Battery beauties: This is our list of the world’s best EV car designs. Do you agree? | Opinion
The EV boom has given car designers a historically unique “fresh slate” opportunity.
But have they really grasped this golden chance?
Electric motors and batteries can be packaged very differently to a combustion engine and its associated fuel and cooling systems, so why do we still see pragmatic paint-by-numbers EV SUV designs?
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But among the yawn-fest white-goods, there have been standouts.
Design is of course subjective, but our journalists don’t mind an opinion or three, and happily chimed in with their best from the current crop of EVs.
Sling your favourite EV design opinion in the comments below, and feel free to passionately agree or disagree with our choices.
Toby Hagon – Audi RS e-tron GT
First revealed in 2021, the low-slung e-tron GT somehow out-styled the closely related and rather sexy Porsche Taycan EV.
A gorgeous grand tourer with a remarkably wide and pretty rear end, in Performance trim it’s also Audi’s most powerful ever series production car.
The fact this e-tron isn’t a terribly practical GT shows Hagon rewards style over substance: exactly as it should be.
PR fluff description:
“GT stands for elegant sportiness… Its front end is homogeneous and expressive at the same time.” Audi AG.
Stephen Corby – Kia EV2
Recency bias could be at play here, as Corby has plumped for Kia’s incoming tiniest EV SUV, barely bigger than a Toyota Yaris hatchback.
With all the European exotica he reviews, giving the EV2 top electric car design honours shows his heart truly lies with practical and smart city car styling.
Unquestionably cute (the Kia, not Corby), its tiny dimensions perhaps best show off the Korean brand’s design language shared with its larger EV3, EV5 and EV9 SUVs.
PR fluff description:
“The EV2 embodies Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy… Vertical daytime running lights, Kia’s latest Star Map Light Signature, a pronounced shoulder line, and robust wheel arches create a distinctive exterior.” Kia Media.
Iain Curry – Renault 5
Retro design done right.
History books should show the reborn Renault 5 was the electric car EV-sceptics bought on looks alone. Who even cares what’s motivating it?
Lovely design nods to Reanult’s 1972 original, including retro ‘5’ numbers, padded dashboard and headliner, heritage linear diamond Renault logos, and basic steel rims with “Disco” hubcaps paying homage to the 1980’s Renault 5 Turbo.
The entry-level is cute and cheap (a winning small French car formula), while the Turbo 3E “mini-supercar” is a wide-body work of art, especially in Tour de Corse red, blue and white livery (see below).
PR fluff description:
“We used pieces of collective memory that we translated in a very contemporary way to create the R5 of tomorrow. We wanted to trigger emotion and created a vibrant, energetic, and POP car.” – Gilles Vidal, VP Design, Renault
Bruce Newton – Honda Super-ONE
The city car love rolls on.
Honda has previous with cutesy city EVs: the unimaginatively-named Honda e was a retro winner to behold, but its crummy range and daftly expensive price ensured it was a sales flop.
Can the Super-ONE break through? Looking every inch a Kei car but slightly longer at 3.6m, the little Honda’s beguiling round headlights help blend charm with a dash of aggression from its swollen rear arches.
It looks like a boxy funster with its minimal overhangs, and an ideal city style statement.
PR fluff description:
“The exterior was designed to realise styling that evokes an uplifting sensation in anticipation of an authentic driving experience.” – Honda Motor Co.
Andrew Chesterton – Abarth 500
A man so enamoured by La Dolce Vita, Chesto’s top EV design pick goes to the be-Scorpioned Abarth 500e. Too much Chianti for breakfast again, perhaps?
Is it the retro styling based on Fiat’s iconic Bambino? The angry eyebrows? The don’t-mind-me Acid Green paint?
The fun, bubbly design exudes back-road playtime, especially in “Scorpionissima” trim.
Eminently impractical and with peanuts electric range, it proves the Italians still nail the heart-over-head purchase.
PR fluff description:
“More Abarth than EVer, meaning that it offers an irreverent, playful, yet bold style, and a thrilling driving experience with the same amount of fun!” Fiat Automobiles S.p.A.
