Best Electric Cars

What are the electric cars to buy?

Looking for the best electric cars to buy? Here’s where you’ll find our recommendations in all shapes and sizes. Cars come to fit everyone, and what we know is that most now achieve a very high standard across the board. But what are the absolute best ones out there?

The Parkers team thoroughly tests hundreds of electric cars every year – from city slickers to luxury cruisers – all of which are compared with their rivals, so we always know which are the best options for you to buy. We take seriously how we test cars and these lists are the result of this painstaking process of reviewing.

What is an electric car (EV)?

An Electric Vehicle, also known as an EV, or sometimes BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), uses at least one electric motor as its only source of propulsion. An EV is powered by electricity contained in a battery pack, which is stored in the car, generally under the boot or interior.

Electric cars can be topped up by a regular three-pin socket, but for the most part this is done by using a dedicated chargepoint. These can be installed at your home assuming your domestic wiring is up to it. An increasing number of public and workplace charging stations are being rolled out across the country, and this is set to continue as EVs become more popular.

Electric Vehicles Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much money do you save now with your EV?

In terms of buying a new Electric Vehicle, the cash and PCP prices are above what you’d expect to pay for an equivalent petrol- or diesel-powered car. Having said that, currently, there aren’t too many models out there that are available in Internal Combustion Engined (ICE) and EV forms.

But taking the Golf as a typical example, the EV version is around 50% more expensive than a 1.0-litre TSI SE per month on PCP finance. The gap is much closer on Personal Leasing (PCH), but it’s still stacked in favour of the ICE car (although the gap is closing).

Do EVs drive differently to conventional vehicles?

Yes, but not as different as you might think. And most importantly, most people find that once they’ve travelled a few miles in an EV, they no longer notice anything’s changed. If you compare an EV with a typical automatic petrol, and the differences are quite subtle.

The most obvious contrast between the two is when you fire them up – the EV is completely silent. Although it sounds obvious, this takes some getting used to in the first instance. What you will notice, though, is when you jump back into a petrol or diesel car, they will feel slow, unrefined and dead on their feet.

Can electric car batteries be recycled? 

Yes. All new EVs sold since the 1990s have been powered by Lithium-Ion (Li-On) batteries, which have been recyclable for years. The old days when electric vehicles such as milk floats and some ancient electric cars were powered by Lead Acid batteries have long gone. These are recycled just like your mobile phone or laptop batteries, just on a larger scale.

Most homes in the UK use about 2kWh of energy in a day – this varies, of course, but EV batteries are being recycled by firms like Tesla to store energy from local renewable/environmental sources to be used when grid demand is higher, or sources like solar or wind power might not be able to power the development.

How far can a typical EV travel on a single charge?     

This really depends on the car that you’re considering looking at, and what type of journeys you’re using it for. For instance, the Volkswagen e-Golf can vary in its range between 80 miles on the motorway in deep winter to 140 miles of gentle summer driving around the city. This article offers more detail about electric car range.

How do I know an electric car is right for me?

How long is a piece of string? First question to ask is how many miles you’re doing. If you find yourself on the motorway most days, and time is of the essence, then EVs probably aren’t for you. Equally, if you live in the middle of a city or don’t have access to a driveway for your own charger, a workplace charger, or a local chargepoint, then you might struggle.

Just because you can't charge at home doesn't mean you shouldn't have an EV, however. City-dwelling Tesla owners are getting into the habit of parking up at home and using nearby Superchargers to top up either at the end or beginning of their previous journeys. And now ZipCharge Go is here, there are additional solutions for urban EV drivers.

How do I charge my EV? 

There are several ways of getting juice into your EV. If you're at home, you can plug in via a traditional three-pin socket and use the lead that came with the car. However, that takes ages (more than 20 hours for something like a Tesla) and should be considered a last resort. If you get a home chargepoint fitted, you'll need decent electrics, and a recommended chargepoint installer.

If you're charging elsewhere, you'll be looking at one of the public chargepoints across the country. Currently, the UK infrastructure is growing, but it still has some way to go, if it wants to become as convenient as petrol or diesel. The good news is that these chargepoints are contained in convenient parking bays for EVs only. You can find your nearest public charger using an app or website such as Zap Map.

What happens if I run out of power?  

The best advice is not to run out if you can help it. If you do, it will go slowly, shutting down all non-essential features. You'll be warned of the need to recharge at about 20% of the battery. Let it trickle to 1% and the car will crawl, and then stop.

You'll be going some to run an EV out of juice, such are the number of warnings you get. But it's worth knowing what to do should the worst happen. First things first, if you're down to your last 20% you should start looking for somewhere to top up - Zap Map is an excellent tool for this if your in-built system isn't up to scratch.

Do EVs cost more than petrol and diesel cars?

Prices are going down but there are no two ways about it – an electric vehicle is currently more expensive than a comparable petrol or diesel car, whether buying outright or financing via PCP or lease.

What are resale values like of EVs?

The residual values for electric vehicles are not very strong, but are improving, so if you buy outright then you'll suffer heavy depreciation. This also affects a fleet manager's decision on whether to introduce EVs on to the fleet. This will change in the coming years as EVs become more accepted.

Are EVs really better for the environment?

There’s plenty of debate surrounding this but in short, electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than a petrol or diesel car. While there’s plenty of CO2 involved in building them, particularly in mining the rare earth metals in the batteries, this is wiped out in just a few short years. The batteries are almost totally recyclable as well, and we expect to see this improve in years to come as well.

EVs produce zero local emissions – that is to say, no fumes or exhaust like a combustion-engined car – and even if the electricity that powers them comes from a dirty source, total emissions are reduced compared to even the most efficient petrol or diesel car.

Better yet, an EV is as eco-friendly as the grid that powers it – and as the UK generates more of its electricity from renewable sources, EVs will become greener too. When’s the last time a diesel car became less polluting as it aged?