The fastest charging electric cars in the UK

If you're thinking of buying an electric car but have no experience of charging one up, you might be concerned about how long it will take to replenish your car's battery.

Well, the bad news is, it will take longer to 'fill up' even the best electric cars than any petrol or diesel vehicle. However, if you can find a fast enough public charger and have a car with rapid charging capability, you can slash the time it does take.

To help you decide whether electric motoring is for you and, if it is, which model suits your lifestyle, below we listed all the electric cars and SUVs we've test-driven, and ranked them in order of the maximum charging speed rating (in kW) available across the model range.

We've also given an estimate of how many miles of range you'll be able to add by plugging it into a rapid charger for a 10-minute "pitstop" top-up. So, starting with the fastest charging electric car in the UK by kW rating, here are all the electric car models we've reviewed listed in order of charging speed...

Electric cars ranked by charging speed

250kW to 320kW

Depending on how efficiently a car uses its charge, a 10-minute battery top-up at 270kW should add around 120 miles of range.

Porsche Taycan (2024 onwards) 320kW

Audi e-tron GT 270kW

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore – 270kW

Porsche Macan Electric – 270kW

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo – 270kW

Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo – 270kW

Tesla Model 3 – 250kW

Tesla Model S – 250kW

Tesla Model X – 250kW

Tesla Model Y – 250kW

200kW to 249kW

At 200kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 90 miles of range.

Kia EV6 – 238kW

Kia EV6 GT – 238kW

Kia EV9 – 238kW

Genesis Electrified GV70 – 233kW

Genesis GV60 – 233kW

Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 238kW

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – 238kW

Hyundai Ioniq 6 – 233kW

BMW i5 – 205kW

Polestar 2 – 205kW

Mercedes EQS – 200kW

Mercedes EQS SUV – 200kW

Volvo C40 Recharge – 200kW

150kW to 199kW

At 150kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 50 miles of range.

BMW i7 – 195kW

BMW iX – 195kW

BMW i4 – 180kW

Audi Q4 e-tron – 175kW

Cupra Born – 175kW

Skoda Enyaq Coupé iV vRS – 175kW

Volkswagen ID. Buzz – 175kW

Volkswagen ID.7 – 175kW

Audi Q8 e-tron – 170kW

Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron – 170kW

Mercedes EQE – 170kW

Mercedes EQE SUV – 170kW

Volkswagen ID.3 – 170kW

Volvo EX30 – 153kW

BMW iX3 – 150kW

BYD Seal – 150kW

Ford Mustang Mach-E – 150kW

Lexus RZ – 150kW

Renault Scenic E-Tech – 150kW

Smart #1 – 150kW

Subaru Solterra – 150kW

Toyota bZ4X – 150kW

100kW to 149kW

At 100kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 40 miles of range.

KGM Torres EVX – 145kW

Skoda Enyaq (excluding vRS) – 143kW

Skoda Enyaq Coupé (excluding vRS) – 143kW

Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron – 135kW

MG4 EV – 135kW

Volkswagen ID.4 – 135kW

Volkswagen ID.5 – 135kW

BMW iX1 – 130kW

BMW iX2 – 130kW

Mini Countryman Electric – 130kW

Nissan Ariya – 130kW

Renault Megane E-Tech – 130kW

Smart #3 – 130kW

Volvo XC40 Recharge – 130kW

Mercedes EQA – 112kW

Mercedes EQB – 112kW

Mercedes EQC – 112kW

Jaguar I-Pace – 104kW

Hyundai Kona Electric – 102kW

Citroën ë-C4 – 101kW

Citroën ë-C4 X – 101kW

Peugeot e-208 – 101kW

Vauxhall Mokka Electric – 101kW

DS 3 E-Tense – 100kW

Fiat 600e – 100kW

Jeep Avenger – 100kW

Peugeot e-308 – 100kW

Peugeot e-308 SW – 100kW

Peugeot e-2008 – 100kW

Vauxhall Astra Electric – 100kW

Vauxhall Combo Life Electric – 100kW

Vauxhall Corsa Electric – 100kW

50kW to 99kW

At 50kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 20 miles of range.

MG ZS EV – 94kW

BYD Atto 3 – 89kW

BYD Dolphin – 88kW

MG5 EV – 87kW

Abarth 500e – 85kW

Electric Fiat 500 – 85kW

Honda e:Ny1 – 78kW

Kia Soul EV – 77kW

Kia Niro EV – 72kW

ORA Funky Cat – 64kW

Lexus UX 300e – 50kW

Up to 49kW

Mini Electric – 49kW

Honda e – 46kW

Nissan Leaf – 46kW

Renault Zoe – 46kW

Mazda MX-30 – 36kW

Smart EQ Forfour – 22kW

Smart EQ Fortwo – 22kW

Citroën Ami – 3.6kW

How we compiled our fastest charging EVs list

This information has been gathered from a selection of sources – including manufacturer websites, press-release information and the EV Database

We've quoted the maximum charging speed that should be achievable by the quickest-charging versions of each model. Not every version of each car will be able to charge at the speed listed – often the fastest charging capability is reserved for the model with the biggest battery capacity.

You can read more about how speeds vary across the range by following the link from each model's name to our full new-car review.

Note that electric cars vary the rate of charge to protect the battery, so the charging rate usually slows down as it gets close to capacity.

Read more: The best electric cars in the UK

Read more: The best electric SUVs in the UK

Read more: How long does it take to charge an electric car?

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