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Best small electric cars 2021

Published: 29 October 2021

► The best small electric cars of 2021
► Our guide to the UK's top compact EVs
► Plus our buying advice

With the shift to electric cars now gathering pace, there are a range of small, compact vehicles to choose from that have ditched their engines in favour of motors.

To begin with manufacturers largely focused on big SUVs such as the Audi e-Tron and Mercedes EQC, but now city cars, hatchbacks, superminis and small crossovers are getting just as much attention.

In many ways, small electric cars make the most sense of all: needing smaller batteries and less powerful motors means they’re much cheaper than their larger counterparts, and being lighter leads to higher efficiency.

Further electric car reading:

The only real drawback is that you won’t get as much range from a small electric car, but this won’t matter for most drivers as these vehicles tend to cover shorter journeys anyway. If you’ve got your own off-street parking, charging will never be an issue.

Intrigued? Keep scrolling to read about the best small electric cars of 2021.

The best small electric cars in 2021

Mini Electric

 

  • From £26,000
  • Range: 140-145 miles

 

A fully electric Mini wasn't even in the product plan when the F56 generation debuted in 2014, but here we are. If you want a Mini and want to go electric, this is a Mini to look at, sit in and (mostly) drive. The brand's brief of delivering a three-door car that is largely indistinguishable from its combustion-engined compatriots has been delivered in full.

However, if you simply want a small electric car, the Mini Electric is beset on all sides with fiercely competitive rivals and is a touch less convincing because of it. If you look elsewhere, you can get the same range for less, more range for a similar price or a far more interesting car. Who'd have thought a Mini would be outdone in the character stakes?

In any case, prices start from £26,000 once you’ve knocked off £2,500 courtesy of the Government’s plug-in car grant.

Read our review of the Mini Electric here

View Mini Electric lease deals

Mercedes EQA 

 

  • From £44,495
  • Range: 264 miles

The Mercedes EQA is the second EV from Stuttgart, and aims to offer a cheaper way into the brand’s quickly expanding EQ range. Priced from £44,495, the EQA undercuts a lot of the competition. It lacks the flair and focus of its electric rivals, but it undercuts them anyway; its price tag is significantly cheaper than the BMW iX3’s £60k asking price, or Volvo XC40 Recharge’s £53k one. Add in a competitive range, and it gets easier and easier to ignore the Mercedes’ dull looks.

Read our review of the Mercedes EQA

View Mercedes EQA lease deals

Honda E

 

  • From £29,165
  • Range: 137 miles

What an interesting little conundrum the Honda e is. Its dinky size, cute face and properly cool interior are the biggest draws in its charm arsenal, so much so that some might overlook the low-ish available range and the price higher than other city EVs (it starts at £26,660 in the UK). It accelerates well enough and betrays its EV brethren by having, in some bases, better control feel, which is impressive when compared to some electric car rivals. We like it. A lot.

Read our Honda e review

View Honda e lease deals

BMW i3

 

  • From £31,305
  • Range: 182-190 miles

Until autumn 2018, you could pick your BMW i3 in pure electric or plug-in range-extender forms – but the get-you-out-of-jail petrol engine onboard was dumped for 2019. The i3 EV is the simplest of all, and mixes clever F1-spec carbonfibre construction with futuristic styling to make a great city car.

With the tightest turning circle you've ever driven, this tiny BMW is extremely agile around town and there’s plenty of room in both rows of seats for bodies, although a small boot is a blot on the copy book. It feels every inch a small BMW to drive, with agile handling and that Germanic precision to the controls that impart a true premium feel. Thanks to some jiggling of the numbers in spring 2021, the i3 now costs from £31,305 once that government grant has been deducted.

Read our BMW i3 long-term test review

View BMW i3 lease deals

Renault Zoe

Renault Zoe 2020

 

  • From £27,595
  • Range: 245 miles

The Renault Zoe is one of our favourite small electric cars and is fair value at around £27,595, again once you’ve factored in the Government's Plug-in Car Grant.

 This is a bespoke EV and now in its second generation. The latest update includes a battery pack with a 245-mile capable range under the official WLTP cycle. Latest tech from the most recent Clio has found its way inside, and the previous generation is cracking value secondhand.

Read our Renault Zoe review

View Renault Zoe lease deals

 

VW e-Up

VW eUp 2020

  •  From £20,195
  • 'A Smeg fridge on wheels', we opined when we first drove the electric Up city car in 2017. Despite having a name that'd make a Yorkshireman grimace, the e-Up is a typically polished Germanic affair with all the usual Volkswagen quality and attention to detail.

Its £20,135 price tag (after the Government grant) balances will with its claimed 162-mile range (which is a much easier pill to swallow than the 99-mile claim of the pre-updated car). It's simple, no-nonsense and zero-emission transport; it won't set your soul alight but if you're looking for an easy-going electric city car, it should be on your shortlist.

Read our VW e-Up review

View VW e-Up lease deals

Peugeot e-208

  • From £27,225
  • Range: 217 miles

Undercutting the Renault Zoe on price to the tune of a few hundred quid, the Peugeot e-208 will give buyers a serious headache if choosing between the two. Its 50kWh battery doesn’t offer quite as much range - 217 miles succumbs to the Zoe’s 245 - but the e-208 has a lot going for it in other areas. For a start it’s considerably more stylish inside and out, with high-quality materials in the cabin designed to attract drivers after a more premium experience.

A 136bhp motor drives the front wheels for 0-62mph in 8.1sec and the e-208 will take a 100kW charge, replenishing the battery to the tune of six miles per minute. If you’re not convinced you could always look at the Corsa-e, which is Vauxhall’s take on what is essentially the same car.

Read our Peugeot e-208 review

Fiat 500

  • From £20,995
  • Range: 118 miles

The latest-generation Fiat 500 has gone electric only, but on the face of it the entry-level version’s 118 miles of range looks quite stingy in comparison to the other cars on the list. However, that's from the ‘City Range’ 24kWh battery; upgrade to the ‘Long Range’ 42kWh unit and you’ll be looking at a much healthier 200 miles, albeit having added about £5,000 to the purchase price.

Go for the latter and you’ll get a more powerful motor thrown in, delivering 116bhp and a 0-62mph time of around nine seconds. Crucially it’s the first half of that sprint where the 500 is quickest, and as a city car it’s where most drivers will appreciate its acceleration the most. It handles like a 500 should and the interior is exactly what you’d expect: chic and plasticy. In a good way. 

Read our Fiat 500 review

By Curtis Moldrich

CAR's online editor and racing-sim enthusiast

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