Electric cars have dominated a new study identifying the UK’s cheapest cars to run, with models from Renault, Ford and Skoda among the top 10
Electric cars have dominated a new study identifying the UK’s cheapest cars to run.
The research into the models with the highest and lowest running costs found that all 10 of the cheapest cars were pure electric, with the Renault 5 emerging as the cheapest overall.
The study was conducted by insurance specialist Quotezone and compared key running costs for 50 of the UK’s most popular new cars.
Using standardised industry and government data, plus manufacturer-supplied figures, the research compared fuel, insurance, tax and maintenance bills and found that the average running costs excluding finance was £3,554.
However, all 10 of the cheapest EVs came in substantially below that.
Big names, small costs
The Renault 5 was the most affordable overall, with average annual running costs of just £1,671. That was made up of a mid-range insurance cost (£646), low electric fuel costs (£655) and maintenance of around £170 per year.
While a supermini might be expected to lead the way on running costs, many of the other EVs in the top 10 are larger family cars.
The Ford Explorer C-SUV and the mechanically related Volkswagen ID.4 were second and third, with annual costs of £2,085 and £2,099 respectively. The only difference between the two models was an extra £14 on the average insurance premium for the VW.
The Skoda Enyaq and Audi Q4 e-tron, both of which are also related to the Ford/VW pair also featured in the list of 10 cheapest cars to run, along with the Skoda Elroq and models from Kia, Peugeot and Tesla.
| UK’s top 10 least expensive cars to run | |||||||
| Rank | Car Model | Fuel Type | Fees & Taxes | Fuel | Insurance | Maintenance | Total Running Cost (one year) |
| 1 | Renault 5 | Electric | £200 | £655 | £646 | £170 | £1,671 |
| 2 | Ford Explorer | Electric | £200 | £857 | £818 | £210 | £2,085 |
| 3 | Volkswagen ID.4 | Electric | £200 | £857 | £832 | £210 | £2,099 |
| 4 | Peugeot 3008 | Electric | £200 | £857 | £917 | £210 | £2,185 |
| 5 | Kia EV3 | Electric | £200 | £655 | £1,193 | £170 | £2,217 |
| 6 | Skoda Enyaq | Electric | £200 | £857 | £963 | £210 | £2,230 |
| 7 | Skoda Elroq | Electric | £200 | £857 | £1,014 | £210 | £2,281 |
| 8 | Volvo EX30 | Electric | £200 | £800 | £1,260 | £170 | £2,430 |
| 9 | Audi Q4 e-tron | Electric | £200 | £947 | £1,282 | £210 | £2,639 |
| 10 | Tesla Model Y | Electric | £200 | £900 | £1,808 | £210 | £3,118 |
Price remains a problem
The study did, however, also highlight the impact of purchase price and finance deals on affordability, with finance accounting for nearly three-quarters of total annual bills.
With a four-year finance package taking into consideration, the Renault 5 was pushed into second place by the petrol-powered Dacia Sandero. However, it was the only EV to still make it into the top 10, with three others making it into the top 10.
More problematically, with finance included, the all-electric BMW i4 proved to be the most expensive car in the top 50, edging out the Land Rover Defender with annual finance bills of £21,000 on top of £3,000 of other running costs. That makes the i4 £16,000 a year more expensive to run than the Renault 5.
In total, four EVs were included in the list of most expensive cars to run once finance is included – the BMW, plus the Audi Q6 e-tron, Audi Q4 e-tron and the Tesla Model Y. With finance excluded only the Audi Q6 remained in the list of most expensive models thanks to its enormous insurance premium of almost £2,500.
