Electric cars travel up to three times the distance of their petrol or diesel rivals for the same amount of money, according to research.
With interest in electric cars rising, many potential buyers are left confused by the way running costs are explained, with ‘miles per kWh’ difficult to compare to ‘miles per gallon’.
To help consumers, car reviews and advice website Parkers.co.uk has developed a way of showing how far your car will go on a single pound – regardless of what fuel it runs on.
The figure – dubbed ‘miles per pound’ (mpp) – reveals how much a car can travel for £1 of petrol, diesel or electricity.
The study found the Kia e-Niro First Edition and the Renault Zoe 65kW are the most efficient models on sale in the UK today, with the cars capable of travelling 33.1 miles per pound (mpp) of electricity.
This is more than three times as far as the most economical version of the Ford Fiesta (9.3mpp), the UK’s best-selling vehicle, when using official testing figures.
With the average UK motorist driving around 7,150 miles per year, they would spend just £216 over a 12 month period if they charged their Kia e-Niro or Renault Zoe from home.
The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range was the third most economical, covering 32.3mpp, while the Volkswagen e-Golf was fourth on 30.8mpp.
Parkers.co.uk calculated the cost for electric cars based on home charging prices rather than using public charging points, as costs for public charging can vary wildly.
The mpp data is also only available for cars on sale since 2017 and that are also currently available to buy.For this reason, the Hyundai Kona Electric, which could travel 30.8mpp, does not appear on the list as it is sold out due to high demand.
The Top 10 most efficient pure electric cars (miles per pound):
1. Kia e-Niro First Edition – 33.1mpp
2. Renault Zoe 65kW – 33.1mpp
3. Tesla Model 3 Standard Range – 32.3mpp
4. Volkswagen e-Golf – 30.8mpp
5. BMW i3 – 30.0mpp
6. BMW i3S – 29.2mpp
7. Tesla Model S Long Range – 30.0mpp
8. Nissan Leaf 62kWh – 26.9mpp
9. Smart EQ Fortwo Coupe – 26.9mpp
10. Tesla Model X Long Range – 24.6mpp
The UK’s Top five standard hybrids for mpp
1. Toyota Yaris – 10.1mpp
2. Toyota Corolla – 9.5mpp
3. Kia Niro – 9.3mpp
4. Lexus CT – 9.5mpp
5. Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Dualjet – 9.3mpp
The UK’s Top 10 petrols and diesels –
1. Honda Civic Saloon 1.6i DTEC (D) – 10.8mpp
2. Ford Focus 1.5 EcoBlue (D) – 10.8mpp
3. Honda Jazz S 1.3 i-VTEC (P) – 10.3mpp
4. Dacia Logan MCV Blue dCi 95 (D) – 10.3mpp
5. Kia Ceed 1.6 CRDi (D) – 10.1mpp
6. Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Dualjet (P) – 10.1mpp
7. Dacia Sandero Stepway Blue dCi 95 (D) – 9.9mpp
8. Mercedes-Benz A 180 d (D) – 9.3mpp
9. Mercedes-Benz B 180 d (D) – 9.1mpp
10. Citroen C3 Aircross BlueHDi 100 (D) – 9.1mpp