40 used electric car bargains from £5,000 to £40,000

They’re not fast, they won’t go very far, and they’re certainly not stylish, but when pretty much the only alternatives were a G-Wiz or a second-hand milk float, these largely identical triplets were pioneers. With just 64bhp and a 93-mile range, their specs look laughable now, but if all you want is cheap, clean urban transport minus the misery of taking the bus, then all three will do the job.

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We know Kia now as one of the very best EV manufacturers in the biz, and this is where it began, with the first-gen Soul EV. A range of 131 miles was impressive back in 2014 and is still usable now, and unlike most other EVs of its day, the electric Soul didn’t have looks that would make passing children point and laugh. Well, not much anyway. If you’re a couple, though, remember to use caution when telling people about ‘our Soul’.

Where it all began for proper, usable mass-produced EVs. The original Leaf proved to the world that electric cars didn’t have to be joy-deficient little boxes that would crumble like a cheap shortbread if you bumped into a wall at 5mph, and when the only other car to do so was the vastly more expensive Tesla Model S, Leafs sold by the bucketload. As a result, there are loads of dirt cheap examples around now, so shop around for a good one.

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Another favourite of early adopters, and it’s easy to see why. The Zoe was another early proponent of the ‘car that happens to be electric’ school of design, and back in 2013, that made it a deservedly popular thing. Just make sure you track down one with a battery that’s fully owned and not still under lease, lest you find yourself forking out monthly payments or having to buy out the lease yourself.

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The Smart Fortwo, née City Coupe, was envisioned as electric from day one, but after multiple trials, it wasn’t until 2012 that an electric Fortwo was actually ready for general sale. E-power just made sense here, making the Fortwo Electric Drive a zippy around-town companion. 90 miles of range was hardly stellar, but then you’d hardly be taking a petrol Fortwo far out of town, would you?

Will the i3 name being repurposed as the electric equivalent of the 3 Series erase the quirky original’s place in BMW history? We doubt it. This was a little egg-shaped pioneer, and with its carbon fibre chassis and incredible packaging, still feels ahead of its time now, never mind in 2014. By the time it died in 2022, it still felt fresher and more modern than most rivals, and had figures that stacked up too. Now, it’s a bargain. Simple as that.

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Who’da thunk it – the cheapest electric car you can buy new gets even cheaper once someone else has spent a few thousand miles scooting around town in it and farting into the seat (try not to think about that bit). The Spring is very much not a motorway car, especially in anaemic 44bhp form, but as an urban or rural runabout, it’s packed with charm and is about as simple and unthreatening a toe in the EV waters as it’s possible to get.

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Before the name became a whole range of futuristic-looking standalone EVs, there was this, the numberless Ioniq, a Prius-shaped aero bubble also available as a plug-in or self-charging hybrid and still beloved by minicab drivers. And largely by us to be fair: it looks a bit old fashioned with the way EV development has leapt forward in the ensuing years, but the original Ioniq remains an affordable and simple stepping stone into the world of EVs.

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This badge-engineered trio were the best city cars of their day, and making them electric did them no harm whatsoever. They were the thinking person’s little EVs, unpretentiously stylish and with a genuinely useful 161 miles of range following the 2020 update, which was the only form the Skoda and Seat were available in. We’d get either of them over the VW just to avoid the endless and tiresome ‘made in Yorkshire, was it?’ quips.

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You know the Vauxhall Corsa, right? The car that’s consistently been a favourite of new drivers, downsizing pensioners and lots of people in between for over 30 years now? Yeah, this is one of those, but electric. That means there are very few surprises to be found here. In fact, unless you’ve been following Vauxhall’s progress over the last few years, the biggest surprise might be that it’s actually a pretty good car.

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Besides supercars, we can think of few other cars than the Honda e where the amount of pre-release hype was so wildly disproportionate to the amount you actually see on the road. That of course, was largely down to its pathetic 137-mile range and eye-watering price, which at one point was knocking on the door of £40k. Now they’ve dropped down to under £15k, though, it’s far easier to appreciate what a genuinely lovely car it was. Thanks, depreciation!

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Before it started wowing us with the Ioniq range, Hyundai was quite content visually easing us into its electric offerings with the Kona EV. But those looks undersold what a gamechanger it was: back when 200-plus mile ranges were the preserve of £70k SUVs with posh badges, here was a car that would do 300 for less than half that. Even now, it represents one of the most usable EV packages for this sort of money on the used market.

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Holy depreciation, Batman. It should have been obvious from day one that the value of a high-end EV with a Jaguar badge was going to plummet like a block of lead down a well, but that means the I-Pace, a car that feels as fresh and drives as sweetly now as it did in 2018, is now available for less money than a brand-new supermini. Just avoid the very bottom end of the market – there be dragons. And by dragons, we mean life-ruining bills.

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The MG4 was one of the first Chinese EVs to make a real impact in the British market, and it’s still one of the best. With its rear-motor, rear-drive setup, it drives with an inherent alacrity and sweetness that’s missing from some of its rivals, and it looks pretty darn cool, too. Just be aware that at this price, you’re looking at a pre-facelift car, complete with ADAS systems more overexcitable than a Border collie puppy. Just nowhere near as adorable.

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If you ever did economics at school, you’ll be aware of the basic principle of supply and demand. And given that Tesla has shifted over three million Model 3s since it launched in 2017, it should come as no surprise that the used supply is both plentiful and cheap. It should also come as no surprise that, since Tesla caught the rest of the car industry napping when it came to EVs, it’s rather good at them these days.

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The Abarth 500e was one of the first real attempts at an electric hot hatch, and the enthusiast crowd… utterly ignored it. That is if they weren’t angrily gathering their virtual pitchforks. Their loss – it may not have the outright pace of some punchier EV hatches, or a particularly great range, but it’s fun, stylish and comes in some brilliantly zingy, day-brightening colours. Just make sure you get to grips with turning off the headache-inducing noise generator.

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Welcome back to Depreciation Corner, where we discover that the Audi e-tron (later renamed the Q8 e-tron), a luxury SUV that started north of £70,000 when new in 2019, is now available for considerably less than a base model VW Polo. Horrible news for original owners, but brilliant for anyone shopping around for a vast, comfy electric cruiser. Just be aware that it’ll now feel decidedly last-gen in areas like range and charging speeds.

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Everyone remembers where they were when the Hyundai Ioniq 5 was revealed. Okay, not really, but we do remember how gobsmacked we were when we first saw it. Hyundai building good cars had long stopped being surprising, but cars that looked this daring, this downright desirable? That was a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, the Ioniq 5 wasn’t just a pretty face – new or used, it remains one of the very best family EVs around.

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Despite being a Volvo offshoot, the Polestar 2 feels more like the sort of thing Saab would have been doing if it had survived into the electric age, only with a little of the handling nous you’d expect from a BMW and Tesla-ish techiness. There’s lots of good stuff going on here, basically, especially because even the shortest-range versions still get a respectable 275 miles on the WLTP test. And because it’s sold so well, used supply is plentiful.

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Not the most exciting EV around by any stretch, but the Megane E-Tech was an early indicator of just how right Renault was going to get its big EV push. It looks good, it’s got a classy and sensible interior, and it’s pleasant if not mind-blowing to drive. Lacks the wow factor of some of Renault’s newer retro-tastic EVs, but it’s way more usable as a long-distance EV, and second-hand, it’s cheaper too.

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You’d hope BMW would be the company to make a sporty electric saloon genuinely enjoyable to drive, and y’know what? It was. The i4 remains one of the best-handling EVs we’ve driven. £25k won’t get you a dual-motor M50 model, but you really don’t need it: get a RWD 40 model and enjoy its 369-mile WLTP range, its deft handling and the fact that once you’re inside it, you don’t have to look at that front grille.

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Nissan got in on the ground floor with EVs with the original Leaf, only to happily sit back and watch as everyone else overtook it. It’s finally started taking them somewhat seriously again though, with the Ariya serving as a big, comfy and spacious family wagon with a lovely cabin and an added dash of coupe-ness if that’s your jam. Just don’t expect excitement, even in the Nismo, which is one of the least convincing performance models ever.

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When it first launched, the Volkswagen ID.4 was, frankly, a bit of a mess. But when Volkswagen makes a mess, Skoda is ready and waiting with a very sensible dustpan and brush, and sure enough, the Enyaq refined the ID.4’s recipe into something that wouldn’t make you weep with frustration. Looks better, too. Just don’t bother with the vRS. Or the brain-meltingly pointless Coupe.

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For several of the last few years, the Tesla Model Y has been the best-selling car in the world. Not the best-selling electric car; the best-selling car full stop. You’d assume it must be doing something right, then, but you’d be wrong, because actually, it’s doing a lot of things right. Even if the pre-facelift car you’ll be getting at this budget isn’t quite as refined as the newer version, it’s still one of the most talented, complete EVs money can buy.

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Since renamed the EX40, this was Volvo’s first electric car, but there were very few teething troubles, because the fact is that the calm Scandi ambience of modern Volvos and the smooth, effortless whoosh of electricity go together like a sauna and an ice bath. What’s more, because an electric XC40 was part of the plan from day one, it’s barely compromised by sharing its bones with a petrol car. It just gets on with the job of being quietly lovely.

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It looks cool, it’s quite impractical, and it’s flawed but still exciting to drive. Yep, the 277bhp Junior Veloce is an Alfa through and through. The first car to employ a now-familiar Stellantis setup (see also Abarth 600e, Corsa GSE, e-208 GTi), pricing is a bit punchy new at £42,400, but lightly used examples can be found for a lot less. At that price, there aren’t many more fun EVs, although your fun will be curtailed by a fairly piddly range.

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One of the more convincing cracks at an electric hot hatch, although it’s more simmering than boiling on the heat scale, the Alpine A290 effectively takes the brilliant new Renault 5 and gives it a luxo-sport makeover and a bit of extra shove. It’s not been around for long, but £30k will already buy you used examples with the more powerful 217bhp motor, with which you’ll discover traces of that old Renaultsport magic when the right road presents itself.

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Like most of Audi’s electric cars, the Q4 e-tron doesn’t broadcast its electricalness to the world – it’s a small-ish, posh-ish family SUV first and an EV second, but it does a fine job of being both. It’s pleasant and practical inside, decent to drive, and gets a respectable range (311 miles WLTP for the older 82kWh cars you’ll be shopping for at this price). As with all these things, though, just avoid the Sportback ‘coupe’ version. Unless you’re a bit weird.

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576bhp, and 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. That’s more power than, and almost equal acceleration to, a Ferrari 458 Italia. In a Kia. That you can buy with reasonable mileage for under £30k. The mind truly boggles. The EV6 GT is more of a comfy high-speed cruiser than a cornering demon, but for this job, it’s mighty impressive, even if all that shove means some inevitable compromises when it comes to range (just 263 WLTP miles).

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The ID.7 felt like the moment when, after a slightly shaky start, VW’s ID electric cars finally hit their stride. In saloon form, it’s basically the electric heir to the old four-door Passat, but you can get a big booted Tourer too, and while the interior usability’s still not perfect, it’s leagues ahead of some earlier ID models. Range is good too: even on the smaller-batteried cars, you’re getting 373 miles WLTP for the Tourer, and 384 for the saloon.

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‘A lot of car for the money’ is a phrase that gets thrown around fairly liberally, but we can’t think of many more appropriate places to use it here. Even if £35k is only going to get you a pre-facelift base model Audi e-tron GT, that still means 469bhp, 62mph in 3.5 seconds and a 303-mile range, all wrapped up in one of the most handsome four-door bodies we’ve ever laid eyes on and a plush, high-quality interior. What’s not to like?

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Our used car browsing suggests that not many people have plumped for the 322bhp VZ version of the Cupra Born. Either that, or owners really love them and are clinging onto them. Whatever the reality, the Born VZ is a seriously well-executed electro-hot hatch with a lovely fluid chassis and a dash of RWD cheekiness, plus an interior that’s nicer to sit in and a tad easier to operate than its VW ID.3 GTX counterpart.

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Yeah, yeah, we know, not a proper Mustang. The name might have understandably ruffled a few feathers, but that doesn’t stop the Mustang Mach-E from being a properly accomplished thing with a decent chassis and a very strong, if no longer class-leading, range. If you really want, you can even get a 480bhp GT model in budget, but we’d stick to usual EV logic and get one of the cheaper, longer-range single-motor cars.

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Mercedes’ first batch of weird, pebbly-smooth EVs have not been universally beloved, not least by TG, but the EQE (saloon, E-Class sized, in case you’d understandably lost track) is comfortably the best of the bunch. It’s properly comfy and gorgeously appointed, and as an added bonus, the cheapest version, the 300, gets the best range at up to 380 miles. If you can live with the melty looks and slight cabin tech overload, it’s a very pleasant thing.

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Let’s get one thing out of the way: no, the Polestar 4 doesn’t have a rear windscreen. That means the design, and the kind of cocoon-ish rear seating area, won’t be for everyone. If you can look past that, though, it’s a very stylish, quick and pleasant-to-steer luxury… thing. We have no idea what to call this particular genre of car, frankly, but whatever it is, it’s good, especially now that prices are starting to drop.

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The i5 is only BMW’s longest-lived model, the 5 Series, making the jump into the electric age, so no biggie, really. Thankfully, BMW treated it with a suitable level of seriousness, and so the i5 gets comfortably the best dynamics in its class as well as, in our book, the best interior. There’s a handy 350-plus mile range for the i5 40 you’ll be looking at in this price range, too. Just a shame about those looks.

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As much as heartily recommending a coupe-SUV mashup makes us feel a bit icky, there’s no getting around the fact that the Cupra Tavascan is a very good car, easily cooking up the best version of the recipe it shares with the ID.5, Q4 e-tron Sportback, Enyaq Coupe and even the Ford Capri. Out of all of them, and indeed most of its rivals, it’s the best to drive, and in our book, one of the best-looking too. No wonder it seems to have held its value so far.

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Genesis’ other EVs are a bit compromised by having to fit all their electric gubbins into cars also designed to take combustion engines. Not the GV60, though: it’s the same car underneath as the EV-only Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, and as you’ll doubtless know by now, they’re both a very good starting point. Sure enough, the GV60 takes their strengths and throws in a dash of left-field luxury to create a hugely relaxing electric waftmobile.

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The Porsche Taycan’s Adventures in Depreciation have been well-documented, and while it doubtless caused some grief for early adopters, at least used bargain hunters can reap the benefit. Even though it’s getting on a bit, the Taycan remains a benchmark for EV driving enjoyment, and the 563bhp 4S, the most numerous version at this price point, offers up 62mph in 4.0 seconds and 318 miles of range with the Performance Plus battery.

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The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is far from perfect, especially because the early cars you’ll be looking at for this budget will mostly be saddled with a disappointing 255-mile range and a hateful infotainment system. But with its charming looks, joyful colour packet and gorgeous airy cabin, it’s one of those cars that’s incredibly easy to fall for, flawed or not. Seeing a Buzz makes people happy, and thus driving one makes you a better person. Fact.

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