Best small electric cars 2025: the cheap EVs to choose
Think going electric has to be expensive? Well, the best small EVs prove otherwise, but which models are we talking about, and which one should you avoid at all costs?...
When they first began to appear on UK roads, electric cars were undoubtedly a rather expensive proposition for most drivers – but that's no longer the case. Indeed, thanks to the number of new electric models on offer, falling material costs and the introduction of incentives designed to get more buyers to go green, such as the Government's own grant for electric cars, the cost of going electric has fallen dramatically.
And there are now more small electric cars to choose from than ever before. The availale options vary wildly in terms of style and proposition, too, from models which barely look any different than their combustion-engined counterparts, to bespoke electric cars designed to make you stand out from the crowd. What they all share, though, is a value proposition which is hard to ignore – if you can charge them up at home or at work, then running an electric vehicle could slash your costs compared with a petrol or diesel-engined car.
With so many options to choose from, finding the best small electric cars is no easy feat, but that's where our expert team of road testers come in. They've spent thousands of hours behind the wheel of every small electric car on the market, assessing them in all the areas which electric car buyers prioritise. They've driven them over hundreds of miles on public roads, and back-to-back against key rivals at our private test track.
The result of that testing is the list you see here, where we've named the 10 best small electric cars you can buy, as well as the model we think you should avoid. You can read more about each of the models below by following the links through to our dedicated reviews. And if anything takes your fancy, you can also see what deals are available. We've also answered some common questions about small electric car ownership at the bottom of this story.
It's worth remembering that we define a small electric car as being anything which doesn't measure more than 4500mm in length, and while that means some larger models such as the Tesla Model 3 or BYD Seal don't qualify here, there are still lots of cracking options in this class – including our reigning What Car? Car of the Year.
Slideshow story: please click the right-hand arrow above to continue, or simply scroll down if you’re reading on your mobile
