Yahoo Autos Top 10 Best electric SUVs 2024
Ever since BMW and Porsche proved with the X5 and Cayenne that people like sitting high up in cars that look like off-roaders but drive and feel like luxury cars, there’s been no stopping the rise of SUVs.
As we move towards electric cars, one benefit of SUVs is that their tall ride height and body is ideal for hiding a bulky battery pack in without compromising interior space too much.
Before we go further, let’s set out some ground rules first. What even is an SUV and how are they different from crossovers? Annoyingly, there are no hard and fast rules, so for convenience, we’ll avoid the C-segment hatchbacks, crossovers and SUV-alikes like the Kia Niro EV and Smart #1 here. We deal with those separately in our Best mid-sized electric cars list.
That still leaves a lot of cars, and a £38,970 Skoda Enyaq isn’t exactly comparable with a £153,795 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, so we’ve categorised them by specific qualities, such as most fun, best range, most comfortable and so on. Here, then, in no particular order, are our favourite electric SUVs.
The best electric SUVs
Kia EV9 – Best for interior space and practicality
Commended: Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y
If you’re looking for an electric SUV rather than a cheaper, more efficient and better-handling saloon or hatchback, it’s probably because you’re after a lot of space. Few do it better than the vast Kia EV9. The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV beats it for absolute interior volume, but the Benz is even more expensive, and the space it offers isn’t quite as versatile.
The EV9 makes better use of its generous square footage thanks to a larger glass area, seats that tumble and fold more easily, and a front luggage compartment to store the cables. The EV9 isn’t just a void on wheels either.
As with the Kia EV6 and Niro EV, the EV9 is a very well-sorted EV to drive too. Dual-motor versions offer strong performance, though the upcoming single-motor model is likely to be the pick of the range, while steering wheel paddles make the regenerative braking easy to control. The EV9 is very stylish for a seven-seat SUV and offers creditable luxury, efficiency and range.
If you’re looking for something slightly more affordable than the £65,025 EV9, or don’t need seven seats, we’d point you towards the Skoda Enyaq or Tesla Model Y.
Read our Kia EV9 review
Fisker Ocean – Best for Range
Commended: Polestar 3, BMW iX
The SUV shape is far from ideal for aerodynamics, but some manufacturers compensate for the relative lack of efficiency by fitting a huge battery. If you want the electric SUV with the longest range, you’ll want the Fisker Ocean, which is rated for 440 miles in Extreme trim. The cheaper Ultra promises a still-impressive 429 miles. We’ve not been able to do any extensive testing of the Ocean, but those two trims have a standard heat pump, so should hold their range fairly well, even in winter. Their 200kW charging makes it possible to top up the 106kWh battery in a reasonable amount of time.
Otherwise, the Ocean is a generally pleasant, practical and fuss-free car that’s easy to drive and comfortable on account of not being preoccupied with misplaced driver appeal. With a price of £50,900 for the Ultra and £57,900 for the Extreme, the Ocean feels like a bit of a bargain compared with the other high-mileage heros here. An even cheaper version is available from £36,900 and can still claim a WLTP range of 288 miles.
To get close to the Fisker’s range, you need to spend big on a Polestar 3 (379 miles) or a BMW iX xDrive50 (382 miles), but they are both very rounded luxury SUVs with a very long range.
Read our Fisker Ocean review
Tesla Model Y – Best for energy efficiency
Commended: Hyundai Ioniq 5/Genesis GV60, Skoda Enyaq/Volkswagen ID 4
Maximising range by throwing a big battery at the problem is all well and good, but a higher-capacity battery also takes longer to charge, and electricity isn’t free, particularly if you’re using rapid chargers. It’s better to find a car that makes the most of a smaller battery by maximising energy efficiency. It’s commonly expressed in miles per kWh (mpkWh), analogous to miles per gallon. Outside the UK and the US, kWh per 100km is more common.
At the moment, the undisputed efficiency champion is Tesla. The single-motor version of the Model Y is rated for 4.0mpkWh and should manage close to that in the real world. The dual-motor Long Range is slightly worse, at 3.7mpkWh, but still very impressive. Of course the lower, and more aerodynamic Tesla Model 3 saloon does even better.
Tesla’s extremely minimalist interior and exterior style isn’t for everyone, and nor is the rather prescriptive driving experience, but there’s no arguing with the Model Y’s fundamental qualities: it’s extremely spacious for its size, good value and quick and can be engaging to drive.
The closely related Model 3 has recently been updated to boost its efficiency even further and improve the comfort and interior ambiance, and those upgrades will eventually make their way to the Model Y as well.
If a Tesla doesn’t suit you, the single-motor Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Genesis GV60 (they have identical powertrains) are quite efficient too, as are the Skoda Enyaq and Volkswagen ID 4 (again, shared powertrains), which have recently had a significant efficiency boost.
Read our Tesla Model Y review
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – Best for driving fun
Commended: BMW iX3, Jaguar I-Pace
SUVs fun to drive? EVs fun to drive? You better believe it. Hyundai made car enthusiasts take notice when its first petrol-powered hot hatchbacks, the Hyundai i20 N and Hyundai i30 N turned out to be excellent right out of the gate. It seems intent on carrying that driver’s car cred into the electric era with the hot version of the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
The Ioniq 5 N goes further than just stiff suspension and bucketloads of power. You do get the latter, but thanks to a stiffened shell, a proper limited-slip differential on the rear axle, adaptive dampers and Hyundai’s engineers having a sense of humour, it’s genuinely entertaining. It loves to rotate on and off the power, and if you so wish, it can emulate a six-speed gearbox and a petrol engine.
Autocar's Matt Prior said in his review: “I think this is a landmark car. The first genuine EV driver’s car. A car we could bring along to Britain's Best Driver’s Car in 2025 and be confident it’ll perform well. Not because it makes brmm noises, but because the tuning is excellent and the engineering feels real.”
If the Ioniq 5 N is a bit too hardcore for you, there are some other options. The BMW iX3 sounds slightly lame on paper because it has only a single motor, but if anything, that helps it handle like a proper BMW. Although it’s flawed as a modern EV, the Jaguar i-Pace remains good fun to drive too.
Read our Hyundai Ioniq 5 N review
