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Best electric cars 2019: Plug into Electric with our guide of the best

Running an EV still requires a certain amount of forward planning. If you are an SME thinking about investing in an EV fleet best make sure you have the right charging infrastructure in the workplace.

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RANGE anxiety is what has been putting people off electric vehicles for some time but there are models appearing on the market recently that put that issue to bed.

Up to 300 miles on a single charge is now possible, although there is still a downside. It can still take many hours to fully charge an EV although fast chargers found in supermarkets and service areas can boost to 80% within an hour or so.

So, running an EV still requires a certain amount of forward planning. If you are an SME thinking about investing in an EV fleet best make sure you have the right charging infrastructure in the workplace.

There are good reasons for going electric, not least because the cost of running an EV while they all, large and small, have electric acceleration – instant torque you see.

So what’s available? We’ll start with this year’s Business Motoring winner of the Best EV award, the Jaguar I-PACE.

With an increasing number of EVs taking to the road what caught the judges’ attention? A mixture of performance and efficiency, that’s what.

0 to 60mph in 4.5 seconds is quick by any standards as is a top speed of 124mph. More important, however, is a 298-mile range

Charging takes 10 hours to top it up from 0–80% with a 7kW home charger, or 45 minutes with a 100kW DC supply. The I-PACE also took the honours for its design, interior space and practicality. The price? £63,495.

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Staying at the expensive end there’s the Tesla Model S which pioneered the premium electric car with the Model S saloon.

It’s pretty quick and boasts 362bhp from a pair of electric motors, one driving the front wheels and one driving the rear. Acceleration from 0-62mph is just 4.2 seconds.

If you go for the Model S P100D, it can be switched to ‘Ludicrous’ mode that sees 0-62 acceleration drop to supercar levels at just 2.7 seconds.

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Range is around 280 miles and Tesla gas a Supercharger network which allows you to top up the battery to 80% in just 40 minutes.

Tesla also has the Model X SUV and this, along with the Jaguar I Pace, will have another premium rival with the Audi e-tron, the first all-electric model from the German brand.

It has a range of around 250 miles and with 150kW rapid charging it can match or even better Tesla’s Supercharger.

The South Koreans have come into the market strongly with the Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona.

These two share the same powertrain with over 280 miles of range and a starting price of £32,995.

The second-generation Nissan Leaf has seen a number of improvements, mainly to its range which is now around 150 miles, up from under 100 with the original.

It also features advanced semi-autonomous Pro Pilot driving technology on offer on higher trim levels.

Volkswagen e-Golf, the electric version of VW’s family favourite. Range is reasonable, at 144 miles and the only downside is a slightly smaller boot space to accommodate the batteries.

The battery can be charged in an hour using a DC power supply or around 11 hours with a three-pin plug.

The BMW i3 has brought premium to the compact end of the market. It is made from carbon fibre which has well as being light and stiff, keeps weight down which is a good thing for an EV.

It’s official range is 193 miles although expect around 160 – a nice comfortable car for driving around town.

Like the Nissan Leaf the Renault ZOE was one of the first electric cars on the road is the most affordable.

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