The best small electric cars - driven, rated and ranked

The Mini Cooper E is the battery-powered small EV we always wanted from the BMW group brand, being more refined and offering a better range than its predecessor. 

While the first-generation Mini Electric was fun, it was let down by its packaging – and it's small battery limited its range. 

The Mini Cooper E (renamed for the second-generation) is sleerk, more powerful, has a broad choice of batteries and range and is packed full of usable digital technology from parent company BMW. 

The Coope E is powered by a 181bhp electric motor and uses a 40.7kWh battery that offers up to 190 miles of range, while the more powerful Cooper SE gets a 215bhp motor and a 54.2kWh battery for up to 250 miles of range. 

The Mini is a more grown-up proposition than the previous model, offering a far more usable range, faster charging and more premium lustre. In addition, the price is also very similar to its predecessor. 

That said, it's heavier than before, which is felt in the corners, and the car has lost some of the driver reward widely expected from a Mini.

The interior is chock full of premium materials and it's a lovely place to sit, but the fiddly, unintuitive infotainment may put some drivers off. 

Despite those minor qualms, Mini's updated electric hatch is up there with the very best in the segment and is better than ever.

Other picks here not affordable enough? Try this. The MG 4 EV is an important moment in the development of MG Motor as a serious car maker.

Since the British brand’s relaunch under the ownership of the Chinese giant SAIC, it has always played the budget end of the market. With the MG 4, it still does, but with a car that is genuinely impressive in its own right.

Its rear-drive layout lets it serve up some real handling thrills while its soft but controlled ride means it’s well suited to rough British roads.

It has a very competitive range and charging figures too, and all for around £27,000 – or £30,000 for the Long Range SE. There’s an Extended Range and a bonkers-fast 429bhp XPower model, but we wouldn’t bother.

You can see some of the cost savings in the low-grade interior materials and slightly haphazard infotainment and driver assistance features, but none of it is egregious enough to seriously detract from how much value for money the MG 4 offers.

Could the arrival of the new Citroën ë-C3 represent a watershed moment in the evolution of the electric car?

It's certainly got a lot going for it. Priced from under £22,000, the ë-C3 is primed to become one of the cheapest electric cars on sale in the UK. 

Power comes from a 44kWh battery, which offers a claimed range of 199 miles. It powers a front-mounted 111bhp electric motor that allows the ë-C3 to hit 0-62mph in around 11.0sec and a top speed of 84mph. 

Although all ë-C3s have a 44kW battery at the moment, a smaller-battery variant may be UK-bound next year and priced nearer to the equally inexpensive Dacia Spring. 

We've only driven the ë-C3 on overseas Tarmac so far, but it's comfortable and packed full of usable standard kit.

Downsides? There's no denying a range of 199 miles might not be quite enough for some drivers, and while comfortable, it's not the most dynamic car to drive, with numb steering that wants for driver involvement.

Vauxhall's electric Corsa is one of the most appealing small EVs on sale thanks to its low price, decent range and fast charging speeds.

Early versions were a little behind the technically-related Peugeot e-208 on range, but an update that added a taller final drive ratio and a standard heat pump lifted the range from 209 to 222 miles – and now a battery capacity hike and a new electric motor have lifted it again, this time to 246 miles. 

The Corsa Electric's facelift also brought with it a thoroughly revised front end and a new multimedia system. 

The Corsa might be a little plainer than the Peugeot, but to our eyes, it still looks handsome enough, especially in its latest form.

The driving experience combines a genuine 220-mile everyday battery range with keen and competent handling and a comfortable ride, while 100kW DC rapid charging compatibility as standard should be a selling point too.

Vauxhall also has purchase incentives such as free home charger installation and access to a special home energy tariff.

Vauxhall's large UK dealer network and the brand's desire to offer some decent discounts have helped to make this one of the UK's best-selling EVs, converting people who hadn't previously considered electric motoring. .

The Dacia Spring is the UK's cheapest full-size electric car, with prices starting from under £15,000. It also comes close to being the UK's cheapest car overall, with the Dacia Sandero, the Kia Picanto and Fiat Panda the only cars that undercut it. 

Entry-level models are powered by a puny-sounding 44bhp electric motor, which hits 0-62mph in a - let's say... leisurely... - 19.1sec.

The higher-powered 64bhp variant reduces that to 13.7sec. Again, that might not sound all that quick (and it isn't), but it's about as quick as a 1.0-litre Volkswagen Up. 

Both models are equipped with a 26.8kWh battery, which is good for a claimed 137 miles of range overall, or 186 miles with some careful city driving. 

Equipment levels are good too, with a 7.0in touchscreen, electric windows, cruise control and rear parking sensors included as standard.

If you are after value for money, particularly for an EV, the incoming Chinese car manufacturers are a good place to start.

The latest company with big plans for Europe is BYD, which is rapidly building a full range of electric cars. Its smallest model, for now, is the Dolphin.

It is by no means the best car on this list, but given the entry-level model costs just over £25,000, rising to more than £30,000 for the fully loaded long-range version, some of its flaws can be excused.

The handling is quite woolly and the leatherette is a bit naff, but the main problem of all BYDs is that the infotainment system is infuriating.

Even though the screen is huge, it hides important settings in deep sub-menus and doesn’t integrate with phone mirroring very well.

However, you get all the equipment you could possibly wish for, the ride is fairly plush and real-world range of comfortably over 200 miles is not to be sniffed at.

The Dolphin is also a tad larger than the other cars on this list, so it offers more interior space as well.

While the ID 3 managed to secure plenty of sales from the off, it was plagued by issues that dented its progress in becoming a true Golf successor. 

Early cars were afflicted by a poor infotainment touchscreen and a complex model line-up, not to mention the cabin that lacked material richness. 

Volkswagen sought to assuage these faults by treating the ID 3 to a much-needed facelift, with the hatchback gaining a more eye-catching front end, a simpler model line-up and an uplift in material quality inside.

The touchscreen was also given a big overhaul, and it’s far easier to use than the one fitted to its predecessor – although the heating controls that sit below it are still touch-sensitive, as are those on the steering wheel. 

The ID 3 range now includes the 52kWh Pure, 58kWh Pro and 77kWh Pro S, with the last of those promising up to 345 miles of range. Prices start from around £30,000 , with the most expensive model being the sporty 322bhp GTX. 

As for the drive, there’s little to dislike. It doesn’t engage you like the technically related Cupra Born, but the steering is agile enough and it's very easy to pilot in town and manoeuvre around car parks. And much like in the Golf, ride quality remains intact, even for a heavy compact car with big wheels

Mazda has never been afraid to do things its own way, and the approach it has taken with its first all-electric car is no different. The MX-30 is therefore not quite what you might expect, but it's an appealing proposition all the same. 

Toy-car looks are wrapped around an unusually small battery pack – just 35.5kWh, giving an official range of 124 miles – because Mazda believes owners simply won't need more (and increasing the size of the battery would mean unnecessary cost and weight).

The car is reasonably spacious inside, has an SUV-lite body that is very much on trend, and is trimmed in interesting materials that give the cabin a singularly cosy and likeable atmosphere.

It also includes distinctive rear-hinged back doors - a nod to the brand's old rotary-powered RX-8 coupé - but we found them slightly impractical in day-to-day use.

Dynamically, the MX-30 also stands out - although only when you're travelling with a bit of pace on an interesting road.

With 143bhp and 199lb ft, the electric motor didn’t blow our socks off in a straight line, but the weighting of the MX-30's steering and the supple manner in which the suspension transfers weight while cornering are genuinely reminiscent of the MX-5 sports car. Around town, however, we found it a little plain.

Rapid charging at up to 50kW is possible so, if the limited range works for you, there is plenty to like about the unusual Mazda MX-30. And if it doesn't, there's always the rotary-engined, range-extended REV version. See? Mazda likes different - so do we.