The 10 best electric cars to buy in 2024

Renault 5

The Renault 5 could be the car we’ve all been waiting for, a retro-styled, nippy EV that’s perfect for town but also has the range to deal with proper road trips. It looks like a cracker. Its stocky build, sealed grille, offset bonnet vent, and constant slope of the rear end are copied from the old model while inside, stitched fabric trims meet large infotainment screens, and five doors makes it useful and practical.

You get two battery sizes, with the larger 52kWh option giving a range of just under 250 miles. The Renault has a tight turning circle and acceleration that a hot hatch would have been proud of not too many moons ago. Comfort is what the 5 does best, though; it rides smoothly and is quiet on the motorway. But the best bit is the price of under £23,000, which is impressive for such a cool EV.

Volvo EX30

The Volvo EX30 is a bit of a marmite car – some people will love its infotainment-centric layout, but others will hate having to scroll through sub-menus just to adjust things like the door mirrors. Why’s it like this? Because Volvo centralised the car’s electronics to save production costs. So, there is some method behind the madness, and it explains why the interior doors are minus window and mirror controls.

While it might not be the most usable, the EX30’s interior is intensely cool, with a minimalist design and ultra-modern materials. It has space for a family, although the boot is tiny. You can have your EX30 in a variety of flavours, with the long-range model capable of nearly 300 miles on a charge and the dual-motor offering supercar speed of 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. Perhaps more relevant is the car’s excellent safety and self-drive technology. 

Renault Megane E-Tech 

The Renault Megane has been with us since the 1990s, but this is Renault’s first stab at an electric model, based on the same underpinnings as the Nissan Ariya. Renault has taken care to ‘right size’ its EV’s 60kWh battery to give a decent range of up to 280 miles without the stiff ride and laborious handling that cars with a bigger, heavier battery suffer from. That being said, the Megane struggles to get more than 200 miles from a charge in the real world, and the lack of a heat pump means basic models are even worse in the cold. At least 130kWh charging speeds means topping up the battery will take less than 30 minutes. 

You’ll not find much to complain about in terms of performance, though, because the Megane nips from 0-62mph in just 7.5 seconds and has light controls that make it easy to drive in town, although the ride can be firm at lower speeds. On a fast cruise on the motorway, the Renault’s refinement is comparable to that of a conventionally powered luxury model.

Volkswagen ID.3

It's easy to see why Volkswagen roughly translates to 'people's car'. The company's air-cooled, rear-wheel drive Beetle brought mobility to the masses, and the front-engined, front-wheel drive Golf modernised the genre. Now it's the Golf's turn to be superseded by the ID.3 EV.

The ID.3 was designed to be an EV from the off, and it shows. Inside, thanks to the neat packaging of its EV powertrain, the VW has a completely flat floor and a deep windscreen that makes it feel airy. Interior quality has steadily improved since the car first went on sale in 2019. The same goes for the infotainment, which is now easier to use and less buggy.

In terms of driving, the ID.3 has everything you want from an EV. Quiet, instant power makes it hassle-free to drive, and with no engine to get in the way of the front wheels turning, it is highly manoeuvrable.

Porsche Taycan

The Porsche Taycan is arguably the world's first proper stab at an electric performance saloon (if by 'performance' we mean more than just laser-like acceleration). Meaning it should be the first port of call for well-heeled enthusiasts looking to go green, particularly as it's just been updated with power and range increases across the range. 

Like any EV, the Taycan is not a light machine, which makes its rock-solid body control and huge cornering grip all the more impressive – it accelerates like a bullet and even slides its tail on a metered throttle. Inside, it's very posh and plenty practical enough for most families. As fun as a petrol Porsche? Not quite, but it gets close.

Tesla Model 3

Tesla started our transition to EV power, offering huge performance, decent range and a novel interior with barely any physical buttons – it's a blueprint established manufacturers have been scrabbling to copy ever since. 

While the Model S started the revolution, in the UK, it's the Model 3 that's selling like hotcakes and has recently been updated to deal with a Tsunami of new German entrants. Performance and range have increased slightly, while inside, you get better interior quality and new infotainment, but also steering-wheel-mounted indicator buttons that are a pain to use. 

Abarth 500e

The Abarth 500e is a Fiat 500e only with the charisma turned up to 11. In EV terms, you get an exterior speaker (or sound generator) that does a surprisingly good job of replicating the guttural splutter of Abarth exhausts of old, cool decals and bright paint jobs.

As fun as a petrol hot hatch? Yes, in a different way. While the Abarth can't match a petrol-powered hot hatch's 0-62mph performance, instant torque means it's quicker off the line and with no gearbox (or gearchanges) to worry about, it's ideal for darting through town. Even on country roads, the Abarth can be fun; its back end squirms when you lift your foot off the accelerator. Its sound generator can drone on the motorway, but with a range of less than 150 miles, that's not such an issue.

BMW i5 Touring

For decades, the BMW 5 Series has been showing us what a great mid-sized saloon looks like, and that's not set to change as the model transitions to electric power, adding EVs that are sold alongside the petrol and plug-in hybrid models.

Best of all, you can have the i5 EV with the practicality of a Touring body shell. With space for five people and a boot that'll swallow all their stuff, the i5 Touring feels very posh, with a curved infotainment screen that complements the expensive interior trims. Even basic models have plenty of performance, and their rear-wheel drive chassis delivers a purer experience than the AWD M60 model. And, while you'll miss the creamy purr of a straight-six (already strangled by particulate filters on petrol models anyway), the i5's outrageous refinement makes up for it.

MG4

Transitioning to electric has changed everything for MG. The company builds some of the best electric cars available and the MG4 is the pick of the bunch.

It ticks all the boxes you'd expect of an EV – loads of performance, excellent refinement and ease of use – and some you wouldn't. For starters, it's a hoot to drive, quick but also engaging; its character makes an ID.3 seem a little one-dimensional. With a decent range, plenty of equipment and a practical cabin, pound-for-pound this is arguably the best EV family car currently on sale.

Kia EV9

The huge Kia EV9 electric SUV, with its vast dimensions and confident creases, looks more like a statement of intent than a car, coming from a company building boring budget machines not so long ago. The EV9 looks good enough to take on the best Germany offers.

South Korean EV technology is some of the cleverest available, meaning all EV9s have strong performance and decent range (more than 300 miles in the rear-wheel drive version), although significant body lean and a crashy ride are clear signs the Kia weighs more than 2.5 tonnes. The upside is that the interior is enormous. It'll easily swallow seven passengers with room left over for luggage. Equipment levels are also generous enough to take your mind (briefly) off the plethora of safety bongs that chime inside the cabin. Nevertheless, Kia's most expensive model to date might just be its best.