Best company cars

Best for: an electric saloon

The BMW 5 Series has been one of the best executive cars on sale since it was launched in the 1970s. The i5 takes the sporty, comfortable and luxurious 5 Series recipe; enhancing it with a silent electric powertrain and usable electric range without compromising on what makes the 5 Series great.

That being said, the i5 isn’t the looker that previous generations of 5 Series have been, dropping the crisp, clean, understated styling of old for a more ’out there’ design. The enormous, blanked-off front grille is flanked by a pair of beady, aggressive headlights. While the taillights are quite sleek, the i5 does look slab-sided and the overall proportions are a bit ungainly.

The interior is a different story, because the i5’s cabin is absolutely wonderful. There’s plush leather (vegan or full fat) everywhere within reach, a crisp, curved, dual-screen setup perched on top and a wide centre console featuring BMW’s signature rotary control knob - in crystal form, no less.

The infotainment display is touchscreen too, but you’re better off using the rotary knob as it’s less distracting on the move, and the screen is so wide you’ll find yourself leaning over to press the buttons furthest away from you.

There’s loads of room inside the i5, both front and back, with plenty of adjustability in the hugely comfortable front seats. A trio of adults will find the rear bench a bit of a squeeze, as there’s a large hump in the floor, and the 490-litre boot is smaller than you get in the petrol-powered 5 Series.

Being a full EV, the i5 qualifies for the lowest BiK band, making it reasonably affordable to get on your driveway. It also has a very usable range of between 319-375 miles depending on which model you opt for, making it a proper road-trip contender.

Motorways are where the i5 feels most at home, as it simply wafts along in silence, smoothing out bad motorway stretches with ease. It’s just as comfortable around town, but the i5 loses a couple of marks on a country lane where it struggles to hide its weight; it can feel a little wallowy around fast, tight bends.

Best for: an electric hatchback

The Renault 5 is one of the best small cars on sale at the moment, EV or not. It looks fantastic, it’s great to drive and while it’s not all that practical, it makes for a great city car.

It really is one of the most stylish cars on sale, even when compared to slinky supercars and big, brash SUVs. Renault has managed to fill the design with retro styling cues without making it look kitschy or contrived, and its funky headlights and sloping tailgate really do look like the Renault 5 of old.
The interior is charming too, with more retro touches such as the two-tier dashboard and denim upholstery surrounding you. The infotainment runs a Google operating system, making it slick and easy to use, and the physical climate controls stop you from getting lost in a sea of menus, while trying to turn on the air con.

It’s not very spacious though, and while front seat space and storage is okay, there isn’t much rear legroom at all. The trade-off is a capacious 326-litre boot, impressive in a car this small.

The Renault 5 sits in the lowest band of BiK payments, and you can choose from an entry-level car with 190 miles of range or a bigger-battery model with 252 miles in between charges.

Around town the Renault 5 feels agile and darty, a breeze to manoeuvre around town, yet it’s comfortable on the motorway and good fun to chuck around on a twisty road.

Best for: an electric estate

Big estate cars are very much a part of Volkswagen’s blood, and decades of experience producing them has led to the brilliant ID7 Tourer. It may not be the simple, conventional petrol car the Passat is, but the ID7 punches above its station to be one of the most comfortable and poshest estate cars on sale.

It’s absolutely enormous, even if its sleek design hides its prodigious size in photos. The wide front and rear light bars, flowing lines and sleek roofline make the ID7 look very smart - especially when optioned in two-tone paint.

The interior may not be as posh as you’ll find in a BMW or Mercedes, but the ID7’s wide dashboard with a set-back driver display behind the wheel, floating infotainment screen and soft-touch materials in abundance make it the nicest cabin of any Volkswagen ID model. It’s a shame the touchscreen climate controls are annoying to use, though.

There’s plenty of headroom and legroom for everyone onboard an ID7, and the boot is a mighty 605 litres large with the seats up. Drop the rear bench and you get a prodigious 1,705 litres of cargo space.

Another lowest-band entrant to the list, the ID7 can travel up to 424 miles to a charge in Match Pro S trim, but even the base car will go over 300 miles.

Around town or on a narrow country lane, the ID7 can feel a bit too big to get comfortable in, and the suspension isn’t always adept at absorbing pothole blows. Motorways are where the ID7 finds its groove, settling into a high-speed cruise with almost no wind or road noise.

Best for: an electric SUV

The Kia EV9 is a super-sized, super-practical and super-futuristic looking SUV - and it’s excellent. So good that it won the Outstanding EV category in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards.

It looks as though a battalion of Stormtroopers are about to jump out of it, with huge, vertical lights at both ends, smooth flanks, funky wheel designs and massive windows. It really looks like nothing else on the road, aside from its smaller Kia stablemates.

A benefit of its size is that there’s buckets of room inside, and it’s one of very few seven-seater SUVs on sale today. The seat designs are just as futuristic as the exterior, while the funky dashboard curves away from you and is topped by a huge triple-screen setup.

Material quality isn’t quite on par with the likes of its European alternatives - a shame given its price - but the EV9 makes up for it with usable space for seven adults, or a huge 828 litres of boot space with the rear row folded away. There’s even a small front-boot for cable storage.You get between 313 - 349 miles of range from the dual motor and single motor versions, respectively.

It feels more agile on the road than you might expect, as a result of its responsive electric motors, but there’s no escaping its size on a narrow road. While the suite of cameras and sensors helps around town, it’s an unnerving car to drive on a tight country lane. Best stick to motorways, where the EV9 feels right at home.

Best for: electric poshness

Who’d have thought that a sports car manufacturer would produce one of the best electric saloon cars on sale, eh? Well, Porsche silenced the doubters with the Taycan, because it’s one of the most desirable cars on sale - electric or not.

It looks like a Porsche through-and-through, with the classic, curved haunches on all four corners, a sleek roofline and a futuristic take on the soft, rounded headlights - complete with an intricate LED pattern.

The interior also gives off a Porsche-of-the-future vibe, with the raised centre console and high-set dashboard leaving you feeling cocooned in the Taycan’s low-slung seats. The driving position is superb, and the curved digital display is very easy on the eye.

There isn’t much headroom in the back, thanks to the low roofline, and the boot is nothing to brag about at 407-litres, but you do get an 84-litre front boot for smaller bags - and if you’ve got your heart set on a Porsche, practicality shouldn’t be much of a detractor.

It’s the driving experience that really blows you away, because the Taycan feels almost as agile and sure-footed on a twisty road as a 911 sports car. Sure, it can’t change directions quite as effortlessly as its two-door coupe sibling, but it’s by far and away the sportiest-feeling EV on sale, while being hugely comfortable around town and efficient on the motorway thanks to a trick gearbox.

All of that while sitting in the lowest BiK band and offering up to 372 miles of electric range. It’s just a shame it’s so expensive.

Best for: electric smart spending

Okay so it’s hard to follow a Porsche with a Citroen city car, but as a value for money proposition the e-C3 is a fantastic little car. It’s one of the cheapest EVs you can acquire as a company car, because while it’s in the same BiK band as the rest of the electric on this list, you can buy one outright for around £22,000.

It looks great, far more premium in appearance than its price tag suggests. The interior hides its scratchy plastics with liberal use of funky fabrics, it’s immensely comfortable over bumpy roads and there’s enough space for four adults in comfort.

Range is less impressive at only around 200 miles to a charge, but as a city commuter or a car to do short trips in the e-C3 makes a lot of sense, and it’s definitely worth considering.

Best for: a PHEV estate

It may seem like a shame that you can’t get the regular Skoda Superb as a plug-in hybrid, but the truth is the estate version offers all of the great attributes of the liftback model with the added practicality of an enormous boot. It’s so good, in fact, that it’s the best estate car on sale in the UK, period.

Skodas are often a case of substance over style, and the Superb doesn’t escape that. You get Skoda’s signature bold grille, but other than that there are lots of straight lines and restrained curves. It’s not ugly by any means, but it’s not a head turner either; handsome but a bit plain.

The interior is much the same story, and while it’s not as striking or as posh as its German alternatives, the Superb oozes high-quality instead. The dashboard swoops below the central 10.3-inch infotainment screen, and most of the plastics within reach are soft to the touch.

Space is the Superb’s trump card, with loads of room inside for five adults to travel in comfort - even with a hump in the floor at the back. With the large, panoramic roof fitted you’ve got miles of headroom, and there’s plenty of leg space too. The PHEV version of the Superb Estate has less boot space than the rest of the range, 510 litres instead of 690 litres, but it’s still a wide and deep load space.

It’s the electric range that impresses most about the plug-in Superb, with a whopping 84 miles to a charge. That makes it one of only a handful of PHEVs which sit in the second-lowest BiK band, and that saves you a noticeable percentage of tax every month.

It’s one of the most comfortable estate cars on sale at the moment, soaking up bad roads with ease - especially at a high-speed motorway cruise, where the Superb glides along. Town driving is a bit less relaxing; it’s a rather large car, and it can be a struggle to find parking spaces. Country lanes aren’t fun, but the Superb feels sure-footed when the going gets twisty.

Best for: a PHEV hatchback

The Audi A3 Sportback may not feel as modern or tech-heavy as the latest crop of Audis, but it’s all the better for it, because it has a far nicer interior than you’ll find in its more expensive counterparts. It looks great, and though it’s not the most comfortable or practical choice of car, it’s got a cracking hybrid engine.

It’s also one of Audi’s best designs of the past decade, with crisp angles, a pointy front end, big, flared wheel arches and intricate light patterns. The front grille might be a bit gopping, but the A3 is still more cohesive than some of Audi’s latest efforts.

Inside, the A3 has an outstanding cabin, because while the design might not blow your socks off, the build quality feels marble-esque compared to the plastic-fantastic newer models. The upper surfaces are plush to the touch, and the infotainment and instruments displays aren’t quite the visual assault that the new-gen triple-screen setup is.

There’s enough room for four adults in decent comfort, though three in the back is a squeeze and there isn’t much storage for odds and ends in the cabin. The 380-litre boot is about average for a family hatchback, but it has a handy adjustable-height floor.

The A3 shares the Superb iV’s plug-in hybrid system, which means you get a whopping 88 miles of range - and a low BiK rate as a result. It’s not the most exciting car on a country lane, and alternatives are more comfortable in town, but it’s a solid all-rounder and an easy car to do long journeys in.

Best for: PHEV poshness

There may already be a PHEV estate car on this list, but as a money-no-object, outrageously fast status-symbol on wheels, the BMW M5 Touring is about as good an all-rounder as you can get. You can opt for an M5 in saloon form, but the Touring is more practical and just as fast - it’s cooler, too.

Much like the 5 Series on which it’s based, the M5 does suffer from a slightly incoherent design. The huge grille and small headlights are at odds with one another, but the pumped-up wheel arches and angular side skirts do fix the slab-sided look of the regular car - and the M5 Touring’s rear end looks great.

The interior is much the same as the regular 5 Series too, meaning you get loads of soft-touch materials and a crisp widescreen display, but it’s the excellent sports seats, chunky steering wheels and red flashes around the cabin that set the M5 apart.

There’s plenty of room inside too, both front and rear, especially with the optional glass roof fitted, but the boot capacity is underwhelming at 500 litres due to the under-floor batteries. You get 41 miles of electric range as a result, meaning this supercar-baiting wagon falls into the fourth lowest BiK band - ideal for the director or CEO who’s after one.

It’s the M5 Touring’s performance that blows your mind, with relentless acceleration from its twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 engine and electric motor combo, while remaining very comfortable around town and a consummate cruiser on the motorway. It’s just a shame it’s so big, because tight country lanes can be very unnerving at speed, especially around blind corners.

Best for: a PHEV saloon

Another example of the executive car elite, the Mercedes E-Class has been the biggest thorn in the BMW 5 Series’ side for decades.

When it comes to its design, the latest E-Class looks as luxurious as ever. The iconic three-pointed star sits in a bold grille, flanked by curvaceous headlights. In fact, the entire E-Class is a mix of gentle curves and sharp creases, and it looks rather handsome as a result.

The interior feels suitably plush for a posh executive saloon, with (mostly) soft-touch materials all around you and a handsome dashboard design that leans away from you. The ‘Superscreen’ infotainment system is a bit overwhelming though, turning almost every reachable dash surface into a touchscreen display.

It’s hugely comfortable inside, and there’s loads of space and storage solutions both front and rear, but the boot in the hybrid version is disappointing at only 370 litres - less than you get in the Audi A3.

The trade-off is that you get around 70 miles of electric range, putting the E-Class hybrid in a low BiK band, and combined with its diesel engine - it’s the only diesel hybrid saloon on sale - means it’s not only highly efficient in town, but on the motorway too. It’s a fantastic cruiser, comfortable in the city and rather good fun on a country lane, too.

Best for: a PHEV SUV

The name Range Rover Sport may be an oxymoron, but three generations in, the big, sporty SUV proves that it’s a hugely desirable recipe. It looks great, is plush inside and has properly impressive electric range for a car this big.

And it’s certainly the sleekest-looking Range Rover Sport yet. It’s still a stately old bus, but the front end is rounded and purposeful, with slender headlights and aggressive air intakes, while the horizontal taillights mark the Sport out against the stately, full-fat Range Rover.

The interior is also classic Range Rover, but now with a leaner, more minimalist dashboard and a wide, floating centre console. The dash and door cars are leather trimmed, the curved infotainment system is easy to use and easy on the eye, and overall the Sport has one of the poshest interiors of any SUV on sale.

It’s hugely roomy, with ample space for five passengers inside and a prodigious 835-litre boot - the biggest on this list by far - and you can lower the back of the car down to load in heavy items with ease.

The Range Rover Sport PHEV offers around 70 miles of range, which not only puts it in a low BiK bracket, but is part of what makes it easy to drive around town. The high seating position and great all-round visibility help take some of the strain out of motorway driving, and it’s a rewarding car to carve through corners in on a country lane.

Best for: PHEV smart spending

On the other end of the SUV spectrum to a Range Rover is the MG HS, but while it may not come close to the prestige of a big, posh SUV, it’s actually a very impressive car which offers outstanding value for money.

It looks great - arguably MG’s most handsome car - the interior looks and feels like it’s been taken out of a far more expensive car. Its 75-mile electric range and £26,000 starting price means it’s one of the cheapest SUVs you can get under the company car scheme, too.

It’s not exactly quick and it’s not much fun to drive, but so long as you’re happy pottering along at a steady cruise then the MG HS makes for a perfectly capable family car, and it’s worth every penny of its low price.