Best electric family cars 2025. There are now a record number of electric cars for purchase in the UK, and for the first time, there are a lot of choices when you require a zero-emission car to move your family and all your gear. To make choosing easier, Carwow’s expert car review team have collated this review of the best family cars that run on electricity.
Each of these below EVs is a pragmatic one, with a commodious interior and/or a big boot, and an acceptable range in that you’re not worried about your next fill when your kids are creating chaos in the back. There’s a range of body styles, including saloons, hatchbacks, SUVs and estates, and so, in practice, something for everyone.
Ford Mustang Mach-E
“The most important Ford since the Mondeo? The Model T is perhaps somewhere in between in terms of its importance to the brand and its future. As important, then, as the first Mustang, a car that helped start off the blue oval and took it into a new and exciting age. Form your own view about its looks and its statement about you, but do not doubt that under its bonnet is a firmly well-engineered device.”
Read Top Gear review of Ford Mustang Mach-E
Hyundai Ioniq 5
“That Hyundai is bold enough to sell a car as handsome in its exterior design as the Ioniq 5 is in and of itself a big statement. That such a retro XXL hot hatch shape encases one of the most polished family EVs for purchase is nothing less than astonishing. Were Hyundai to replicate such momentum with future Ioniq family additions, then such cars as VW’s ID offerings and even Mercedes’s EQ family must have cause for grave concern.”
Kia EV6
“The EV6 proves that forward-thinking doesn’t have to be utterly bonkers. Not individual in a ‘I’m about to fall off a style cliff’ kind of a way, but fascinating to drive and not about to give a sleepless night to a hardcore sports car enthusiast, the EV6 takes a decidedly alternative path dynamically to Hyundai Ioniq 5 with whom it shares bones and blood. And that can only be a good thing. But it’s roomy, quiet and a very accomplished cruiser, and with that 800-volt technology that makes charging stopovers quick and untroubled. It’s one of those cars that leaves one thinking that other countries must be one pace behind South Korea in terms of what it can deliver.”
MG 4
“On the face of it, the MG 4 isn’t a very interesting car. But scratch a little deeper to discover what it does for the money, how well it scores on so many levels, and it’s probably the only car in the class worth buying. It rides and drives well, is offered with plenty of standard equipment, and most importantly – if somewhat tediously – holds massive residual value. MG has pulled a bit of a blinder here: just as ‘legacy’ manufacturers are getting into the business of making electric cars expensive, MG has tossed a big cat among the pigeons.”
BMW i4
“We like Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, but room for a genuinely sweet-driving alternative continues to exist. That alternative is the i4, specifically in its RWD guise. It’s a smart, well-finished car, and this is a car with a range that will allow almost everyone to drive almost any of their long trips out. It’s rapid to charge, and neither rapid driving nor cold weather destroys its range anywhere near as badly as with some EVs. It doesn’t look like a spacecraft, but many don’t care about that. That’s why BMW succeeds. It’s a proper BMW.”
Read Top Gear review of the BMW i4
Polestar 2
“We love the Polestar 2 for its looks, for its build quality that will make Audi drivers have PTSD, and for having a real sense of common sense about it – that it’s been engineered to function perfectly, not blow your mind with gadgets and then infuriate you in a few years’ time. It’s finished well, it’s useable, and it’s a joy to drive, but it’s that sensation of a car maker actually having confidence in its direction and starting to deliver its potential that’s exciting about Polestar in general, and about the 2 in particular. And yep, Tesla should be taking a long, hard look at it. As, incidentally, should any one else who wants a bite of the future in an electric car.”
Skoda Enyaq iV
“Once more, therefore, Skoda has built a car that is perhaps a wiser buy than its counterpart Volkswagen: the Enyaq outdoes both ID.4 and Audi Q4 e-tron in several areas. It is at least as capable dynamically as its kin, has a less infuriating, more functional interior (most noticeably when compared with ID.4) and is about the same price, and sometimes less, as its sibling rivals. Do try them all out for yourself, but we can inform you where our money will go.”
Tesla Model Y
“This is the first Tesla I have ever driven whose most distinguishing feature isn’t necessarily acceleration, or its driving aids, or its best-in-class infotainment, or even its in-car games and memes. It’s packaging. The Model Y is the new flagship for ‘if you remove the engine, gearbox, exhaust and all that fuel tank plumbing, then see how roomy you can make the interior, see how much boot room you can have.'”
Kia EV3
“Kia’s lost the element of surprise. We stopped being shocked when it made a good car a long time ago. When it comes to EVs, we expect them to be sniffing around the top of the class. But the EV3 drives the point home with a sledgehammer because it’s just so roundly, crushingly competent in the same way a Golf used to be. Keenly priced and promising not to depreciate like a dropped ice lolly on a beach. Easy going and comfy to drive. Right-sized for families and not too bloated to park. It’s a roundly thought-out bit of kit as a ‘car’.”
Skoda Elroq
“The Skoda Elroq follows the same route as its Enyaq cousin, and with good reason. That vehicle saw off both its VW group siblings, the Audi Q4 e-tron and ID.4, and the Elroq, which reveals Skoda’s new language, appears even more sensible. It drives in the same way, its interior is all but identical, clever to look at and sensibly designed, and it’s competitively priced in the same way, too. It’s packed with Skoda sense and will certainly have its rivals looking over its shoulder
EX90
“The EX90 is the best family electric SUV out at the moment. The boot is actually colossal, car roomy through and through with easy to use seats and thoughtful touches. We took the EX90 out to introduce it to a group of ‘Soccer Moms’ in America and the biggest criticism leveled at it was its dimensions and cupholder count – too little and not enough. Otherwise, it won general approval. Smooth and quiet to drive, a pleasure to drive, surprisingly agile for its bulk and weight. Easy to see out of, unchallenging and eats long trips for breakfast and in glorious comfort.
Volkswagen ID.Buzz
“We adore the ID. Buzz for its individuality, for being a new anti-SUV design, and for being a pleasure to sit in and sit about. For those in front, it’s a one-off and a standout, but for those in the rear, apart from sliding doors and immensely lavish headroom, not a lot else to make them smile. But for now, in case you’re thinking about any other premium crossover or SUV – and I mean any – doesn’t this not sound a brighter, a more fascinating and engrossing alternative? It’s sweet and simple and yet utterly heart-lifting.”
