Hyundai Inster
Best small electric car if you want something as spacious as possible
Pros: Incredibly spacious for its size, funky design, decent range
Cons: Only four seats, crashy ride
If you want maximum interior space in the smallest package possible, we strongly recommend the Hyundai Inster. It’s one of the best packaged new cars on sale, with clever individual rear seats that slide forwards and backwards, and a boot space up to 351 litres. The front and rear floors are both flat, too, which helps the cabin feel even more spacious. It’s quite incredible how much space Hyundai has crammed into a small car.
It only has four seats, but cramming five people into any car of this size will always prove a challenge. The design might not be to everyone’s taste, but we think it looks great and is genuinely different to anything else on sale. Prices start from an attractive £23,495, and there’s the choice of a 42kWh or 49kWh battery, bringing claimed ranges of 203 and 229 miles respectively.
MINI Cooper Electric
Best small electric car for driving fun
Pros: Great fun to drive, good price, much-improved range
Cons: Still not very practical, doesn’t feel as premium as previous car
The Mini Electric proved quite the hit when it launched in 2020, with style-loving city dwellers snapping it up in big numbers. But there was always one main issue, its range and price. Mini has managed to address this issue with its new Cooper Electric, which is not only cheaper (now starting from £30,000) but brings a much longer range – up to 249 miles in the case of the top-spec Cooper SE.
Like its predecessor, this Mini is still enormous fun to drive, and possibly the best (small) electric hot hatch yet, with fun handling, strong performance and the light and lively feel this firm’s hatches are renowned for.
Vauxhall Corsa Electric
Best small electric car for keeping things conventional
Pros: Like an e-208 with a sensible dashboard, Long Range model available, popular
Cons: Dull, depreciates like an elephant falling off a cliff
The Peugeot e-208 is all very well, with its fancy French exterior design and premium interior. But not everyone gets along with its i-Cockpit driving position, which features a tiny steering wheel and high-set instruments. If you like everything else about the Peugeot but are already a member of the anti-i-Cockpit club, we’d direct your attention to the Vauxhall Corsa Electric. Which is essentially the same technology in plainer (or duller, if we’re being harsh) dress.
The Corsa Electric has historically been hit by a steep upfront cost and terrible depreciation, the worst of both worlds. However, keen to shift more models, Vauxhall has introduced a new version called the ‘Yes Edition’ which drops the price by more than £6,000 and means it now starts from £26,895. Terrible name, but brilliant value for money. Like the e-208, there’s a 134bhp/50kWh model or a 154bhp/51kWh, with the latter offering up to 248 miles. Top-spec models are ludicrously expensive however – costing close to £35,000. For a Corsa.
