The UK’s most efficient electric car on sale has been named (stock) (Image: Getty)
With the price of petrol and diesel rising following the beginning of the war in Iran nearly three weeks ago, there may be more people looking at swapping out their fossil fuel powered car for an electric one.
With that in mind, there are a range of options on the market for those who are interested. However, not all electric cars are alike, particularly when it comes to battery range and overall efficiency.
Sometimes an electric car might be the one to go for not because it can go the furthest, but because it is the most efficient, allowing you to engage in fewer battery saving techniques.
Renowned car reviewers from Auto Express have compiled a list of the most efficient electric cars on sale in the UK. They ranked them based on the manufacturer’s official WLTP efficiency testing programmes, a score measure in how many miles a car can travel in one kilowatt hour.
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A Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 (Image: Getty)
The car that came out on top was the Mercedes CLA 250+ Sport Edition. It had an efficiency rating of five miles-per-kilowatt-hour, the electric equivalent of a diesel or petrol car’s MPG.
Speaking about the CLA, a premium electric saloon car, Auto Express remarked: “Thanks to a new, cutting-edge platform and powertrain, the saloon can cover 483 miles on a charge of its 85.5kWh battery.
“That works out to an incredible 5.0mi/kWh…The Mercedes is also incredibly comfortable and refined, which is ideal for the long motorway journeys.”
Coming in second was the Dacia Spring Extreme 100 with an efficiency rating also of five miles-per-kilowatt-hour. Although the Dacia is a different car segment to the Mercedes, being a city car, it is still an impressive figure.
On the Spring Extreme, Auto Express’ experts said: “The dinky Dacia Spring is proof that it’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it.”
A Dacia Spring (Image: Getty)
Coming in third behind the pair of the European rivals was the Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive with four point eight miles-per-kilowatt-hour. The American saloon, often one of the most impressive models when it comes to range, offers up 332 miles of it to potential buyers.
Auto Express’s verdict on the most efficient electric cars comes as British drivers, regardless of what fuel powers their car, could be faced with a new levy aimed at larger vehicles such as SUVs.
Campaigners Transport & Environment have called for a new tax aimed at larger vehicles as they claim those cars cause more damage because they put more pressure on Britain’s roads by virtue of being heavier.
The campaigners proposed that their new fee would add a flat rate of £10 for every kilogram above 1,600kg.
They claimed: “Heavily polluting SUVs are getting an unfair tax break. The current Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) doesn’t reflect the true impact of the biggest, heaviest vehicles on our roads. SUVs now dominate the market—yet many still pay the same or less tax than smaller, cleaner cars.”
This could affect electric cars as many of them can be sold as electric as well as petrol and hybrid variants with electric cars sometimes, but not always, the heaviest variant due to the batteries and motors onboard.
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