Opinion: small electric cars are better than small petrol cars

I’m a fairly simple being, at least in motoring terms. If I’m behind the wheel of a silly car with a big, powerful engine under the bonnet, you can expect a smile on my face – but I get just as much of a kick out of a small, simple hatchback.

This year I’ve been fortunate enough to have reviewed three of the latest small cars to hit the market, from Nissan, Renault and Cupra. All three are electric, all three have been designed with urban living in mind and all three have shown me the light – that a small EV makes a lot more sense than a small petrol or hybrid car.

In fact, the Renault Twingo E-Tech is the first – and so far the only – car I have ever driven which I’ve awarded a full 10/10 score. Break out the fanfare and pop open the champers, because it really is that good.

Renault promises a starting price of under £20,000 when it goes on sale in December (my gut tells me it’ll start at £19,000). At that money it’s a no brainer – a huge stepping stone in refinement, comfort and practicality for such an affordable city car. At no point during my test drive in Ibiza did it feel out of its depth, even on the motorway, and on a country lane it was genuinely great fun to chuck into bends.

Another car which left a great impression was the Renault-derived Nissan Micra. I may have some sentimental attachment to the name (I learned to drive manual in one as a youth in Cyprus), but the re-skinned Renault 5 is the best version of the car there has ever been.

Okay, so the styling is the only aspect of the car Nissan has touched. Controversially, I actually prefer the way the Micra looks to the Renault 5 – as did a lot of onlookers who complimented the car’s styling, especially at night with its big, round light details. I also like the slightly more grown-up cabin over the Renault’s denim-clad number, at the risk of sounding boring.

But the small hatchback that’s excited me the most from behind the wheel this year has to be the Cupra Raval. Granted, I only drove it in top-spec VZ Extreme guise (which comes with sports suspension, a limited-slip differential and bucket seats), but as a small, practical car it’s brilliant.

With me behind the wheel and four other passengers it didn’t feel too claustrophobic, it was comfortable around town and – thanks to some clever packaging allowed by new battery tech – the Raval’s boot is more capacious than in the larger Born.

It’s also comfortable, refined and a blast to hurl through bends, pretty much a proper hot hatch – but with an electric motor, rather than an engine.

Most importantly, at no point did I miss having a little engine thrumming away under the bonnet, straining uphill or with a full-laden car. Small yet grunty electric motors suit small hatchbacks more so than any other car, and with engineering now getting the hang of how to utilise interior space, I’m certain that we’re in for a golden period of small car design.

Now when is the Peugeot 208 GTi launching? I need to test my theory on a bona fide electric hot hatch…

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.