Here at CAR magazine, we’re excited about the upcoming bonanza of small electric vehicles (EVs) in 2025. We love these city-friendly hatchbacks because they make EV technology more accessible, and they’re often at their most efficient around town, where energy recuperation is easier and the instant electric torque shines.
Shop small, and you get the benefits of an EV while minimizing the downsides. You get the same quick acceleration and quiet interior as a larger EV. And since small EVs are designed for city driving (with ample charging points), range anxiety is less of a concern. You’ll also find they are more efficient at lower speeds and in stop-start traffic, meaning you go further on a single charge.
So, what are the best small electric cars coming in 2025?
Best Small Electric Cars to Buy in 2025
Renault 5 E-Tech
- Best small electric car all-rounder – it’s brilliant!
- Pros: Style icon, great interior, attractively low pricing
- Cons: Limited real-world range, tight on rear-seat space
The Renault 5 is arguably the most significant car to arrive in the UK in 2025. The French carmaker has done a remarkable job of reviving an icon. It looks fantastic and turns heads in a way that supercars ten times the price can’t manage. It’s everything you’d want from a small car: perfectly sized for the city, nippy, and great fun to drive. The interior is fantastic, boasting a top-class infotainment system with in-built features such as Google Maps and Google Assistant. There’s a choice of 40kWh or 52kWh batteries, offering a WLTP driving range of 194 and 255 miles, respectively. Starting at £22,995, the new Renault 5 is one of the cheapest new EVs you can buy. Read our Renault 5 E-Tech review.
Fiat Grande Panda
- Best small electric car for no-holds-barred design, practicality and pricing
- Pros: Stylish yet practical, bursting with details, comfortable around town, cheaper than all rivals
- Cons: Not as roomy in the back as we had hoped, some driving range concerns
Following closely behind the Renault 5 is the 2025 Fiat Grande Panda. The design team has been given free rein, and it shows. There are clear hints of the 1980 original, including some useful practical features inside, such as a dashboard shelf, but otherwise, this is pure Italian modernism. Based on the same platform as the Citroen e-C3, it’s not the sharpest car to drive. Starting at just £20,975, it is a genuine bargain. Read our Fiat Grande Panda review
Citroen e-C3
- Best small electric car for comfort
- Pros: Great value, spacious rear seats, very comfortable
- Cons: Roly-poly handling, awkward-shape boot
Few small electric cars can tick as many boxes as the new Citroen e-C3. It’s a compact EV, offering plenty of scope for longer trips, with its claimed 199-mile range and speedy 100kW rapid charging speeds. Priced from £21,990, the e-C3 undercuts many electric supermini rivals, yet still provides a modern interior with plenty of on-board equipment and tech. The e-C3’s soft and comfortable ride is ideal for Britain’s potholed roads, but be mindful that it does result in roly-poly handling if you drive enthusiastically.
Fiat 500 Electric
- Best small electric car for style and image
- Pros: Stylish, good to drive, nicely put together
- Cons: Cramped, short range with cheaper model
The Fiat 500 Electric shares its retro-chic styling with the old internal combustion engine (ICE) car but is entirely different underneath. The small petrol engines have been replaced by a battery pack and an electric motor driving the front wheels. The standard version comes with a 24kWh / 94bhp combo capable of a claimed 118 miles of driving range or a more powerful 42kWh / 116bhp variant claiming 199 miles. The 500e is cool to look at and perfectly suited for tight city streets. Prices start from £24,995 for the smaller battery and £27,995 for the larger.
Peugeot e-208
- Best small electric car for style and practicality
- Pros: Attractive inside and out, five-door access, decent electric range
- Cons: Lack-lustre driving experience, expensive in high specs
Peugeot has recently refreshed its e-208, adding more stylish looks, additional technology, and a new long-range derivative. It gets a more powerful 154bhp motor and a 51kWh battery pack which Peugeot claims allows for 258 miles from a charge, which sits alongside the existing 50kWh and 134bhp version with an official 225 miles. For the urban driver, the e-208’s blend of style and practicality is attractive. The e-208 offers the convenience of five doors, making it easier to get into the back seats compared with the three-door 500 Electric.
Hyundai Inster
- Best small electric car if you want something as spacious as possible
- Pros: Incredibly spacious for its size, funky design, decent range
- Cons: Only four seats, crashy ride
If you want maximum interior space in the smallest package, the Hyundai Inster is a strong recommendation. It’s one of the best-packaged new cars, with individual rear seats that slide forwards and backward and a boot space of up to 351 litres. It has four seats, but the design might not be to everyone’s taste. Prices start from an attractive £23,495, and there’s a choice of a 42kWh or 49kWh battery, bringing claimed ranges of 203 and 229 miles, respectively.
MINI Cooper Electric
- Best small electric car for driving fun
- Pros: Great fun to drive, good price, much-improved range
- Cons: Still not very practical, doesn’t feel as premium as the previous car
The MINI Cooper Electric proved popular when it launched in 2020, but its range was always a concern. Mini has addressed this with its new Cooper Electric, which is now cheaper (starting from £30,000) and brings a much longer range – up to 249 miles in the top-spec Cooper SE. This Mini is still enormous fun to drive, with fun handling and strong performance.
Vauxhall Corsa Electric
- Best small electric car for keeping things conventional
- Pros: Like an e-208 with a sensible dashboard, Long Range model available, popular
- Cons: Dull
The Peugeot e-208 can be great, but not everyone gets along with its ‘i-Cockpit’ driving position. If you like everything else about the Peugeot but are not a fan of the i-Cockpit, consider the Vauxhall Corsa Electric. It is essentially the same technology in a plainer (or duller, if we’re being harsh) design. Prices start from £26,895. Like the e-208, there’s either a 134bhp/50kWh model or a 154bhp/51kWh.
Jeep Avenger
- Best small electric car if you want something resembling an SUV
- Pros: Fun styling, easy to drive, good around the city
- Cons: Limited rear-seat space, interior feels a bit cheap
The Jeep Avenger is a dinky car, at just 4.1m-long. It could also be considered a Jeep. Compressed proportions make it surprisingly excellent to use around the city. As the Avenger falls from the Stellantis tree, it gets the same 154bhp electric motor and 51kWh battery as the Corsa Electric and e-208, allowing for fairly sedate performance and up to 248 miles of range. Rear-seat space, however, isn’t as generous as plenty of superminis. The slashed prices mean the Avenger now starts from £29,999.
