Electric cars are steadily becoming more and more popular as the UK becomes more eco-friendly and petrol prices refusing to go down.
But venturing into the market for your first EV can be daunting with a range of questions needing answering. How much should you spend? How far should the car be expected to go on one charge?
I'm as interested as any in the new wave of EVs and had the chance to test seven in one single day at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Trader’s annual test day at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford. In short, it is an opportunity for journalists to reacquaint, or in my case get to know, a whole host of cars currently on sale in the UK today.
I managed to get behind the wheels of the Hyundai Inster, Mini Aceman, MG S5, Ford Explorer, Leapmotor T03, BYD Sealion, and Ford Mach E Rallye.
My previous experience of electric cars up until this point had been two iterations of the brilliant Porsche Taycan, the Mercedes EQA SUV, and it’s bigger brother the EQC.
As a result, the test day was a good time to put a few more learnings through my head, shoulders, knees, toes, and bottom. With the number of electric cars on the rise in the UK, it’s probably a good idea to actually drive a few of them.
Top of the list of the electric cars I drove that day was the second cheapest of the septet, the Hyundai Inster.
The Hyundai Inster is a small city car whose starting price is just over £23,000. Think of it as like Hyundai’s electric equivalent of Fiat’s relaunch of the 500 in the 2000s. It’s a small car designed for cities with eye-catching looks and a funky interior; it’s not designed to break land speed records, just take to the shops and maybe the occasional long journey.
On Millbrook’s alpine handling course’s ever tightening turns and cambered sweeps it certainly ticked the fun box with a battery that, at its smallest is 42kWh, but can be given 49kWh if you opt for a more expensive model. The main competitors for this car are the likes of the Dacia Spring and Citroen e-C3, vehicles which I admittedly haven’t tested yet.
I loved how brave the interior of Inster was with its mix of tactile surfaces and buttons alongside the various storage options available. I was repeatedly reminded of Fiat's relaunch of the Fiat 500 in the early-2000s, and whilst that car divided opinion, it sold in the bucketload because of it's handling, personalisation, and fun looks. I think Hyundai may have pulled off the same trick.
However, it wasn’t the only intriguing electric car there.
Christopher's rating: 8/10
The Leapmotor T03 is currently the cheapest electric car on sale in the UK with prices starting at just over £15,000. Every single time I was out in a car, there was a Leapmotor gamely making an appearance somewhere, although this may have had something to do with the fact there were three of them.
Leaping aboard the Leapmotor it was easy to see why it was as relatively cheap as sold, although you could get superior cars for the same money on the second hand car market. Being so small, it was certainly nimble, but describe it as anything other than ‘briefly brisk’ would be too complimentary on its performance.
It’s not designed to go up against the Taycan or BMW i4, it’s designed for those who want an accessible entry into the EV world. Accessible it is, but one can’t help but feel the money would be better spent on a nearly-used petrol or hybrid car that was bigger.
Christopher's rating: 6/10
Speaking of bigger, the Ford Explorer SUV, the Blue Oval’s electrified family vehicle that I reviewed for the Mirror. It felt large and comfortable; but lacking in seat support that meant one didn’t feel entirely gripped during tight manoeuvring. It has a solid platform though which felt flat and level during said manoeuvring, particularly if a pothole was encountered or sudden stop required.
From a technological perspective, the battery size ranges from 52kWh all the way up to 79kWh with the former coming in rear-wheel drive form and the latter in four-wheel drive guise. On the road, there was good visibility thanks in large part to your raised driving position.
A potential rival to the Ford Explorer is the also very red MG S5, the Anglo-Chinese’s company latest attempt at an SUV product. After the ready success of its other SUV products the MG ZS and HS, the S5 EV was actually a bit of a surprise for how stable and firm it felt.
Unlike other electric cars, it has some genuine steering feel and you have a good idea as to what all four wheels are doing. I came back from it slightly charmed, and realised it would be tough choice between it and the Ford if it came to it.
Christopher's rating: 7/10
Just like the MG, the BYD Seal is Chinese and it was the first electric car that I have ever driven. Unlike the others, this was a genuine competitor to the Porsche Taycan and one of the highest performance electric saloons money can buy.
On the inside it had two massive touch screens and a few buttons on the steering wheel to ease your way into the experience. On the road, the amount of power was clear and evident.
It’s certainly a vehicle that would win the traffic light grand prix if given a chance and took to turns with a high degree of alacrity even if the steering was a little vague for my liking, but that’s just a personal preference.
Christopher's rating: 7.5/10
The final two electric cars to name were both from established brands, but very different in what they were trying to achieve. The Mini Aceman is another family SUV, a sort-of electric version of the Mini Countryman that we’ve become familiar with.
It’s got short overhangs front and rear that should help with parking and comes with MINI’s new interior styling that includes a new chunky steering wheel from BMW (who own MINI).
However, unlike the BMW 1 Series, this thick device felt at home in this family vehicle. All controls are directed through a touchscreen only central circular binnacle.
Through it you can choose moods and tune to the car’s radio etc. There’s also a head of up display if you don’t want to constantly move your head to the left to see how fast you’re going. Despite the eccentricities there were two major surprises.
The first was how well it handled and how much confidence one felt when the road got twisty, it cornered flat, but communicated you enough to let you know how much grip you had and where.
The second was rather more surprising, it played piano music whenever you hit the accelerator. I’m not joking, when you pressed your right foot down, music emanated from the speakers, rising to a crescendo if accelerating from a slow speed. I’ve never had this in a car, and although it would be charming, I can’t help but feel you’d be begging to find the way to turn it off after a few weeks. All in all, a good effort if you can find the silencer.
Christopher's rating: 7/10
The final car, the Ford Mach E Rallye, is a special run of cars from Ford. It’s based on their Mustang SUV and can best be thought of Ford applying the knowhow from the World Rally Championship to a family SUV. As a such, this was on treaded tyres and came with a cue rear wing and raised suspension.
It’s hard then, to put this in the same category as the other cars given how bespoke it is, but it was great to an experience an electric car probably not designed with mass market appeal in mind. It’s important we imbue electric cars with a sense of fun and the Mach E Rallye achieved that.
All in all, it was a productive day getting behind the wheel of several electric cars, and whilst the Hyundai Inster took the day, it was evidence that the world of electric cars in the UK is not without it’s varied and interesting choice.
Christopher's rating: 7.5/10
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