Over the past year and a bit, Gizmodo Australia has had the pleasure of reviewing quite a collection of electric vehicles.
Where might one access all of these reviews, I hear you ask? Well, considering that we have so many now, we wanted to put them all in a place where you can see what we liked, what we didn’t like, and where you can read more.
So, in order of our least favourite to favourite, here are the EVs we’ve reviewed. Most of these cars are brilliant and it’s difficult to really dislike any one of them; this list is more just about our personal enjoyment and preference.
13. The Nissan Leaf (2023)
While Nissan deserves praise for being one of the first companies to get behind electric vehicles, the most up-to-date Nissan Leaf model lags far behind its similarly priced competitors, especially when the interior cabin feels quite dated and the range is bested by EVs far cheaper than it.
12. The MG ZS EV
The MG ZS EV, the cheapest electric car in Australia at the time of writing the review (starting at $44,990), offers a comfortable driving experience and is ultimately a good secondary car, but it’s let down by its range. In our review, the MG ZS EV pushed my battery comfort zone to the brink, only offering a WLTP range of 320km (and an expected range of 256km at 100 per cent after overnight charging). We also reviewed the previous model.
11. The Kia EV6
The Kia EV6, at the time we reviewed it, was only held back by its operating system, which felt a bit overproduced without many purposes. It’s certainly one of the fastest EVs we’ve ever reviewed, capable of a clean 0-100 in 5.2 seconds. Beyond these things, it’s a beautiful car with an aesthetic almost ripped directly out of Cyberpunk 2077.
10. The Audi e-tron S
Those shopping purely for environmental reasons will probably want to consider a smaller, lighter car than the Audi e-tron S, because a bigger, heavier car means a larger battery requiring more mined components, more electricity to charge, and more particle pollution from the tyres. But, if you need a larger car for practical reasons, and want to ditch fossil fuels, are a world-class parker (or can use a valet), and have the budget, then the Audi e-tron S SUV is absolutely worth a test drive.
9. The Kia Niro EV
The Kia Niro EV felt more well-rounded than its ground-up electric brother, the EV6. The Kia Niro is a terrific small SUV/large hatchback, with a beautiful modern style and comfortable front seats. Unfortunately, It’s not a particularly spacious car and this is best felt when you sit in the back seat, which feels tiny. It’s priced to directly compete with the Tesla Model 3, however, I’m not sure if it’s any better than that car.
8. The BMW iX1
The BMW iX1 is an extremely powerful car that’s as fun to drive as it is to look at. It’s difficult to make the argument in favour of buying the iX1 over many of its cheaper competitors, such as the Ioniq 5 or the Tesla Model Y, but for BMW-lovers and people who crave AWD performance, the iX1 absolutely satisfies. It’s also deceptively sized, and is smaller than it appears in photos.
7. The Tesla Model Y Performance
The Tesla Model Y Performance is the upgraded version of the standard Model Y, available as an AWD vehicle instead of RWD. The Model Y Performance showcases the best of the EV maker that changed the world, but it comes at a very high price ($95,300). Were you interested in this car, I would likely direct you to its less powerful sibling, the standard Model Y, or its cheaper older brother, the Tesla Model 3. If you had the cash to splash, I don’t think the Tesla Model Y would disappoint you.
6. The Tesla Model Y RWD
This was the big one when we first reviewed it: the most anticipated EV of 2022, the Tesla Model Y was pushed back from its initial Australian launch in 2021. In June 2022, we finally gave the car a drive and found it to be… honestly, a little disappointing. I wasn’t a big fan of Tesla’s minimalism (I love tactile buttons, which Teslas don’t have many of), I thought the rear vision was particularly worrying, and it’s a shame that the car didn’t have any regenerative braking adjustments. That being said, it is an incredibly spacious SUV and has easily the best backseat I’ve ever sat in. The app functionality is really terrific too, and the interior is absolutely beautiful.
5. The Cupra Born
Lacking some features that some drivers may consider essential (such as on-board maps and electric seats), the Cupra Born is simply a fun hot hatch. It sits low to the road with a competitive range expectation at the $60,000 price point. As someone who doesn’t really like big cars, the Cupra Born satisfied me as a pleasantly handling powerful hatchback. It’s certainly worth considering against the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3.
4. The Hyundai Ioniq 6
At the $74,000 price point, the Ioniq 6 is perfectly positioned to take on upgraded versions of the Tesla Model 3 (or, at least, it was until the refresh), and it does so with a beautiful exterior, a comfortable interior, and a brilliant feeling on the road. I prefer the cyberpunk aesthetic of the Ioniq 5, but the Ioniq 6 is extremely close behind, especially for its range.
3. The Hyundai Ioniq 5
If you’re shopping at the $70-80,000 price point, I recommend the Ioniq 5 over many of its competitors. Talking aesthetics, the Ioniq 5 is the electric vehicle I’m most impressed with at this price point, although I would have loved the seats to be offered in a fabric that isn’t leather. It’s a sci-fi-looking thing with heaps of space.
2. The BYD Atto 3 Extended Range
The BYD Atto 3 is probably the best EV in Australia from a budget-to-feature outlook. Starting at $47,381, this EV has a WLTP range of 420km. It’s quite a comfortable thing to drive to and is not let down by much. The standard wheels the car comes with aren’t terrific, but the internal aesthetic is brilliant. We gave the BYD an honourable mention when considering our favourite EVs of 2022.
1. The Polestar 2 (2022)
By word of mouth, the Polestar 2 was chalked up to be the “Tesla Model 3 killer”, but although it does a pretty good job at taking some of the spotlights away from the Musk Mobile, it hasn’t completely dethroned it (nor is it likely to). That being said, The Polestar 2 was a delightful electric car and, in my opinion, is the best-looking EV of the ones we’ve reviewed. We crowned it our favourite EV of 2022. A newer model, the Polestar 2 2024, is on the way.
That’s it so far
That’s all of our electric vehicle reviews at the moment, but stay tuned, we’ll definitely be reviewing more in the future.
Image: Cupra
Want more Aussie car news? Here’s every EV we’ve reviewed in the last two years, all the EVs we can expect down under soon, and our guide to finding EV chargers across the country. Check out our dedicated Cars tab for more.
This article has been updated since it was first published.