EV Reviews
Reviews of the electric vehicles I’ve driven personally, or those which I hope to be able to drive shortly
I first started driving battery electric cars in about 2013, when I had two week long test drives in the Nissan Leaf Tekna.
Since then, I have driven over 20 different electric cars and I have written about these cars here, giving some insight into what it is like to drive the various models.
I’m not a professional test driver, just someone with a keen interest in cars and, increasingly, electric cars in particular.
The reviews will be my honest assessment of the cars, without influence from payments from vehicle manufacturers or motoring organisations. I enjoy driving the cars and I enjoy writing.
If there are cars you would like me to feature, please email me at car.reviews@evtravel.co.uk and I‘ll do my best to organise it.
Obviously, this will be dependent upon the availability of the vehicles in the UK market.
Cars Reviewed
The following is the list of electric vehicles I have driven and written about. If you click on the image of the car, it will take you to the actual review, if it has been completed and uploaded. Please note that these will be added as soon as I can complete them. Some of the reviews will be quite brief, others will be more in depth.
Small Cars
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea and the rear doors attract a lot of criticism, but this is a great little car to drive.
The first Fiat 500 I drove was my daughter’s pink convertible, but that was a petrol engined car and nowhere near as good as the 500e.
The little Honda gets criticised for a small boot and its short range, but it’s an absolute pleasure to drive and is my girlfriend’s favourite small EV.
The Corsa is Vauxhall’s equivalent of Peugeot’s e208 and comes at a lower price than the French car. The Peugeot has a bit more flair, but don’t discount the Vauxhall.
This is the EV that my daughter chose as her first brand new car, buying it without help from her parents at the tender age of 19.
I drove the electric Smart car on a whim, when visiting the Mercedes dealership to look at the EQA. Whilst impressive in some areas, it was a disappointment.
Medium to Large Sized Cars
The Nissan Leaf 24kWh was the first electric vehicle that I purchased. It was about 10 years old and the battery health was just 8/12, meaning it was effectively making it just a 16kWh vehicle.
But it worked and it delivered a solution to my needs.
The MG5 is the car I chose to start my private hire business. This is the car I use on a daily basis, travelling up and down the motorway taking autistic children to and from school and helping holidaymakers get to the airports and docks.
It does the job well, but has its flaws.
I test drove the Tesla Model 3 several times when trying to help a friend replace her ageing, broken diesel SUV.
I drove them three or four times, taking out different family members and a friend of the family, but each drive was less than an hour.
Whilst I test drive the more modern Leaf when I was helping a friend choose a new car, the better test came when I was given one whilst my early Leaf was in the repair shop after I was rear-ended on the dual carriageway.
My drive in the Polestar 2 was relatively short as part of a group on a set route, so not as in depth as I’d like. It’s a good car, but felt cramped to me.
The infotainment system was also glitchy on my drive.
I was lucky enough to secure a 48 hour test drive in the Mercedes EQE in April 2023. It happened to coincide with a rare opportunity to drive my mother and her husband to a family engagement, so was an interesting test.
SUVs and Crossovers
The Kia Soul EV is one of three electric vehicles on the driveway at home. After driving various cars, this was the one that my girlfriend chose as her car to practice in (she’s learning to drive at the moment).
It’s a funky vehicle and we really like it.
Volvo lent me the electric XC40 for a bit over a week and, as you might guess from the image, my review included using it as a tow vehicle for my caravan.
It was an excellent car and performed brilliantly, with or without a caravan on the back.
I drove the EQB at the beginning of April 2023 and was mightily impressed with the car.
A selling point was the fact that it was a seven seat SUV, although I’d suggest access to the third row would be difficult for anyone other than children.
Hyundai and Kia are really delivering great things in the EV world, including better efficiency than many other legacy manufacturers.
The Kona was tested at the same time as the Tesla Model 3 and the Nissan Leaf, helping a friend make her choice about a new car.
I drove the C40 Recharge for about a week, when the dealership were fixing a software issue on my MG5.
It really seems to be a fastback (hatchback) version of the XC40 and, as such, it was a good car to drive.
There were a few issues though.
The drive in the EQA was a relatively short one, back in early 2022.
It was a spacious ride for the entry level electric Mercedes and drove exceptionally well.
They’re not cheap, but my girlfriend was seriously tempted at putting in an order!
I drove the Model X initially just before the COVID lockdown. That was just the standard Tesla 40 minute drive. However, I requested an extended test drive and, apparently because of COVID, they let me have one for a bit over 24 hours.
The Ionic 5 caused quite a stir when it was launched and has some interesting features, including a glove drawer rather than a glove box.
Whilst this might seem like a minor point, it highlights the innovative approach that Hyundai have taken to this model.
Tesla invited me to an ‘event’ at the Winchester site to have a drive in any vehicle I was interested in. Of course, by ‘event’ they simply meant they were trying to get as many people behind the wheel as possible. It didn’t really seem to be an ‘event’ at all.
Skoda Enyaq iV80
The Skoda is a car that is on my radar as open to have a drive of, to assess both its overall capabilities as a family car, but also its potential as a new private hire vehicle.
Watch this space.
Genesis operate with accompanied test drives, which I wasn't keen on. However, they had an event at Ascot racecourse and allowed short unaccompanied drives.
It wasn't long enough to provide a full assessment, but I will offer my initial thoughts here.
The BMW iX us the largest of the SIUV style electric vehicles from the German marque. A few had remarked to me that it was too big, but I’m not so sure.
Yes it’s big, but too big? I found it to be a comfortable place to be and an easy car to drive. So no, I don’t think it’s too big.
Other Vehicles
I had the electric version of the iconic London Taxi for five days in August 2022 and was pretty impressed with it.
There are lots of reasons to give this car the thumbs up, but also a couple of real issues.
SAIC Maxus MIFA 9
I haven’t yet driven the MIFA 9, but it is on my radar and I’ve been in discussions with Maxus about getting a test drive.
Once I’ve achieved this, the details will appear here.
I managed a two hour test drive in the T90EV, which is the first electric pick up truck to be launched in the UK.
There is some hope that the competition is coming and that is going to be necessary.
Peugeot e-Traveller
This is another vehicle that, as a private hire operator / driver, I’m really interested in.
Citroen e-Space Tourer
This is another vehicle that, as a private hire operator / driver, I’m really interested in.
Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric
Another people carrier that, as a private hire operator / driver, I’m really interested in.
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