Best five electric cars for under £25,000 to buy in 2025 — affordable EVs
Mega electric cars don’t have to cost mega money.
Aside from range and charging concerns, one of the most common accusations levelled at electric vehicles (EVs) is that they’re much too expensive. And while that’s often true of the sticker price (over time, electric cars often work out cheaper than combustion equivalents), forecourt price parity is getting closer, with more and more affordable models coming to the market every year.
Perhaps the best-known of the well-priced EVs is the MG4, which is one of an influx of new affordable electric cars from China that has helped transform the market with its practicality, range and remarkably impressive driving experience.
Wwhile we’re more than happy to recommend the MG to any number of drivers, it won’t be the right choice for everyone. So if you’ve discounted the Chinese-owned option, there are still some spectacular compact electric cars coming to market at the moment, and they won’t all break the bank.
Our picks of the best affordable (sub-£25,000) electric cars to buy right now aren’t always big, and they aren’t always fancy, but they’re interesting, fun, practical and very competitively priced, which gives them plenty of appeal.
Citroën e-C3
Priced from £21,990
Although the Citroën C3 is available in hybrid and electric forms, it’s the electric e-C3 that arguably provides the best value for money. With prices starting at less than £22,000, it’s remarkably cheap, especially for something that looks this fresh and funky.
Despite the modernity of the looks, the e-C3 is definitely billed as a budget model, designed to provide style and substance without breaking the bank. Yet the cheapest versions — the Plus models — come with a 10in touchscreen, alloy wheels and manual air conditioning, plus a digital instrument cluster and LED lights. Upgrade to the Max version and you can add satellite navigation, wireless phone charging and a winter pack with heated seats and a heated steering wheel.
The e-C3 certainly provides value, then, and it shows its worth on the road, too. The 111bhp motor is more than potent enough, and though a 44kWh battery doesn’t sound that big, it is at least enough for just under 200 miles of official range. Reckon on around 150 miles per charge on the motorway.
The only real catch, therefore, is the horrendously un-British tags dotted around the cabin, emblazoned with the cringe-worthy slogans “have fun” and “be cool.” It might have sounded good in Pierre’s Parisian marketing meeting, but Paul from Pontefract is going to hate them. After all, what self-respecting Brit enjoys enforced jolliness?
Vauxhall Frontera
Priced from £23,495
Customers of a certain age might be familiar with the Frontera name, but don’t go thinking this new model has anything to do with the massive 4×4 of old. Instead, the new compact SUV is available in hybrid or electric forms, and takes aim at the likes of the Dacia Jogger and KGM Tivoli at the budget end of the SUV spectrum.
Under the skin, meanwhile, the Vauxhall shares much with the Citroën C3 Aircross and the forthcoming Fiat Grande Panda, including some of its body panels. But while such convenient design feels a bit lazy, that doesn’t detract from a car that is, when all is said and done, wholly competent.
The basic electric models come with a 44kWh battery that’s good for 189 miles of range on the official test, and a more capacious battery option is on the way to provide around 250 miles of range between charges. From experience, those figures are unlikely to be achieved in the real world but they suggest the Frontera will at least have a useful range that prevents long journeys from being too much of a hardship.
Unfortunately, electric Fronteras will not be offered with seven seats, unlike hybrid examples, but they’re still very practical five-seaters. They have slightly fiddly infotainment systems but they drive nicely enough on their soft suspension, and are compact enough to be manoeuvrable around town.
Dacia Spring
Price from £14,995
The Spring has the distinction of being Britain’s cheapest electric car — at least for the time being — but that does mean it comes with some compromises.
Perhaps the most concerning issue for many customers will be the range, which is modest at best, with basic Springs getting a meagre 26.8kWh battery. That’s smaller than the battery in some plug-in hybrids these days, and leaves the Spring with an official range of 140 miles on a single charge. That makes this little Dacia very much an urban runabout, rather than a long-range EV.
It’s also pretty slow, with just 44bhp for entry level models and 64bhp on tap for the most powerful examples. We use the term “powerful” advisedly. But because electric motors deliver their might pretty much instantly, and the small battery means it’s a lightweight EV, the Spring still feels sprightly, and it’s really easy to drive in traffic.
We wouldn’t suggest using one for long-distance motoring — it’s of limited use for that — but there’s a charm to the Spring’s basic feel. It’s the car its customers need and nothing more, and it’s very honest about that, which makes it quite endearing.
Renault 5
Price from £22,995
The only car on this list to receive five stars in our road test, the Renault 5 has rapidly captured hearts and minds. Fresh to the market this year, the retro-styled electric hatchback will look quite familiar to those of a certain age.
Yet despite taking inspiration from its namesake of the 1970s, the Renault 5 is unmistakably modern, and not just because of its electric propulsion system. Customers get a choice of two battery packs — a 40kWh option is joined by a larger 52kWh option — and therefore a range of up to 255 miles on the official economy test. Even the 194-mile range of the smaller battery will be acceptable for some customers, though.
So the Renault 5 ticks the style and efficiency boxes, but there’s more to it than just that. The cabin is just as stylish as the bodwork, with cool seats and screens making it feel more premium than the size or the pricetag might suggest. And it drives beautifully, with plenty of poke from the motor, impressive agility and suspension that soaks up bumps like a premium car. It’s light and the chassis has been well developed, giving it a distinctive playfulness.
Admittedly, those who want performance from their electric hatchback might prefer the pricier Alpine A290, which is essentially a rally-inspired, go-faster version of the Renault, but there’s no need to choose that model. The standard car is much better value and almost as much fun.
Hyundai Inster
Price from £23,495
The newest Hyundai takes aim at the Dacia Spring with its slightly SUV-esque attitude, but it’s a little more expensive. And a little more useful.
Let’s start with what appears to be the sticking point for all cheap EVs — range. Officially, the long-range Inster will manage 223 miles on a charge, and though you probably won’t manage that on a long motorway drive, it still compares favourably with the 199-mile range of the Citroën e-C3 and the 140-mile official range of the Dacia Spring. While the Dacia is just a runaround, the Inster could conceivably travel further afield without too much trouble.
What’s more, the Inster makes excellent use of space in the cabin, with ample seating for four adults and plenty of headroom. It has plenty of equipment, too, with alloy wheels, a 10.25in digital instrument display and a touchscreen infotainment system all included as standard. We weren’t enamoured with the “care home bathroom”-like interior finish, but the real catch is that the boot is a bit small; something that can be rectified to an extent by sliding the rear seats forward when you are carrying tall rear-seat passengers.
On the road, the Inster is hardly sporty — base models come with a 95bhp electric motor, and top-of-the-range examples only get 115bhp — but the power delivery is sharp and the cute little Korean offering handles well enough, thanks to specific tuning to suit European tastes.
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