Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Generating plenty of interest
We look at the key characteristics of five electric cars. Could one be what you’re looking for?
Tesla Model S Elon Musk’s premium brand has quickly established itself as the leader of the electric pack.
The Model S has spearheaded the success of the Californiabased manufacturer and it’s easy to see why.
Not only can it deliver an impressive 409-mile range should you opt for the P100D model, you can get nearsupercar levels of performance too. Tied together with a luxurious and well-equipped package, you’ve got one of the coolest cars on the planet.
That said, it’ll set you back at least £120,000.
Renault Zoe OK, so it’s got a silly name, but that doesn’t make the Zoe a silly car.
First of all, it’s a cheap way to enter the EV scene, starting from £18k. Included with that is your own home wall charger, which can take the battery from flat to full in five hours.
Not that you would have to Clockwise: the Tesla Model S,
plug it in too much if you were using it purely as a city car, as the Zoe can manage 250 miles on one charge.
Volkswagen e-golf Electric cars don’t always have to be bespoke models with wild styling and funky names.
Here, you simply get a Volkswagen Golf that so happens to have an electric motor in place of a combustion engine. Having said that, it is pricey for a Golf, starting from £31,000 (just £1,000 shy of an R). Couple that with a rather limited 186- mile range and it’s difficult to justify if you’re just in the market for a new Golf.
However, if you want to join the electric revolution in something that doesn’t make a fuss about what’s underneath, this may just be the right car for you. Hyundai Ioniq Admittedly not the most inspiring car on this list, but it’s by no means a bad one.
It’s understated in design (perhaps even a bit bland) and makes for an alternative choice to some of the more conventional cars in its sector.
It’s certainly one pricey Hyundai though, starting at £33k and with a measly range of 174 miles that takes eight hours of charging to replenish.
BMW i3 Styled like something that would usually barely make it past the concept phase, the BMW i3 is certainly a striking thing to look at.
It’s pretty tech heavy in its construction too, with a body made largely of carbon fibrereinforced plastic.
If you’re one for function over form though, the i3 isn’t going to be for you as it has a rather poor 81-mile range.
There is a version with a petrol range extender available, but that kind of ruins the point of it being all-electric, no?