The 10 best used electric cars of 2024

Love the idea of an electric car but not so keen on the sometimes steep asking prices? Then let us guide you through the best used EVs on sale.

With the growing maturity of the EV market there are more and more secondhand options available, from cute city cars to practical family SUVs, all at a more affordable price than when they were brand new.

Whether your priority is low cost, maximum range or driving fun, there’s an option for you as we run down 10 of our favourites.

Kia Soul EV – from £7,000

The Soul’s looks are unconventional but beneath the surface it’s a surprisingly spacious and practical stablemate to the more popular Niro. The first generation (2014-2020) offers a roomy but slightly cheap-looking interior, 110bhp motor and a 27kWh battery (later 30kWh) good for around 132 miles. You can pick one of those up for as little as £7,000. Second-gen cars start at £17,000 and keep the unique styling but with a nicer interior, nearly twice as much power and a 64kWh battery good for 280 miles.

Hyundai Kona – from £13,000

Hyundai is one of the car makers that has most successfully embraced the EV transition and the Kona has helped spearhead that. On sale since 2018, this mid-sized SUV is a practical family-friendly option with a high specification and interesting looks. A 39kWh battery version was available with 133bhp and a 189-mile range but the secondhand market is dominated by the 64kWh version with 201bhp and up to 300 miles of range, plus 100kW DC charging.

Renault Zoe – from £3,000

The Zoe has been on sale for a decade, meaning it’s an affordable way into EV ownership. While its compact size means it’s not a great family car it is stylish and decent to drive and makes an attractive used option. Early cars made do with a 22kWh battery and range of around 130 miles, but this was upgraded twice. The ZE 40, from 2017, offered 185 miles (claimed), while the 2019-onwards ZE 50 used a 52kWh battery with 240 miles of range.

Pre-facelift cars often came with a battery lease deal which kept costs down but tied owners into a monthly payment to Renault that gets passed on to any new owner. From late 2019 the lease scheme was scrapped and all cars were battery-owned, which is usually reflected in a higher asking price.

Peugeot e-208 – from £15,000

The Peugeot e-208 seems to have taken a hefty hit in depreciation since it launched in 2020. That’s bad news for those who paid £30k+ for a brand new one but great for those looking at used examples. A budget of £15,000 gets you your pick of low-mileage 2021 examples, which all come with high specifications, good looks and decent handling. These early cars use the older 50kWh battery and 134bhp motor, which aren’t as efficient as the latest model but should still return more than 200 miles of range.

Mini Electric – from £13,000

The first-generation Mini Electric was a hard car to recommend as a brand-new purchase due to its high price and low range. But as a used option, with prices for a four-year-old example less than half the original price, it’s a far more attractive choice. The 32kWh battery is still only good for a little over 100 miles of real-world range but as a second car or purely city runaround there’s a lot to love. Aside from the famous Mini looks and stylish interior, there’s the thrilling go-kart driving experience that’ll put a grin on almost anyone’s face.

Nissan Leaf – from £2,000

The Nissan Leaf was the first truly mainstream EV and it’s been around since 2010. That means you can pick up very early examples of this mid-sized hatchback for as little as £2,000. That’s a very cheap way into an EV but these older cars feel pretty low-tech now and their already small range is likely to have dropped noticeably. Second-gen cars start at around £7,000 and offer newer technology, more power and a longer range. For that money, you can probably live with the slightly creaky infotainment system and relatively slow maximum charging speeds. Just be aware that there are two battery and motor options, with the smaller 42kWh battery offering around 50 miles less range and 65bhp less power from the motor than the 62kWh/215bhp verison.

Tesla Model 3 – from £16,000

The Model 3 arrived in the UK in 2020, which means there are plenty of ex-company cars now flooding the secondhand market, with prices starting at around £15,000. The weird interior and Tesla’s brand image might put some buyers off but the Model 3 offers seriously impressive performance and range, clever navigation, plus access to the excellent Supercharger network. Build quality is also far better than the troublesome Models S and X, although insurance can be shockingly high.

Skoda Enyaq – from £20,000

Skoda excels at using a shared platform to offer more space and value than its VW Group stablemates and the Enyaq is another example of this. It’s a roomy, practical and stylish family SUV with a nicer interior than either the related VW ID.4 or Audi Q4 e-tron. There are multiple versions available including a four-wheel-drive identified by an ‘x’ in its name. The high-spec ‘80’ setup offers 201bhp and a 82kWh battery good for 311 miles, while cheaper ‘60’ cars pack a 62kWh battery, 177bhp motor and a 242-mile range. There’s also a confusing array of trim levels and interior packages that have changed over the years, so check the specification of every car carefully.

BMW i3 – from £7,000

BMW’s i3 was a groundbreaking car back in 2013 and even today it looks fresh and unique. It’s a sharp-handling compact, premium hatchback packed with radical ideas, from its rear-hinged doors to its unique interior look and option of a range-extender hybrid. It also helped pioneer BMW’s ever-expanding ‘i’ family. Purely electric versions saw various upgrades over the years, with the battery growing from 22kWh to33kWh and eventually 42.2kWh, with ranges of 80, 121 and 165 miles respectively, and 2019’s i3s got a power boost too. Some versions overlapped, so look closely at the spec of any potential purchase.

Jaguar I-Pace – from £18,000

The I-Pace was Jaguar’s first and so far only electric car but it hints at plenty of promise. It’s a large, luxurious five-seater with loads of space, a high-tech interior and plenty of power. With 395bhp it has Jag’s traditional pace and handles remarkably well for a heavy SUV. It also offers up to 300 miles of range from its 90kWh battery. The only note of caution is Jaguar’s less-than-stellar reputation for reliability.