Welcome to Top Gear's Electric Awards 2025: the best EVs in the world right now

“Just look at it. Designed by a team led by the indefatigable Russell Carr, it has roughly the impact of a meteor that’s crash landed into Earth. Not bad for something the world’s had six years to get used to…”

“Lunacy is what the Renault 5 Turbo has always been about, its raison d’etre stretching back to the 1980 original is to shock, amaze, be unruly and make no sense…”

“If these cars reach production exactly as they are, Honda won’t be winning any awards for its naming strategy. Thankfully, the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV prototypes unveiled at CES 2025 both look incredible…”

“The standard Polestar 3 is technology turned up to 10. It’s a connected car that successfully channels cutting edge solutions, while also being a beautifully designed, clean driving and thoroughly useful SUV. But up here I need more, which must be why Polestar created the 3 Arctic Circle…”

“It’s still a G. Looks like a G, feels like a G, shimmies and shudders like a G, it’s engineered like a G, off roads like a G. Actually, it off roads better than any G before…”

“Sure, you’ve got a couple of modes to talk about with your pals over a quick bite at Nobu, but the essential Rolls-Royceness remains, now with added bragging rights…”

“The enormous breadth of smug ability served up by BMW’s vast i5 Touring means the rest frankly needn’t have bothered…”

“The Spring is actually surprisingly fun to drive. Not so much for passengers, there’s a lot of lean. It’s a bit like driving a modernised version of a 2CV…”

“I’m frankly staggered how the EV3 is taking all of this in its stride. The distance, the temperature, the relentless schedule, the impromptu off roading. No worries. No error messages or glitches…”

“It’s as fast as you could feasibly want to go…”

“The Ioniq 9 is surprisingly adroit. This is an upmarket play from Hyundai…”

“Down a road it has a harmony and neatness of motion. The damping is fluid and mature. So you feel confident working it hard. It’s a sophisticated car…”

“All this classic car stuff needn’t matter if you don’t care about car design history or cultural resonance. The new Renault 4 is a smart little modern car in itself, recognisably different from the waves of generic looking stuff washing up in dealers all over the country.

“In the EV age, design maters more and more…”

For the full stories on Top Gear’s best electric cars of 2025, pick up a copy of Top Gear magazine, out now