Top 15 Best Electric Vehicles
As the distance an electric vehicle can travel between charges increases and the charging station infrastructure improves, so does the popularity of electric vehicles themselves. They are already quite viable compared to gasoline or diesel counterparts.
The first electric vehicles, which appeared about 10 years ago, offered their owners a range of about 129 kilometers and were 50% more expensive than gasoline analogs. Today, in many cases, the real range has more than doubled and price differences have almost disappeared.
Electric vehicles have certainly gone from being a niche product for affluent enthusiasts to mass transportation for a long time. Electric cars continue to fall in price, new items of various body formats appear, and for every wallet. Let’s dwell on the models with the optimal balance of price and quality, which can be bought in Europe this year.
Battery cars allow you to travel in silence, do not require expensive fuel, do not pollute the atmosphere, are often tax-free like conventional cars, and in some countries are also cheaper than market value thanks to government subsidies. Considering all these factors, it is not surprising that all over the world electric cars are confidently replacing cars with internal combustion engines.
Kia Soul EV
The third generation of the KIA Soul is entering European markets exclusively as an electric vehicle. Despite the body shape, the electric car rides well, performs well, and is lightweight. The 64 kWh battery guarantees 450 miles of range.
Volkswagen e-Up
The Volkswagen e-Up is an upgraded standard hatchback. This circumstance brings significant cost savings in the production of an electric vehicle, which ultimately leads to a decrease in its cost. The mileage without recharging the battery is approximately 150 kilometers. This brand of electric vehicles can serve as a very convenient urban transport.
Peugeot e-208
The all-electric version of the Peugeot 208 is one of several PSA Group compact cars to hit the market this year. With a combination of performance, cost, practicality, style, and high quality, the electric vehicle deserves the highest marks.
The electric 208 appeared in Peugeot quite unexpectedly ‒ without traditional announcements and teasers, and the new product immediately became available for order. A supermini with an electric power plant for 136 forces and a battery of 50 kilowatt-hours can travel up to 340 kilometers on a single charge ‒ 10 kilometers more for a soplatform and is technically identical to the Opel Corsa-e. European prices start at 30,450 euros (top variant ‒ 36,600 euros), but the manufacturer promises to later include a more affordable version of the e-208 in the lineup.
The Peugeot E-208’s practicality ‒ on par with the Renault Zoe and better than the Mini Electric, sophistication outperforms both of these key rivals, and performance is quite high.
Experts note that the Peugeot E-208 handles well and holds the road well. The small power reserve of 274 kilometers is offset by the price and appearance.
Jaguar I-Pace
The I-Pace is the first electric vehicle not only for Jaguar but for the Jaguar Land Rover as a whole.
In Top Gear’s list of the best electric vehicles, Jaguar I-Pace took the honorable second place after Model 3: “Jaguar walks boldly into the unknown ‒ and succeeds. The I-Pace is a fast, desirable, stylish SUV that’s also electrically charged.” Unlike many other electric vehicles, the Jaguar I-Pace has been designed from the ground up, not a modified ICE or hybrid model. The declared cruising range is 480 km.
Renault Zoe
The designers of the French automotive corporation Renault Group have developed an electric car that can travel 240 kilometers without recharging. Currently, this electric car cannot boast of a range. Despite this, Renault Zoe is very popular in the European automotive markets. Buyers are quite satisfied with the price and design of this electric vehicle. According to experts, Renault Zoe will continue to occupy a leading position in the top ten electric vehicles for a long time.
The French city car is one of the old-timers of the European market. The second generation of the model received a battery almost twice as large as that of the first Zoe ‒ 41 kWh, against 22 for its predecessor. The new battery increased the range on a single charge from 150 to 240 kilometers. And with an increased 52 kWh battery, Zoe’s range can reach 395 kilometers. At the same time, after changing the generation, Zoe has kept extremely affordable price tags.
Audi e-Tron GT
The E-Tron GT from Audi will be the brand’s third all-electric vehicle to be presented in production by the end of this year. The car will receive four-wheel drive, the total power of the two electric motors will be 590 liters. The car will accelerate to 100 km / h in just 3.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of about 240 km / h. The range on the WLTP cycle is estimated at 400 km while charging up to 80 percent via the 800-volt system takes just 20 minutes. Thanks to the recuperation system, deceleration up to 0.3g can be used without the aid of disc brakes. The interior uses sustainable materials, including vegan leather. The Audi e-Tron GT is essentially a relative of the Porsche Taycan and is expected to cost around $130,000.
Volkswagen ID.3
There are quite a few electric vehicles in the Volkswagen family, but the ID.3 is perhaps the most important. It will be available starting at $30,000 and will be offered in three trim levels and is very similar to the Golf. As the company describes, the interior of the car is the size of the Passat, and the technical specifications are the Golf GTI. The base model has a range of 330 km on the WLTP cycle, while the top version can travel 550 km. The 10-inch infotainment screen inside replaces most of the buttons and switches and can be used to control almost everything except for opening windows and emergency lights. In total, Volkswagen plans to produce 15 million electric vehicles by 2028.
Mini Electric
When it rolls off the assembly line in March 2020, the Mini Electric will be the cheapest all-electric car in the BMW concern and will cost less than the BMW i3. The car can accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in 7.3 seconds, and the engine power is 184 hp. and 270 Nm. The maximum speed is limited at around 150 km / h, the range on the WLTP cycle will vary from 199 to 231 km, and the battery can be recharged to 80 percent at the fast-charging station in just 35 minutes. The cabin has a 6.5-inch touchscreen and a Harmon Kardon audio system.
Tesla Model S
Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization that publishes the magazine of the same name and conducts comparative reviews and tests of consumer products and services, in 2015 gave the Model S p85D the highest rating in its 90-year history. The American magazine Wired, one of the most authoritative publications on modern technology, in one of its articles called the Model S “the coolest car on the planet.”
Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization that publishes the magazine of the same name and conducts comparative reviews and tests of consumer products and services, in 2015 gave the Model S p85D the highest rating in its 90-year history. The American magazine Wired, one of the most authoritative publications on modern technology, in one of its articles called the Model S “the coolest car on the planet.”
The Model S was unveiled in the summer of 2012. Pretty quickly, it overtook the luxury sedans of such German brands as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi in popularity ‒ first in the United States, and in 2018 in Europe.
BMW i3
Experts call the German electric car BMW i3 the most controversial electric car in the modern car industry. This model cannot be identified with the Bavarian brand. Also, the BMW i3 has a very impressive price tag. However, buying this electric car can be beneficial for BMW car lovers. The developers of the BMW i3 are working on improving this model. In the future, they intend to increase the range and power of the BMW i3.
The BMW i3 has a rare quality for an electric vehicle ‒ an attractive and unusual design. Thanks to the lightweight carbon chassis, the electric vehicle is lightweight.
The 168 hp electric motor (up to 181 hp for the i3S) offers maximum torque at zero rpm. Even though the maximum speed of the car is only 160 km / h, it has high performance.
With a 42.2 kWh battery, the electric vehicle covers 241 kilometers. Until recently, BMW offered a long-range version thanks to a backup gasoline engine, but this has not been available since 2018.
Hyundai Kona Electric
Until recently it seemed impossible to get an electric car with a range of 600 kilometers for less than $37,000, but that changed with the arrival of the Hyundai Kona Electric.
The electric car turned out to be head and shoulders above the competition in its class in terms of range and acceleration, even two years after release.
Experts point out that the interior of the Hyundai Kona Electric does not at all correspond to a practical full-size hatchback and could be more spacious. Separate complaints are awarded to the tires supplied in the kit, as well as the weight of the electric vehicle.
This bright and compact SUV can reach 613 km on one full battery charge, which is twice the previously announced figure. To achieve this indicator, the company’s specialists tested the car under certain conditions. The car was tested in dynamic driving mode at high speed with maximum energy recovery. It should be noted that the test was carried out on an electric vehicle powered by a lithium polymer battery.
Polestar 2
The all-wheel-drive electric vehicle with a 300 kW (408 hp) power plant will be the second in the Polestar family (Volvo brand). In terms of impressive technical characteristics, it will resemble its predecessor ‒ acceleration to hundreds in 4.7 seconds, a power reserve of 600 km in the WLTP cycle. The interior of the Polestar 2, starting at $ 65,000, will feature an 11-inch Android infotainment system for the first time, and owners will be able to open the car using “Phone-as-Key” technology.
Honda E
One of the newest models on the market and at the same time one of the most technologically advanced. The Japanese supermini is inferior to rivals in a very important, if not the main, characteristic for electric cars ‒ power reserve. The Honda E makes up for this shortcoming with good equipment.
The EV is available in 134 and 151 hp variants, but neither has the battery capacity of the competition and the maximum power reserve of the Honda E is 220 kilometers.
Autocar experts note a good level of driving at an average pace, as well as responsiveness during maneuvers.
Inside, the Honda E is even smaller than the Mini Electric, but as a city electric car, it is quite suitable.
Tesla Model 3
Although General Motors was ahead of Tesla, presenting the Chevrolet Bolt a few months earlier, the Model 3 nevertheless became a much more significant event for the auto industry. Its cost in the basic configuration was $35 thousand ‒ two times cheaper than other Tesla models. The mileage of an electric car on a full charge is 345 km.
Tesla’s management has promised its customers such a “people’s” electric car since the very foundation of the company. Elon Musk even stated that he believes that this machine is capable of changing the world. “It is very important to accelerate the transition to transport that will not harm the environment,” said Musk. “This is very important for the future of the planet.”
The Model 3 received over 100,000 pre-orders even before the electric car was unveiled. It is now the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States.
Porsche Taycan
The fact that Porsche is launching electric vehicles speaks volumes. The highly anticipated Taycan, with a starting price tag of $108,000, is a four-door, five-seater sedan with an electric motor on each axle and a range of 450 km on a WLTP cycle. It will be available in Turbo and Turbo S versions. The latter will receive a power plant delivering 460 kW (616 hp) with the option of overboost to increase power in 2.5 seconds to 560 kW (750 hp). As a result, acceleration to hundreds will take 2.8 seconds, and the maximum speed will be 260 km / h.
The Porsche Taycan electric car was named Car of the Year in Germany at the German Car of The Year (GCOTY), which is extremely important for the German automaker, which is trying to distance itself from Dieselgate by providing potential buyers with an environmentally friendly alternative.
35 cars were nominated for the 2020 Best Car Awards, with 5 brands making it to the final: Porsche, BMW, Opel, Mazda, and Peugeot.
The German Car of The Year award traditionally recognizes cars in terms of performance, innovation, and market relevance. Also, the nominees for the German Car of the Year title were tested on the track and at the Bilster Berg Road Safety Center. Profile German car journalists took part in the voting. Significantly, the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace also won the award last year.
“We are very proud to have convinced the expert jury of the benefits of the Porsche Taycan and won the German Car of the Year 2020 award. This award confirms once again that we have chosen the right path with our strategy to put a real Porsche on the road, even with electric drive,” comments Porsche CEO Oliver Blum.
The Porsche Taycan is the first mass-produced electric vehicle with 800V on-board voltage instead of the 400V typical of other electric vehicles. It will take a little more than 5 minutes to charge the model’s battery from high-speed charging with constant current, thus increasing the range by an additional 100 km.