The best cars eligible for the electric car grant

Best for: Performance driving

Is the hot hatchback back for the electric era? If the Alpine A290 is anything to go by, it could well be. 

The ride is quite remarkable for a sporty small car on passive suspension, particularly if you've experienced a Mini Cooper SE.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

We liked this amped up version of the Renault 5 so much that we named it the Best Fun EV at the 2025 Autocar Awards, owing to its pure handling, entertaining drive and accessible powertrain. 

Speaking of which, there’s a choice of two gets a choice of two power outputs, 178bhp or 217bhp, and both are great fun on the road. There’s just one battery available, with a capacity of 52kWh for 226 miles of range. 

With the government grant applied, the A290’s list price of £33,500 drops down to an incredibly enticing £32,000. Don’t mind if we do…

Best for: Space

The transformation from an uninteresting MPV to a stylish SUV has been a successful one for the Renault Scenic. 

The accelerator pedal is responsive and the ramp-up of torque to the wheels is also well judged.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

And now, thanks to the government’s grant, it's available from £35,495, making it one of the better value mid-sized electric SUVs out there. 

The sole powertrain option uses a 215bhp motor plus an 87kWh battery, which Renault claims is capable of 379 miles on a charge. 

The Scenic’s interior is a pleasant place to sit and includes plenty of storage areas, hidden or otherwise.

There’s good head and leg room for the driver and passengers alike and boot space is voluminous for a car of its size, at 545 litres. 

Best for: Daily driving

Some 30 years after it was removed from sale, the Renault 4 is back - but not quite how you remember it. 

Practicality is of course the area where this car offers notably more than its Renault 5 sibling.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

It’s now a small electric crossover for the city – but it does feature several design characteristics that pay homage to the original car. Those include its circular headlights, one-piece grille and lensless tail-lights and rear window. 

It shares its chassis with the Renault 5, but its boxier silhouette means there’s more space in the second row, plus a bigger boot, at 375 litres compared with 326 litres. 

Its 52kWh battery gives a range of 247 miles. 

An original list price of £26,995 drops to £25,495 with the grant.

Best for: Interior quality

Nissan has made a huge change to the Ariya to make sure it qualifies for the government grant.

That it feels like a genuine premium prospect on the inside, with plenty of luxury car ambience, is an achievement for Nissan.

Sam Phillips, Staff Writer

It has slashed the SUV's price by £6000, meaning the entry-level model drops from £39,645 to £35,500, landing it below the £37,000 threshold. With the grant applied, it will cost less than £34,000. 

Even the big-battery, long-range variant qualifies. An 87kWh battery gives it the ability to travel 330 miles before needing a charge. 

The Ariya’s interior is pleasant to sit in and crammed full of soft-touch, premium-feeling materials. Like the related Renault Scenic, it’s light and airy, while its infotainment is simple to use and crisp visually. 

Overall, it’s an easy car to live with, which is rightfully the most important thing to many drivers. 

Best for: Infotainment

Not another one?! Yes, the Megane is the fifth Renault in this top 10, due to its impressive all-around ability and a list price made even more attractive by the government grant. 

Unfortunately, there are some issues with visibility here.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

Priced from £32,495, this mid-sized hatchback drops to £30,995 with the grant applied.

For that, you get the same 215bhp electric motor as in the Scenic but with a smaller (60kWh) battery, producing a range of 285 miles.   

Renault updated the Megane in 2024, including adding a heat pump to improve efficiency and replacing its 9.0in infotainment display with a 12in one. All cars now get adaptive cruise control too. 

The Megane offers competitive performance for the price, hitting 0-62mph in 6.9sec, and it’s pretty handy when cornering. It won’t blow your socks off for dynamic engagement, but it’s a good all-rounder with a decent ride and outstanding noise suppression. 

Best for: An alternative choice

As far as value for money goes, you will be hard pressed to beat the Citroën ë-C4 - particularly after the government grant has been applied. 

The car has plenty of instant pick-up around town and as you accelerate up to the national speed limit.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

The price drops from £27,650 to £26,150 for the hatchback, while the saloon-shaped ë-C4 X comes down to £27,215. 

A facelift this year introduced Citroën’s modernised design language, but the ë-C4 remained the same beneath the metal. That means a choice of 50kWh and 54kWh batteries, with the larger one offering 260 miles of range. 

Drivers after a more practical car might opt for the saloon, but the hatchback still offers reasonable passenger space and a 380-litre boot. Either version is decently efficient too. 

Best for: Carrying cargo

The Vauxhall Grandland Electric drops from £36,995 to £34,455 thanks to the new grant.

The base Design model gets two 10in screens, while higher-spec models get a 16in touchscreen.

James Attwood, Associate editor

That makes the family SUV more expensive than the Nissan Ariya but cheaper than the Renault Scenic. 

The Grandland Electric shares its underpinnings with the Peugeot e-3008, pairing a 210bhp electric motor with a 73kWh battery. Range stands at 325 miles, while charging speeds are capped at 160kW. 

A long-range version with a huge 98kWh battery will become available next year, but we would expect that to land just outside the threshold for the grant. Watch this space, though.

The Grandland isn’t the most exciting car to drive, but it offers good steering and refinement. Other rivals, the Ariya and Scenic included, are more comfortable, but it beats both for boot space, with 550 litres. 

Best for: Character

The dinky Citroën ë-C3 is now in an even stronger position as one of the cheapest EVs on sale in the UK today. 

Simplicity is the abiding theme here: Citroën offers no one-pedal driving mode and no steering wheel paddles for regen control.

Mark Tisshaw, Editor

Its price comes down from £22,095 to £20,595, making it cheaper than the Renault 5. Only the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 are more affordable in the arena of full-sized electric cars. 

Another EV with a retro-style design, the ë-C3 is genuinely characterful and offers real substance. It’s spacious inside, with reasonable front and rear leg room. Its 310-litre boot is decent but does have a sizable load lip. 

There are some predictable limitations to the ë-C3, including a range of 199 miles in mixed driving, while other models prove more efficient in the real world.