If you’re ready to make the step to an electric vehicle (EV), but you don’t feel you can put up with some tiny city car with a sub-350km range, here are some bigger, more practical and longer-legged EVs that we’re fans of, all without crossing the threshold of €50,000.
Jeep Avenger Electric
Jeep’s chunky little Avenger looks mega on the outside and has a surprisingly characterful interior to go with it – albeit there’s not a huge amount of rear passenger room. But when it comes to the three powertrains that aren’t the plug-in-hybrid model, how much more expensive do you think the Avenger Electric is than the comparable petrol and hybrid derivatives? A few thousand euro? Wrong. It’s the same price, spec-for-spec. Starting at less than €30,000 for a Longitude, €34,000 for an Altitude and €37,000 for a Summit, the 156hp Electric looks a bargain compared to the mere 100hp served up by the petrol and hybrid derivatives. The EV offers up to 400km of zero-emission range to a charge of its 51kWh battery, and while it loses a bit of boot space compared to its combustion-powered siblings, it still has a thoroughly usable cargo area and plenty of standard equipment. It’ll also run 0-100km/h in a sprightly nine seconds, while its on-road driving manners are nice and accomplished.
Kia PV5 Passenger
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz was a brilliant idea, turning what might have been a boring EV if it was just another SUV into something desirable, because of its 1960s-campervan-mimicking looks. But the ID. Buzz is expensive. Previously, there wasn’t anything cheaper to rival it. Well, step forward Kia. The Korean manufacturer’s zero-emission range of cars are all largely brilliant, but the ultra-appealing PV5 people carrier almost came out of nowhere. The Kia minibus is not particularly quick, with a 163hp motor moving a 2.1-tonne van-with-windows from 0-100km/h in a leisurely 10.4 seconds. It’s also not massively long range either, although 412km from a 71.2kWh battery pack is perfectly serviceable for most needs. But it looks superb, like some kind of sci-fi space shuttle on wheels, the driving experience is supremely comfortable and relaxing, and because of its boxy shape there’s acres of space for five adults to get comfortable onboard, while the boot is a vast cube of volume measuring 1,320 litres with all seats in use. And if you want more pews in the PV5? Good news: six- and seven-seat versions are available as well. Oh, and did we mention it costs less than €43,000? We didn’t? Well, consider that oversight rectified.
Nissan Leaf
As a small hatchback, the Mk1 Nissan Leaf was a pioneer in the motoring world, democratising EVs by offering zero-emission motoring at a price considerably lower than anything else at the time. But what the Leaf never was, through its first two generations, was ever particularly desirable or long-range. That all changes with the Mk3 car, which is in fact no longer a car but a crossover with a sleek coupe-like shape. Prices start in the mid-30s and can flirt perilously with our €50,000 ceiling if you go mad with specification tick-boxes at ordering time, but you don’t need to splash out that much to get a great EV. Power is either 177- or 217hp resulting in 0-100km/h times of 8.6 and 7.6 seconds respectively, while associated to those are two battery packs – the former getting a 52kWh unit and the latter a 75kWh item. Expect 440km from the 52kWh, which is already more than any Nissan Leaf model which has come before it. But opt for the 75kWh battery and a fulsome, deeply impressive 622km is on offer – and for less than €50k, that’s a fabulous amount of range.
Skoda Enyaq
By EV standards, the Skoda Enyaq is an oldie – but it’s a goodie, too. Already having gone through its midlife facelift and tech update, the Czech chariot was for a long time Skoda’s only EV. Yet it has been swamped by the arrival of the Elroq (a bit smaller), Epiq (a fair chunk smaller) and Peaq (somewhat larger) models in the manufacturer’s zero-emission portfolio. However, don’t discount the Enyaq, because it does everything very well indeed. It looks good on the outside, available in both regular SUV form and as a more rakish Coupe. Its interior is well-built, beautifully appointed, ergonomically correct, and – as you’d expect from any self-respecting Skoda – considerably voluminous, both for passenger space and cargo capacity. And there’s a wide array of powertrains, too, although not all of them dip below the €50,000 barrier. However, you can’t go far wrong with any version. The Enyaq 60, with 204hp and a 58kWh battery giving 430km of range, and the 85, packing 286hp and a 77kWh power unit for 575km of range, are both rear-wheel drive. The 85x has the same power output and battery pack, but two motors for all-wheel drive and 535km of capability. And if that’s not enough, there’s a flagship RS sporty derivative, with 340hp twin motors and a 79kWh battery pack providing 535km of range, as well as a 0-100km/h time of 5.4 seconds – although bear in mind, we’re only listing this one for completion purposes, as the racy RS starts from €61,000.
Hyundai Ioniq 6
Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 ‘streamliner’ is one distinctive-looking car, and it was visually updated for 2026 with even sharper, sleeker looks. Just the one powertrain is offered for now, the RWD Long Range – with a solitary 168kW electric motor on the rear axle, it offers up outputs of 228hp and 350Nm, good enough for a 0-100km/h time of 7.4 seconds. But it’s not so much how quickly the Ioniq 6 goes down the road which impresses most (although it is swift, and its rear-drive set-up makes it fun to drive), but more the range and charging speeds it has. The big 84kWh battery allows for up to 624km between charging sessions, and once you find a public unit that’ll supply 350kW of power, the Hyundai can go from 10-80 per cent battery in just 18 minutes. The icing on the cake is that the Ioniq 6 also has a superb interior, complete with twin 12.3-inch digital screens and top-notch materials, and it starts from around €42,000.