride comfort

On-board comfort was a character facet of new cars overlooked for much of the late 20th century, but it's now making something of a resurgence with EVs.

Just 60dBA of ambient noise at a 50mph cruise is very impressive indeed. There’s an almost complete absence of road noise, with a bit of wind noise taking over at motorway speeds.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

A gentle, absorptive, quiet ride is a dynamic quality that you can enjoy on every journey, and while we just somehow expect EVs to have one because of their wider refinement advantages, we don’t always get it.

So if you want to prioritise a comfortable ride, the Mercedes EQS SUV is the big EV to go for. This high-rise seven-seater rides with almost no perceptible road noise at all and makes lumps and bumps seem to just disappear under its wheels. As far as comfort is concerned, it simply doesn't get much better than this.

For a great-riding EV of a different shape or price point, meanwhile, look to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the excellent BMW i7 limousine.

Best for: warranty

Built in Ningde, China, by SAIC and presented to UK buyers wrapped in the comfort blanket of a brand they know well, the MG 4 offers a choice of 51kWh, 64kWh and 77kWh battery packs.

The unmarked directional pad on the steering wheel controls the media or the fan speed and temperature. Unconventional, but it works.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

The smallest of those can be had for a whisker under £27,000 (which now only just about buys the cheapest combustion-engined Volkswagen Golf) and is rated for 218 miles between charges. The biggest, meanwhile, is rated for 323 miles yet still costs less than the cheapest plug-in hybrid Vauxhall Astra.

The 4 also has a pleasingly well-balanced, rear-driven chassis and driving dynamics that feel much more finely honed than you would expect, as well as a roomy four-seat cabin.

Its comprehensive seven-year warranty completes a package that only the foolish wouldn’t make time to at least sample.