Fiat 500 Electric
Best small electric car for style and image
Pros: Stylish, good to drive, nicely put together
Cons: Cramped, short range with cheaper model
The Fiat 500 Electric shares its retro-chic styling vibe with the old internal combustion engine (ICE) car, but it’s completely different under the skin. The small petrol engines have been banished, replaced by a battery pack and an electric motor driving the front wheels. The standard version comes in a cheaper 24kWh / 94bhp combo capable of a claimed 118 miles of driving range, or as a more powerful 42kWh / 116bhp variant with a claimed 199-mile range.
The 500e is cool to look at, decent to drive and perfectly suited to tight city streets with its dinky size and excellent turning circle. There’s plenty of tech crammed into such a small package, though with prices starting from £24,995 for the smaller battery and £27,995 for the larger battery, it’s quite expensive by small EV standards these days.
For a more in-depth look read our Fiat 500 Electric review
Peugeot e-208
Best small electric car for style and practicality
Pros: Attractive inside and out, five-door access, decent electric range
Cons: lack-lustre driving experience, expensive in high specs
Peugeot has recently refreshed its e-208, with this electric supermini getting a more stylish look, additional technology and also a new longer-range derivative. It gets a more powerful 154bhp motor and 51kWh battery pack that Peugeot claims allows for 258 miles from a charge and sits alongside the existing 50kWh and 134bhp version with its official 225 miles. Prices for the e-208 have been cut by around £3,000 recently and now start from £29,950 for the 50kWh model and £1,000 more for the 51kWh version.
For the urban warrior, the outright driving range is perhaps not as important as the e-208’s neat blend of style and practicality. A well-made, eye-catchingly attractive car, the e-208 avoids shouting about its eco-piety – almost the only difference between this and a petrol version is the green label on the EV number plate – while offering the convenience of five doors. This makes it much easier to get into the back seats compared with the three-door only 500 Electric, which the Peugeot also out-does for driving range.
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.
