2024 was a fine year for new EVs, with especially encouraging progress in the segments of small stuff and fun stuff. Here are some of my personal favourites from the last 12 months.
Hyundai Inster
One of those rare small cars that is so complete a package that it leaves you wondering why anyone would bother buying anything bigger/more expensive. The interior oozes charm thanks to plush sofa seats (we can’t be friends if you don’t spec the houndstooth print) and a smattering of parts borrowed from the upmarket Ioniq cars. The second row offers more room than any car of this size, ever. It even does a job beyond the confines of the city, thanks to ample range and excellent road manners. Not the cheapest compact car, but easily the most charismatic.
Dacia Spring
Cheap and cheerful personified, the Spring brings the entry point for new EV ownership down into the realms of “staggeringly reasonable”. Sure, when you slam the door shut it sounds like two pieces of cardboard banging together. Sure, the wind noise above 40mph is only slightly less than that of a motorbike and it charges only slightly faster than your phone. But it’s a new electric car, with a roof and five seats and… some range, and for a lot of people, that is more than sufficient. And all for less than 15 grand. Fabulous.
Tesla Model 3 Performance
Fast Teslas were always, well, fast. But they were never especially fond of corners. That changed dramatically with the new M3 Performance. A major brake and suspension upgrade makes this the American marque’s most dynamic driver’s car yet, including the fearsomely fast (and alarmingly under-braked) Model S Plaid. Build quality has come forward in leaps and bounds with this facelift too. Throw in the Supercharger network and whopping range, and you’ve got one of the most complete EVs on sale today. Shame about the bloke in charge.
MG Cyberster
Climb into it expecting a razor-sharp Boxster beater and you’ll be disappointed. Driven hard, MG’s first two seater this century lacks the agility and adjustability of its piston rivals. But driven at 70-80% with the top down, it is a delight. Effortless performance, supple suspension and a cockpit that – while not without its niggles – will delight your inner 8 year-old. Silent, top-down driving is novel and glorious, and let’s remember MG gave it to us long before Porsche, Lotus and Alpine.
Renault 5
The car of the year. Not unlike the revamped Mini of the early 2000s, the 5 has managed to capture the imaginations of non-car people and car nerds alike through sheer charm. As good to drive as it is to look at, and as lovely to sit in as it is to drive. Reasonably priced too. The spicy Alpine version has my heart, but the cooking R5 will be more than enough car for most. An absolute slam dunk from perhaps the most in-form brand in the world right now.
Ioniq 5 N
The Ioniq 5 N is simply the most exciting, engaging electric driver’s car yet. That’s thanks to lots of sporty hardware – fat, sticky tyres, beefy suspension, all that jazz – but more than anything, it’s down to one remarkable piece of software. Push a button on the steering wheel and your silent EV does an impression of a fizzy turbocharged four cylinder hot hatch, with a paddleshift gearbox and farty downshifts on tap. Sounds crap, right? It’s not. The technology is so freakishly well executed that your brain loses sight of what is and isn’t real after a few good corners. If the steak tastes good who cares if it’s real?
About the author
Jack is a London-based presenter, writer, and expert in all things automotive. A lifelong car fanatic and recovering petrolhead, Jack is a fully converted EV evangelist these days and, prior to joining Fully Charged, spent two years launching and fronting a new EV media brand called Electroheads.
