The British car magazine AutoExpress has ranked all 161 EVs currently available on the UK market, and the somewhat surprising (or not?) winner is the new Nissan Leaf.
The magazine presented its road testers with a complete list of every UK market electric car available to buy and asked them to rank each model on its merits. The guide highlights the already huge range of electric car choices car buyers now face in the UK and across the EU.
“In 2026, there really is an electric car to suit everyone, and we’re here to help you find yours,” AutoExpress tells its readers. We briefly review the top ten here.
Nissan Leaf number one
We haven’t had the opportunity to drive this car yet, but we’re sure that Nissan, the pioneer of the electric car with its first Leaf (in 2010), is one of the companies that understands electric cars well.
AutoExpress justifies its choice like this: “The all-new third-generation Nissan Leaf stands head and shoulders above them all in our eyes. In fact, we think this outstanding electric family car offers excellent value for money and hits the sweet spot in every area; it’s the best new car on sale. EV or not.”
Personally, we think this car being built at Nissan’s huge Sunderland plant in the UK has also played a role here. In the past, our esteemed colleagues from the UK auto press have also distinguished themselves as true supporters of the UK car industry. But you can’t blame them for that; the car writers in every car-producing country are prone to that same reaction.
Top five
Number two is our favorite EV for the moment, the BMW iX3. We think that because it offers almost everything one can expect from a car, but that’s, of course, at a price. “The new BMW iX3 shows the true potential of a clean sheet of paper,” AutoExpress comments, and that’s exactly what BMW has done by developing its ‘Neue Klasse’.
A very good and clearly underestimated car ranks third: the Skoda Elroq. “Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, and the Skoda Elroq proves it,” says AutoExpress. Number four, for AutoExpress, is the Cupra Raval, “the bad boy of the small-car class” AutoExpress calls it, and fifth is another great EV, the Mercedes CLA: “The new Mercedes CLA has taken the three-pointed star from flagging behind its rivals in the world of electric cars to leading the pack, in the blink of an eye,” is AutoExpress’s comment.
Another excellent five
Sixth place is taken by a surprising electric vehicle: the Kia PV5. AutoExpress sees this cleverly designed van as the proof that an SUV isn’t the only option for those seeking practicality, and we couldn’t agree more. Place seven is taken by the new Volvo EX60, because “it is one of the handful of recent models that feel truly ‘next-gen’,” says AutoExpress.
Eighth is Tesla’s tireless Model 3, “the quintessential EV,” according to AutoExpress, while number nine is also a small surprise: AutoExpress sees the Renault 4 as “perhaps the shrewder choice for most people, if you can overcome the inexorable charm of the R5 (ranked… 11th).
Last but not least, there’s another very good car in place 10, the Kia EV3. “Decent space, sufficient range and good comfort make it a fantastic family car,” judges AutoExpress, and we couldn’t agree more.
Making a ranking always implies factual data and opinions, and the ranking of AutoExpress illustrates this. It remains interesting to see how fast the offer of electric vehicles has been growing recently and how quickly the evolution goes in terms of performance, range, comfort and, not the least, affordability. That’s why we decided to give it this attention. The entire ranking can, of course, be found on the AutoExpress site.
