Which are the best electric cars in 2019?
Answering this question obviously depends on what you mean by ‘best’. There are many lists of the best electric cars, but they are all different.
We might claim the Mona Lisa is the best painting in the world. You might say it’s over-rated and definitely not the best. Whether something is the best for you depends on what you feel is most important. It’s the same in the world of EVs.
We have come up with our own, subjective, Top 10 electric cars list below. The main criteria we have taken into account are price, range, value for money, features, and build quality.
These are 100% Battery Electric Cars (BEVs), not hybrid cars – always zero emissions when driving.
Some electric cars also have an X factor – you can’t quite pin down why you like them so much, but you can feel it when you drive them.
If you buy or lease any of these cars, you won’t be disappointed. The best electric cars impress as soon as you start driving them. Once you clock up a few miles and realise how cheap they are to run, you’re hooked forever.
At the bottom of the page, we list all the electric cars currently available in the UK in price and range bands. If you want to know which EVs are best value for money, try our Best Value Electric Cars page.
All the cars were either released or refreshed in either 2018 or 2019.

1st Tesla Model 3, Standard Range Plus
Hi-tech, rear-wheel-drive saloon with very good range
Rivals: Kia e-Niro | Hyundai Kona Electric
Real-world range: 229 miles | from £39,490 | 5 seats | 4 doors
Battery size: 60 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 100 kW | More…


2nd Kia e-Niro
A family-sized SUV with incredible range for the price
Rivals: Hyundai Kona Electric | Nissan Leaf
Real-world range: 254 miles | from £32,995 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 64 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 80 kW | More…


3rd Jaguar I-Pace
Stunning, off-road capable, 4×4 SUV with excellent range
Rivals: Tesla Model X | Audi e-tron 55 quattro | Tesla Model S
Real-world range: 268 miles | from £60,995 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 90 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 100 kW | More…


4th Tesla Model X, Long Range
Versatile, sumptuous, hi-tech, long range SUV with up to 7 seats
Rivals: Audi e-tron 55 quattro | Jaguar I-Pace | Tesla Model S
Real-world range: 283 miles | from £83,690 | 5-7 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 100 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 200 kW | More…


5th Hyundai Kona Electric
Dynamic SUV, fantastic range for the price, great acceleration
Rivals: Kia e-Niro | Renault Zoe | Nissan Leaf
Real-world range: 251 miles | from £35,100 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 64 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 80 kW | More…


6th BMW i3
Futuristic-looking, agile, compact, reliable 4-seat hatchback
Rivals: Renault Zoe | Smart EQ forfour
Real-world range: 174 miles | from £31,680 | 4 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 42.2 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 50 kW | More…


7th Renault Zoe
Excellent value, compact but 5-seat, EV with good range
Rivals: Nissan Leaf | Hyundai Ioniq | Kia Soul EV
Real-world range: 167 miles | from £24,320 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 41 kWh | Fast charging: up to 22 kW | More…


8th Nissan Leaf
Very good value, family-sized hatchback with decent range
Rivals: Hyundai Ioniq | Renault Zoe | Kia e-Niro
Real-world range: 151 miles | from £27,995 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 40 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 50 kW | More…


9th MG ZS EV
Low-cost, 5-seat SUV with lots of features
Rivals: Kia e-Niro | Renault Zoe | Nissan Leaf
Real-world range: 147 miles | from £22,245 | 5 seats | 5 doors
Battery size: 44.5 kWh | Rapid charging: up to 80 kW | More…


10th Smart EQ fortwo coupe
Tiny, 2-seat, park anywhere, well-styled, city car
Rivals: Smart EQ fortwo cabrio | Smart forfour | VW e-up!
Real-world range: 74 miles | from £17,695 | 2 seats | 3 doors
Battery size: 17.6 kWh | Fast charging: up to 22 kW | More…





Best electric cars – Price
New electric cars in 2019 vary in price from £17,000 to over £100,000 with all the extras.
What a range in prices! The best electric cars are often neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive. You can see this from the Top 10 list above.
There will be a lot more electric cars coming out in 2020 – at all price points – but we expect there to be a lot of competition in the £20,000 to £30,000 range.
If you’re looking out for the Chevrolet Bolt EV, this model is not yet available in the UK.
Price is clearly a key driver for EV sales. Everyone has a budget. Here are four useful pricing bands, with cars listed in ascending price order, i.e. cheapest first. Price bands include the government grant:
Below £20,000
Citroen C-Zero, Peugeot iOn, Smart EQ fortwo coupe, Smart EQ forfour, Volkswagen e-up!, Smart EQ fortwo cabrio
£20,000 to £30,000
MG ZS EV, Renault Zoe, Kia Soul EV, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf
£30,000 to £40,000
BMW i3, Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia e-Niro, BMW i3s, Nissan Leaf e+, Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus
£40,000 to £50,000
£50,000 to £60,000
Above £60,000
Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes EQC, Audi e-tron 55 quattro, Tesla Model S Long Range, Tesla Model X Long Range, Tesla Model S Performance, Tesla Model X Performance



Best electric cars – Range
The number of miles you can travel on a single charge also varies enormously, from 70 to 338 miles.
At the cheap end of the EV market, range is pretty limited and this type of car is best suited to town and city driving. If you only ever drive a few miles around town each day, and want to eliminate emissions and pollution, a 70-mile range is fine.
If you need to travel long distances every day, then the best electric car for you will be in the 200+ miles band. It needn’t cost you an arm and a leg, either.
Here are some range bands for 100% electric vehicles, again in ascending order, i.e. lowest range first:
Up to 100 miles
Smart EQ fortwo cabrio, Smart EQ forfour, Peugeot iOn, Citroen C-Zero, Smart EQ fortwo coupe, Volkswagen e-up!
100 to 200 miles
Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen e-Golf, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, MG ZS EV, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3s, Renault Zoe, BMW i3
200 to 300 miles
Nissan Leaf e+, Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, Mercedes EQC, Audi e-tron 55 quattro, Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia e-Niro, Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model X Performance, Tesla Model X Long Range, Tesla Model 3 Performance
Above 300 miles
Tesla Model 3 Long Range, Tesla Model S Performance, Tesla Model S Long Range


