The five best new EVs you can buy in NZ right now

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Pure-EVs are a small part of NZ's electrified vehicle fleet - but there's still a lot of choice.

There are lots of new electric vehicles on the horizon that promise to shake things up and keep things interesting in the motoring world.

But while we wait for the Tesla Model 3, Audi e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Porsche Taycan and MG ZS EV (yes, really - it may well be our cheapest new EV when it gets here), among many others, let's take a look - in no particular order - at the five best EVs you can buy new in New Zealand right now.

Tesla Model X

You'll either love the Model X's shape or hate it. But you can't deny its performance and usability.

Okay, so it looks like a weird egg and has silly doors, but that is a huge part of the appeal of the Model X - it looks like nothing else on the road and is instantly recognisable.

Also, if you spend enough money, it is internal organ-rearrangingly fast and can almost drive itself.

But even in non-Ludicrous form the Model X is more than fast enough for a family mover, has a huge range and has loads of usable space inside.

Downsides? There's that weird egg thing, an American approach to corners and the build quality isn't exactly up to the standards of other $150,000 plus cars.

An EV that is actually fun to drive? That'll be the Jaguar I-Pace then.

Jaguar I-Pace

Striking to look at and utterly revelatory to throw along a winding road, the I-Pace would be a great car (SUV? Crossover? Hatch? Who knows anymore?) if it were powered by a conventional engine, let alone adding in that instant thrust of an electric motor.

A superb interior - with a surprising amount of space - cements it as a proper Jag (albeit in quite a Range Rover-y way), while a solid range and 150kW charging capability (via a software update) future-proofs it for some seriously quick charging action coming soon.

The Kona Electric brings a big electric range to the small SUV segment. For a price.

Downsides? Range isn't as good as a Tesla and for a high-tech EV it's weirdly behind in infotainment tech.

Hyundai Kona Electric

It looks like a normal Kona (if you really want to call the Kona 'normal') with a non-grille, but the Kona Electric brings Hyundai's electric know-how (see Ioniq) to the dominantly popular SUV segment at a price far lower than we had seen a new EV with a 400km+ range at before.

Yeah, yeah, okay - $80k sure ain't cheap, but that is the price you pay for being an early adopter…

It's getting a bit long in the tooth now, but the BMW i3 is still one of the best EVs out there.

The Hyundai has now been undercut by its junior partner Kia's (mechanically identical) Niro EV - albeit with the cheapest one having a smaller range - but the Hyundai remains a more interesting option.

Downsides? The standard tyres fitted are awful and its interior quality doesn't reflect its price either.

BMW i3

A small, RWD BMW with big instant torque built on a carbon fibre monocoque? Oh yes…

Expect future pure-EVs to look no different to conventional cars. VW is doing it already with the e-Golf.

It does, however, look like an oversized dorky city car, but don't let that put you off - this is every inch a proper BMW, with an appropriately high quality interior (albeit made from some unique materials you won't see in any other BMW) and the corresponding handling prowess.

Massively fun to blast around town in, the i3 is also now a capable open road cruiser, thanks to latest-generation updates and an increased range.

Downsides? The range still ain't huge, it is starting to get old now and it's driver assist and infotainment tech is a generation old.

VW e-Golf

Okay, so it doesn't have the best range, is arguably a bit expensive for what it offers and looks just like an ordinary garden-variety Golf, but that last thing is precisely why the e-Golf rates as one of the best EVs on the market today - because it doesn't look like an EV.

Not everyone wants to drive around in a bug-eyed retro spaceship (Nissan Leaf), weird egg (Tesla Model X) or an SUV blatantly missing a grille (Mercedes, Audi, Hyundai, Kia…), so an EV that looks just like an ordinary car would make perfect sense to a lot of people.

Downsides? It is actually quite slow - VW claim 9.6 seconds to 100km/h, which is staggeringly slow in EV land!