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Top Gear Advice
Here are the best small electric cars you can buy right now
Teeny EVs are sometimes cute, rarely capacious but often canny choices for local-area commuters
Fiat 500e
The Fiat 500e is the perfect match when it comes to getting about town, with its diminutive size and torquey electric powertrain. It’s plenty capable beyond the city walls too. Put simply, it’s an adorable, recognisable and well put together small EV.
Advertisement - Page continues belowMini Cooper Electric
Turning the Mini into a fully electric car has compounded the belief that EVs don't need to be radically different to be competent and desirable. It’s every bit as fun to drive as a Mini should be and offers plenty of handling smarts – and this latest version will take you much further on a single charge than its predecessor too.
Peugeot e-208
Peugeot’s 208 supermini looks exactly like its combustion-engined alternative, which’ll likely please as many people as it puts off. Either way, if you can get on with the driving position, the e-208's easygoing personality, quality feel and value for money make it as solid an option as they come.
Advertisement - Page continues belowVauxhall Corsa Electric
Vauxhall's played it much safer than Peugeot in designing a small electric hatchback, with the two sharing the same platform and electric gubbins. Think of it as the more sensible sibling – no bad thing to those looking to dip a toe into electric waters for the first time.
Jeep Avenger
Jeep – the brand all about off-roading – took everyone by surprise when it created a little city runabout, but the Avenger successfully taps into Jeep’s heritage while offering mass market appeal. Small, boxy and plenty characterful, it’s proof the carmaker can do urban environments too.
Citroen Ami
OK, the Ami isn’t ‘technically’ a car – in the UK it’s designated a quadricycle, meaning you only have to be 16 to drive one. And sure, limits of 28mph and 46 miles of range are what you'd call 'limiting'. But it's cheery, it’s commuter friendly, and above all else, it’s cheap. When it comes to this or the tube, we know what we’d rather take.
Renault 5
The reborn 5 will grip many with a wave of nostalgia. It shares with the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper above a recognisable design, plenty of cute details and a cheery cabin. But that’s really where the similarities end, because it’s bigger, goes further, is more practical and significantly undercuts both on price.
Advertisement - Page continues belowAlpine A290
Alpine's hot version of the new Renault 5 is a winner in our books – on the one hand a car you could happily commute in every day, enjoying its refinement and the fact it's ridiculously easy to use, and on the other, clearly made by people who know exactly how a hot hatch should behave. Try it on a B-road and you'll see exactly what we mean...
Dacia Spring
For many people the Dacia Spring is the perfect introduction to the electric car. It’s straightforward to drive, it’s fun to be in and around, and it’s affordable. What’s more, it’s also been recently given loads more power and speed, and it’ll recharge faster too. A great little car just got even better.
Advertisement - Page continues belowCitroen e-C3
The Citroen e-C3 is the first car to be based on Stellantis' ‘cost-efficient’ Smart Car platform, and in addition to the fun looks throws in impressive comfort, a useable real world range and, above all, an impressively low price tag.
Nissan Micra
This sixth generation of the Japanese carmaker’s supermini utilises the same platform that underpins the TG award-winning Renault 5. Same drivetrain, same motors, same batteries, just wearing a slightly different frock. It’s not quite as pretty as the 5 to our eyes, but we’ll let you make your own mind up – and promise not to judge either way.
Hyundai Inster
The Koreans have been leading the charge in our new electric era, and the Inster is the smallest available on our shores. A good looking, refined, cheerful car that leverages all of Hyundai’s electric expertise, it feels bigger than the sum of its parts.
Cupra Born VZ
The first electric car from the Spanish carmaker… and an entirely better car than that it’s based on, the Volkswagen ID.3. The one you really want is the Born VZ, the closest thing to a hot hatch Cupra makes, with a more powerful electric motor that sends everything to the back wheels. Let the fun commence…
Renault 4
Y’know the delightful Renault 5 that you’ve already read about further up this page? Well, the Renault 4 is like that. But slightly bigger. A little roomier. And only marginally more expensive. Oh, and it’s also our current Electric Car of the Year. What’s not to like?
Fiat Grande Panda
Everyone loves a Panda – and we’re not talking about the bear species. The car has been with us in various guises since 1980, and this latest version, now called the Grande Panda, retains the styling of the original, covers off all the essentials you could possibly need in a small family runabout, and all at an appealing pricetag.
Wildcard: Microlino
In a world where cars have never been bigger, the new Microlino is a breath of fresh air. Measuring just 2.5m in length and 1.5m in width, and with a range of up to 141 miles, it’s the perfect tool for nipping about the city. And with its front opening door you can simply pull up to the kerb and jump out on to the pavement – or straight in to your favourite patisserie.
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