The best luxury electric cars - driven, rated and ranked

"A BMW like no other," is how our man Greg Kable described the iX, the firm's new all-electric luxury SUV flagship model for its i sub-brand.

Some critics have used other words to make their feelings plain about the way this car looks and the departure from classic BMW design type that it and other recent BMW model debutants represent. Feel free to make up your own if you're so inclined: this is a car clearly intended to provoke a reaction.

Munich is no stranger to convention-defying exterior design, though, and it has stressed every sinew to make this a landmark EV, as well as a watershed moment in its transformation from a maker of ICE cars to a brand that deals almost exclusively in EVs.

The iX is roughly the size of the X5 but is based on a specialised platform adapted with lightweight composite materials and mixed metals and is powered by one electric motor per axle.

The entry-level BMW iX xDrive40 version is priced from a whisker under £70,000 and gets 296bhp of power and 249 miles of WLTP-certified range.

Upgrade to the £92k xDrive50 and those statistics take sizable jumps: up to 516bhp and 373 miles of range, delivered along with 200kW rapid charging potential.

The iX M60 xDrive offers even more power and performance, but even allowing for the lightweight platform, no iX weighs less than 2.5 tonnes.

The iX saw off the Mercedes-Benz EQS in a comparison test. The Mercedes is comfortable, but the isolation and sophistication of the iX's ride is really very special indeed and makes it a particularly compelling luxury car. The BMW also counters the EQS's wide-eyed futurism with a warmer, more idiosyncratic and less formal flavour, both inside and out.

The iX continued to impress when we put it through our full road test. Its combination of generous SUV-level cabin comfort and versatility and of a genuinely relaxing and understated luxury ambience with world-class rolling refinement and drivability, instant and effortless performance and creditable real-world range is one unmatched by any of the market's other zero-emission SUVs.

Even if it doesn't smash down barriers in terms of outright range in the way that some will expect of a top-level EV, the iX has compelling fitness for purpose and a real completeness of appeal as a near-£100,000 luxury car.

Porsche has broadened out the range of its first electric model, the Taycan, quite a bit since the car first zapped onto the scene in 2020.

You can now have one with one drive motor or two; with two- or four-wheel drive; with an indecent amount of power or just a lot of it; and in either four-door swoopy saloon, pseudo-estate Sport Turismo or crossover-estate Cross Turismo form.

It's the kind of breadth of choice that has transformed a breakthrough sporting EV into a luxury-segment contender with enough pull to have outsold every other Porsche model in the UK.

The Taycan is a world-class operator however you configure it; the extended cargo space and ride-height-boosted extra versatility of the Cross Turismo certainly don't weaken its dynamic powers.

It rides with an uncannily absorptive and poised sort of body control, but it retains chatty, communicative steering, fine handling response, ideal handling balance and security and as much real-world pace as you could ever expect to deploy on the road.

Electric range isn't class-leading - but 250 miles is certainly possible from most versions of the car in mixed, real-world used.

Seats for up to five occupants, plus a boot within sight of that of a BMW 3 Series Touring for carrying capacity, seal the deal on one of the most accomplished EVs that any budget might buy – and you can buy one with options for less than £90,000.

The oldest car maker in the world isn't taking any prisoners when it comes to the switch to electric mobility. Mercedes' first dedicated EV, the EQC SUV, came along in 2019, and we've seen a few other smaller EQ models along since.

But none matters more reputationally than the big one: Stuttgart's electric new-age limousine, the EQS.

Built on a brand-new platform (and partly in response to the market share lost by the conventionally powered S-Class when the Tesla Model S struck it big in the important North American market), the EQS is a luxury EV without compromise.

It's expensive: on sale in the UK now, it's priced from £102k for the 325bhp, single-motor, rear-driven, EQS 450+ version, rising to well north of £150,000 for the hot Mercedes-AMG EQS 53.

But it is a car engineered with true commitment and packed with technology in a way few others can even approach.

Read the headlines about the optional Hyperscreen, which turns the whole dashboard into a touchscreen, and you could easily be fooled into thinking the EQS is all about the tech. It turns out that is the least impressive part of the car. Everything works, looks good and does what it's supposed to, but it's ultimately just three contiguous screens.

More notable is the way the EQS slips through the air, making the most of its massive 120kWh battery and helping it to achieve a real-world 400 miles. It drives well, too. Four-wheel steering helps this 5.2m-long car to turn like a black cab, while air suspension ensures high standards for isolation, comfort and refinement.

The EQS is a fantastically well-rounded car, one that shows that the car industry's oldest power has found its feet in the EV market and finally returned the disruptor brands' serve with interest.

Few cars have created quite such a stir or kept us waiting quite so long as the Lucid Air. Built in the US and engineered by the man behind the Tesla Model S, the jaw-droppingly sleek saloon boasts some numbers that are sure to make it Top Trumps killer card.

For instance, the range-topping Dream Edition packs 1111bhp and 1025lb ft of torque (yes, really) and will explode from standstill to 60mph in a claimed 2.4sec.

Then there's the giant 118kWh battery that promises a range of 520 miles between charges. And when you do need to top up, 300kW rapid charging means you should be able to add 300 miles in just 20 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, with so much poke on offer (there are less powerful options), it's the performance that dominates.

A little less impressive is the handling, which despite the Air's sharp steering feels slightly ponderous through quick direction changes and suffers from a lack of damping control even in the firmest suspension set-up.

On larger wheel sizes, the ride is also a mixed bag, lacking the supple and serene quality of the luxury car pace-setters, although it improves dramatically if the 19in rims are fitted. Air suspension is also in development, which ought to improve matters further.

On the outside, the Air is roughly the same size as a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but clever packaging means the space inside is more S-Class in its generosity.

It's also neatly designed and lavishly equipped, while its fit and finish shames the Model S, even if it can't quite cut it against established European contenders.

It's not quite the finished article yet, but if Lucid can iron out the wrinkles by the time the car hits the UK, then its style, performance and range will likely win it many friends.

An outright triumph in our electric SUV group test in September 2019 heralded the arrival of a new electric champion for people looking to combine practicality with performance and luxury with sustainability in their next big car purchase, while also securing a car that can easily be used on a daily basis on UK roads.

The Mercedes EQC 400 brushed aside challenges from key rivals en route to its big moment, overcoming all by virtue of its technology-laden and upmarket interior, its impressive blend of comfort and driver appeal, and its first-rate infotainment and navigation systems.

You could say that the Audi Q8 E-tron is a better luxury car and the Jaguar I-Pace is a better driver's car, but the EQC's package is nonetheless complete and convincing.

Sharing its platform with the combustion-engined GLC, the EQC has twin electric motors, torque-vectoring four-wheel drive and combined peak ouputs of 402bhp and 564lb ft.

WLTP-verified range is 259 miles, with our tests suggesting that between 80% and 90% of that is reproducible in mixed real-world driving. That's not quite as much cruising range as the most long-legged EVs, but it's a competitive showing all the same.

The EQC has plenty of driving modes, and there's much complexity to get to grips with in configuring its many battery regeneration settings and semi-autonomous driver-assistance systems to your liking.

But negotiate that hurdle and you will find the EQC very drivable and rounded at its best, as well as every bit as classy and luxurious as you'd want a £70,000 family car to be.

It's been barely a couple of years since Genesis landed in Europe spoiling for a fight with the premium brand establishment, yet in that time it has gone from virtually a single-car marque to one that boasts six models, a number of which are EVs - including the Electrified G80.

As the name suggests, this is a battery-powered version of the brand's G80 large saloon. The ICE G80 is fairly distinctive and packs a luxurious and tech-heavy interior, but it's powered by a limited choice of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, neither of which really match its upmarket aspirations.

However, there are no such issues with the Electrified model, thanks to it packing some of the Korean firm's E-GMP architecture, which means a pair of electric motors for a healthy 365bhp and an 87.2 kWh battery that claims 323 miles of range.

Crucially, it uses 800V circuitry that both allows it to charge at up to 350kW and deliver vehicle-to-load functionality. This effectively means you can use the lithium-ion pack to charge a variety of electrical items, from e-bikes to portable fridges.

The smooth and powerful delivery of the motors gives the Electrified G80 strong performance, while the interior is as beautifully finished and comfortable as the best.

Unfortunately, it's let down by a chassis that tries to meld sports saloon responsiveness with limousine comfort and fails to achieve both.

It's a precise and poised device but not one that rewards driving hard, while the inconsistent ride stops it from being a truly sybaritic saloon.

Still, a strong range and neat features such as a solar-panel roof that helps boost range make a car to consider if you want something a little different.

Audi distilled the various qualities for which it was known and gave all of them a new future-proofed home in its first EV.

Originally called the E-tron and slotting between the Q5 and Q7, it received a facelift in 2022 that included refreshed looks and the new moniker of Q8 E-tron, aligning it with the similarly styled, sized and proportioned but combustion-engined Q8.

The update also included the addition of a larger, 89kWh battery for the 50 model and a 106kWh one for the 55 (and racy SQ8). That means that the former now promises 281 miles on a charge, while the latter claims a respectable 330 miles.

Changes to the inside have been kept to a minimum, which is a good thing, because it means the Q8 E-tron retains a classy and refined ambience, while its quiet cruising abilities and its Audi-typical apparent build quality also remain intact.

The driving experience remains impressive, too, not least for its responsiveness and muscular feel up to motorway speeds, while precise and well-balanced handling completed the picture.

Yet arguably its the ride quality that helps the Q8 E-tron secure luxury car billing, the air suspension effortlessly and silently soaking away broken Tarmac and other topographical imperfections.

So the regular Q8 E-tron's strong suits make it a superb luxury car, although it doesn't have quite as much driver appeal as certain rivals.

The solution is the 496bhp SQ8 E-tron, whose sensationally versatile rear-axle drive unit (it has three motors in total) gives it a degree of handling adjustability and involvement beyond the lesser models.

At nearly £100,000, it's pricey, but it's potentially worth it for pace, panache and the novelty factor of safely sending an electric SUV sideways on a whim.

The first luxury EV from a mainstream brand to directly challenge Tesla at the high end of the market, the I-Pace delivers on its brief with standout handling dynamics, first-rate interior quality and a striking design that's slightly more SUV than saloon yet both attractive and innovative.

It sets the standard for ride and handling among its peers, delivers strong performance from its twin 197bhp motors and feels like a premium-branded EV should: an unshackled, clean-sheet design.

However, the I-Pace will charge at only up to 100kW and its slightly disappointing real-world range dents its potential as a long-distance tourer somewhat: 220 miles is not a result worth celebrating.

Moreover, its slightly buggy charging software seems to trip it up more often than other EVs are when you're out and about, trying to get plugged in.

If you're unlikely to rely on public rapid charging facilities or routinely trouble the outer limits of the I-Pace's range, this a car we'd consider before most rivals. It's that impressive to drive, as well as really interesting and appealing to behold.

However, there's no escaping the fact the i-Pace is getting on now, and while rivals have been updated or replaced, the battery-powered Brit remains largely as it was when it made its debut in 2018.