Cons: Woolly handling, frustrating control interfaces
If you are after value for money, particularly for an EV, the incoming Chinese manufacturers are a good place to start. The latest company with big plans for Europe is BYD, which is rapidly building a full range of electric cars. Its smallest model, for now, is the Dolphin.
It is by no means the best car on this list, but given the entry-level model costs £25,490, rising to £30,990 for the fully loaded long-range version, some of its flaws can be excused.
The handling is quite woolly and the leatherette is a bit naff, but the main problem of all BYDs is that the infotainment system is infuriating. Even though the screen is huge, it hides important settings in deep submenus and doesn’t integrate with phone mirroring very well.
However, you get all the equipment you could possibly wish for, the ride is fairly plush and real-world range that’s comfortably over 200 miles is not to be sniffed at. The Dolphin is also a tad larger than the other cars on this list, so it offers more interior space as well.
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Pros: Eye-catching styling, zippy performance, sophisticated ride and handling
Cons: Short battery range, expensive, small boot
Honda has taken a left-field approach with its first all-electric car, the Honda E – which is unusually compact for an electric car, and innovative in several ways.
A rear-mounted motor promises packaging efficiency (although the car itself fails to follow through with it), while all-independent suspension heralds the ride and handling sophistication of a bigger car.
The E is available in 134bhp and 152bhp forms, but neither has quite the battery capacity of rivals: 35.5kWh gross is all you get here, which makes for a claimed WLTP range of 136 miles maximum (with the car rolling on 16in wheels). In testing, we struggled to get much more than 100 from our test car, which had 17in rims.
