Do you think electric cars are all too expensive? Well, think again, because the number of affordable options is growing steadily. We take three on a road trip to find out which one offers the best value

Photography: John Bradshaw

MG 4

Driver Neil Winn Deputy reviews editor

Here’s a shocker for you: if you head over to our new car data section, grab your calculator and punch some buttons, you’ll find that the average price of the 98 fully electric cars listed is a whisker over £59,000. Astonishingly, that means the posh and luxurious Audi Q6 currently represents the mean average cost for buying a new electric car outright, despite hardly being a car for the masses.

It’s enough to make you think that the concept of a ‘cheap electric car’ remains rather far-fetched in 2024. So, what if you’re dead set on an electric vehicle (EV) but don’t have a bottomless bank account? Well, don’t be disheartened, because things are getting better. A few car manufacturers are wising up to the fact that many would-be buyers have found EV ownership out of reach for too long, and they’re now clamouring to satisfy this market.

To find out exactly what a more modestly priced EV gives you for your investment, we decided to grab three prime examples and set off on the kind of weekend road trip that any family car needs to be able to cope with. We’d start by heading to Hayling Island Beach in Hampshire to see how they fare in town and on the motorway, and then meander across to the New Forest to put their practicality, driving manners and tech to the test. Heading back to London, we’d stop to top up our cars’ batteries, giving us a chance to check their real-world range and efficiency.

THE CONTENDERS

If you’re a long-time reader of What Car?, you’ll understand why we picked the MG 4 as our benchmark. This Volkswagen Golf-sized electric hatchback has bagged our Small Electric Car of the Year title for two years on the trot, thanks to its pleasant driving manners, plentiful interior space and reasonably quick maximum charging rate (117kW), as well as its respectable 218-mile official range, courtesy of a 50.8kWh (usable capacity) battery.

But the real clincher is price. At just £26,995 in entry-level SE trim, it’s a cool £10k cheaper than such rivals as the Cupra Born, Renault Megane and Volkswagen ID 3. With savings like that, it’s easier to overlook the MG 4’s rather drab interior and glitchy infotainment system, and the fact that its parent brand’s reliability record is, well, rather chequered.

Or, rather, it was, but is that still the case now that there’s a new entry-level BYD Dolphin and an all-new Citroën e-C3 that actually undercut the MG 4?

Let’s start with the Dolphin. Name quirks aside (it’s part of BYD’s ‘Ocean Series’ that also includes the Seal saloon and Sealion 7 SUV), it’s not so different from the MG; it’s a similar size and promises a similarly roomy interior and a generous level of standard kit. The entrylevel Active model that we have here packs a 44.9kWh battery and a 211-mile official range. It’s priced at a tempting £26,195.

The smallest price tag here, though, belongs to the Citroën. It starts at just £21,900, and even in range-topping Max trim (£23,690) it undercuts the MG and BYD by a significant margin, with your money buying fashionable SUV-inspired styling. Yes, the Citroën is designed to meet a modest price tag, but it doesn’t feel like a cut-corner affair; its interior has a surprisingly upbeat vibe. It also comes without a ‘made in China’ label, if that kind of thing matters to you.