Best EV Car – New Electric Car Reviews

Top 10 Most Efficient Electric Cars in 2026 – Which is CHEAPEST to run?

In this ultimate countdown of the Top 10 The Majority Of Efficient Electric Cars in 2026, we crunch the numbers to find out which EV is the CHEAPEST to run?. When looking for the most effective EVs, numerous purchasers presume they require a massive battery pack. However big batteries include lots of weight, which is why the ₤ 15k EV that beats any Tesla may just be the smartest choice for your driveway. We expose what that car is and break down the exact miles per kWh of the UK's many economical electrical automobiles.

Don't forget to subscribe!
If you enjoyed this top 10 countdown, hit sign up for maintain to date with our latest group tests and brand-new car evaluations: @whatcar

Looking for a particular model?
Read our full, comprehensive composed evaluations on every electric cars and truck included in today's video right here:

In this video, we discuss exactly how WLTP EV performance is calculated, factoring in the inevitable energy lost through heat during charging. We then rank the leading 10 most effective electric cars on sale right now. The countdown consisting of little city automobiles like the retro Fiat 500e and the brand new Nissan Micra, but likewise useful family haulers consisting of the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.7.

Plus, we take a look at high-end engineering marvels like the ultra-slippery Mercedes CLA 250+ with its 483-mile range, and offer you a sneak peek at the soon-to-be-launched Renault Twingo.

What Vehicle? is the UK's most significant car-buying brand and has actually been helping buyers for more than 50 years. Our tests are commonly considered the most independent and extensive.

Our YouTube channel brings you relied on evaluations on all types of vehicle, plus automobile news, reveals and features.

Thorough composed evaluations are offered on our site whatcar.com, where you'll likewise find advice functions and the current brand-new and pre-owned vehicle offers.

Follow What Automobile? here:
LIKE What Cars and truck? on Facebook:
FOLLOW What Car? on Twitter:

Check out our complete video catalog:

#ElectricCars #EVEfficiency #MostEfficientEVs #TeslaModel 3 #MercedesCLA #DaciaSpring #WhatCar #ev 2026.

Video chapters:.
0:00– Intro: Why big batteries are BAD for effectiveness!
1:19– How is EV performance computed? (WLTP & charging losses).
2.44– Future effectiveness champion: the brand-new Renault Twingo.
3:26– Top 10 most efficient EVs.

Posted

in

by

EVCarNew

Tags:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

32 responses to “Top 10 Most Efficient Electric Cars in 2026 – Which is CHEAPEST to run?”

  1. @whatcar Avatar
    @whatcar

    If you were buying a new EV today, what would your top priority be?

    A) Efficiency (I want to spend as little on electricity as possible!) 💰
    B) Range (I don’t want to be stopping to charge very often!) 🛣
    C) Performance (I love the quick acceleration some EVs offer) 🏎

    Reply
    1. @sargfowler9603 Avatar
      @sargfowler9603

      B, C then A. I mostly home charge, so it’s a cheap as chips to run.

      Reply
    2. @mvasingh Avatar
      @mvasingh

      A,B,C.

      Reply
    3. @haukikannel Avatar
      @haukikannel

      B and A…
      Or A and B… ahmmm A and B in this order. 10s/0 to 100 is fast enough… so C not so much…

      Reply
    4. @jaywalker1233 Avatar
      @jaywalker1233

      *Size* – I like *small* cars😁

      Reply
    5. @Qlyphy Avatar
      @Qlyphy

      I want a balance of all three 🙂 (min 250HP, 300 mile range and an eficency above 4mi/KWH real world) I know someone will tell me to buy a tesla – lol

      Reply
  2. @urbanstrencan Avatar
    @urbanstrencan

    To me efficiency is definitely more important than pure range, like said you can put enormous battery in the EV just look at Hummer EV, but that makes them heavy and inefficient.
    Great video

    Reply
    1. @dominicchesterman2107 Avatar
      @dominicchesterman2107

      So I thought the future would about efficiency when the Hyundai Ionic came out but then all the SUV’s followed with massive batteries.

      Reply
    2. @Ashes3123 Avatar
      @Ashes3123

      Strange we’re seeing this more often. Right after Tesla lost the range battle.😂

      Reply
  3. @danielkirchner3394 Avatar
    @danielkirchner3394

    Tesla and Mercedes, big cars with the same consuption of a small EV.

    Reply
  4. @nicomonkeyboy Avatar
    @nicomonkeyboy

    AH yes! Harry Kanes – the internationally recognised unit of weight…

    Reply
  5. @samlui3591 Avatar
    @samlui3591

    Where’s the leapmotor t03 . I’m averaging 5

    Reply
    1. @melcragg7814 Avatar
      @melcragg7814

      I’m getting 4.8 in my Model 3.

      Reply
    2. @samlui3591 Avatar
      @samlui3591

      ​@melcragg7814yes, comparing 15k to 40k isn’t really what I’m after. The T03 is less than 15k brand new.

      Reply
  6. @robsmith1a Avatar
    @robsmith1a

    So much efficiency comes down to driving style. I get over 4 miles per kWh average in the summer from a facelift single motor Polestar 2 and more on longer journeys. I’m sure I could thrash it to around 3 miles per kWh though. I had a Zoe some years back and that was no more efficient.

    Reply
    1. @siraff4461 Avatar
      @siraff4461

      Yes but a lot also comes from car design and the kind of road/use. I used to be able to get 4.5mi/kWh from my Zoe if I was just doing school runs and if it was summer. On a motorway it was usually under 2 sitting at a real 70mph (76mph on the very optimistic speedo!). My old model S used to do around 2.8-3.2 on the same run at the same speed depending if I was in a rush or not. Strangely though when we went away and were on better roads the model S was doing over 4mi/kWh in similar driving with the only difference being that we weren’t dodging (or hitting) potholes constantly. There were also quite a few less hills which can’t have hurt.

      Reply
  7. @80y3r9 Avatar
    @80y3r9

    How the Geoff does wltp have charging losses in and still be optimistic 🤯🤯

    Reply
  8. @HugoParedes Avatar
    @HugoParedes

    A combination of efficiency and range. There’s not point being very efficient and have a short range.

    Reply
  9. @josipmatic4732 Avatar
    @josipmatic4732

    Please test Toyota Bz4X Touring

    Reply
  10. @simoncove1 Avatar
    @simoncove1

    I want a renault twingo as the second car . That looks great

    Reply
  11. @ericseidel4940 Avatar
    @ericseidel4940

    So bad you “inadvertendly” forgot the new MG4 Urban….

    Reply
    1. @whatcar Avatar
      @whatcar

      The WLTP combined of the efficiency MG4 Urban is 4.01mi/kWh.

      Reply
    2. @Ben-gm9lo Avatar
      @Ben-gm9lo

      It didn’t get mentioned as it isn’t in their top 10 for efficiency, which is what the video was about.

      Reply
  12. @jerryDycus-d9c Avatar
    @jerryDycus-d9c

    My 23 Bolt gets 320 miles average at 5.3 miles/kwh on a 259 mile EPA rated pack.

    Reply
  13. @markarmstrong9550 Avatar
    @markarmstrong9550

    Range is more important to me and many others since it means less likely to need to use a public charger as often in the first place. If that needs a bigger battery it needs a bigger battery. If the car can be more efficient to make that even better, great, but it is still about range.

    Reply
  14. @masterjejep1386 Avatar
    @masterjejep1386

    Try geely ex2 or byd atto 1 it will beat all of those

    Reply
  15. @siraff4461 Avatar
    @siraff4461

    The problem with using WLTP isn’t just how wildly optimistic it is – its how that optimism varies greatly from car to car.
    It completely ignores the effects of weight if you have people in it, all but ignores the effects of poor insulation/heat pump and biases it very heavily toward low speed driving. It also ignores the effects of extra drag from wet or poor surfaces and largely ignores hills.
    If you jump in the Tesla with its alleged 300+ miles you can be pretty sure you’re going to get well over 200 miles even if you tear it down the motorway. The Spring on the other hand isn’t going to get very far at all in the same use and even at a steady 70mph you’re going to be looking for a charger the wrong side of 50 miles.
    Put four people and a boot full of luggage in each then set off on a windy or wet day and the effect is multiplied.
    The problem with the “efficiency” a smaller battery’s lower weight allows is that when you do ask it to do any real work it has a lot more resistance per kW used. That builds heat and efficiency goes out of the window.
    The Spring is cheap because its rubbish. Its only any use as a low range commuter or shopping car which is fine if thats all you ever want a car to do but as a normal only car its just not realistic for most people. It also makes little sense if you use it as a second car. So you have a petrol and a Spring – why pay two sets of insurance and have to have two parking spaces when a plug in hybrid can do more distance on electricity, can charge faster and the bump in price is less than the Spring cost anyway – along with being able to drive an actual car all the time instead of a tiny box with all the niceties and crash protection of a made-in-Taiwan hotwheels rip off?

    Reply
  16. @driv3rde883 Avatar
    @driv3rde883

    Please include in future videos the consumption in kwh/100km also. And range information in km.
    Thanks

    Reply
  17. @lw2978 Avatar
    @lw2978

    My box-on-wheels motor “Fugly”, a Kia EV3 Air 81kWh (17″ wheels) has an official WLTP of 4.6 miles/kWh and I’d say average real-world insights of 3.8-4.2 miles/kWh are about right. I’ve had the car for around 18 months, done 18,500 miles and it averages around 4.0 miles/kWh (78kWh usable, so around 312 miles range most of the time, although 90% of the time I charge to 80%-100% is only for rare long journeys). For a very practical car with loads of space and great comfort, I’m happy with those numbers.

    Reply
  18. @Youtubedotcomma Avatar
    @Youtubedotcomma

    I drove a 5 hour round trip in a 2022 model y LR with roof racks on from Essex to lemmington spa and averaged 198Wh/mi which is over 5miles/kWh!

    Reply
  19. @AncientMarinerYT Avatar
    @AncientMarinerYT

    If the figures for that Mercedes aren’t too far off real-world then that’s genuinely impressive and it might be an EV I could live with in the future.

    Reply
  20. @henryandrews2011 Avatar
    @henryandrews2011

    starts at 3.33

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *