Sub-£30k electric car shoot-out: MG4 vs Nissan LEAF vs MINI Electric ? Electrifying

Yes, indeed, there are clever things that you can do with salary sacrifice schemes and benefit in kind if youre fortunate enough to have a company car, but you cannot get away from the fact that they are currently more expensive generally than their petrol or diesel equivalent. In fact, there are precious few electric vehicles under 30 000 pounds available at the moment, which just seems completely mad, because there were three when we started making this video, but literally hot off the brass. Today Renault have dropped the price of the Zoe. So there are now four, however, the Zoe isnt necessarily a car that we would recommend giving it its low Euro encap score. So theres, probably just three that we would recommend. So yes, were still: okay with three um have a guess how many petrol and diesel cars there are under 30 000 pounds. How many different models you can choose from hundreds, Millions, no youre getting it way over the top calm it down Nick Shields, but still 107.. So, okay, that is in the hundreds, yeah wow thats a lot given the fact that there are already three or four but three cars available under 30 000 pounds. We are going to crunch some numbers and tell you if theyre actually worth buying, but before we give you the answer to that question. Dont forget to subscribe to the channel and switch your notifications on, because, if youre into electric cars, and also want to know how to get one affordably, this is the place to be foreign lets get on with it.

These are the only three cars currently on the UK Market that have a list price of under 30 000 pounds that we would recommend they are the Nissan Leaf, the mg4 and, of course, the mini electric, which, if Im being honest, are all pretty good cards. But I guess the question is: why are there so few of them, its inflation, Rising costs, the loss of the electric car grants theyre things that are feeding into the price Rises? Can you believe the entry level price of certain models has risen by 53? In the last two years – oh thats, that makes me so sad, its really not good its a weird thing. So manufacturers have been streamlining their ranges, which has often led to the cheapest option being deleted. All together, for example, the Fiat 500e a car that we absolutely adore, they basically got rid of the smallest battery version, which used to cost under 20 grand, so the cheapest model thats available now is over 30 000 pounds thats a massive step up the cheapest go To any app is currently ‘ 000 pounds compared to just over 30 grand over two years ago. Now what about the Honda e thats more than ten thousand pounds? It used to be 26 660 pounds and now its 36 920 for an identical model, um its not ideal, but there is some hope so lets get back to our three under 30 and were kicking off with this one.

The Nissan Leaf theyre, like many people. This was the first mainstream electric car that I spent a lot of time in so I do have quite a soft spot for it. It was so groundbreaking back in the day and while its not quite as groundbreaking now in terms of its technology, it still has stood the test of time, and I think that it is a really good, solid and, more importantly, affordable way to get into electric driving. Now one of the compromises youll have to make with the leaf is charging speeds. You only get as slow as 6.6 kilowatt, AC charger and a 50 kilowatt chadamo DC connection, which means you wont, be able to take advantage of those Ultra rapid charges that you can see popping up all over the place at the moment. But if youre doing limited and regular miles – and you do mostly charge at home, youll find that those speeds are perfectly acceptable. The stat I always remind people of is that we drive on average just 20 miles a day so more than enough, and if getting to grips with those terms like AC and DC and wltp and kilowatt hours, is a bit confusing. Then do head over to electrifying.com, where you can find a handy dictionary that explains everything on the cheapest Leaf. You get 16 inch Hollow wheels and an 8 inch touchscreen with carplay and Android, auto loads of standard driver assistance systems and an app Nissans epic regenerative braking which Ive always liked comes as standard, and you also get cruise control.

So the the more affordable model doesnt have these seats. It has fabric cloths, you get no LED headlights and, as I said, its got a pretty basic functional feeling here, but it does have loads of room in here and a usable boot. It might not be the prettiest, but its very practical, and I think the best bit about the leaf is that its a known quantity. As I said it, was one of the first of that new generation of electric cars. There are thousands of Leafs out there. You know what youre getting that it will work well and you can rely on it. I havent driven the leaf in ages actually and it doesnt. Take me long behind the wheel. Just to you know remind myself what I really like about it, um its just such an easy car to drive its really comfortable as well, and one thing I do love about Nissans is their e pedal um theres that piece of technology that, when you activate it, Gives you maximum rate regeneration? You know that youre getting the most efficiency that you can out of the battery. I think its really smart really clever. I also love the fact that youve not got these big Banks of screens yeah. The screen is a bit. You know old fashioned in some ways, but it does the job and youve got loads of info actually about the efficiency, which is a really useful, which I like, and I also love the fact there are loads of physical buttons, which, yes, I know, means Im showing My age, but it does make everything very easy to use when youre on the move, um its also a proper family car.

You know its got four doors loads of space in here yeah I mean it definitely doesnt. Take me long to you know just remind myself of how much there is to recommend about this car and what a good solid Choice. It is so what about something? Less practical but, in my opinion, a heck of a lot cooler. This is the mini electric, its an electrify.com, absolute fave, mainly because it really is the best handling little electric car out there right now, so the mini Electric in base level. One trim comes in at 29, 000 pounds, its got four lovely seats, two in the front and the back um. It has a wltp range of 143 miles and a teeny turning battery of 28.9 kilowatt usable capacity now compared to some cars that is possibly minute. However, charging speeds well actually theyre not going to blow you away either 49 kilowatt DC charging, although it is capable of 11 kilowatt AC charging and the battery, so its small, though it doesnt really need much more now. Of course, Tiny battery means that the electrified mini might only have a city based range, but its relatively light 1440 kilos, so its Sim line for an electric car, which means it handles really well and come on thats, going to be important right when it comes to Kit, you also get what you pay for, quite literally the level one trend is a bit light on kit. It gets 16 inch Alloys and LED headlights and tail lights, and you get air conditioning and cruise control and an 8.

8 inch display that handles Apple carplay and Android. Auto. However, if you want heated seats, a reversing camera or parking sensors, hot fake leather upholstery or the full Suite of driver assistance systems, well youre going to have to upgrade to the two which cost 31 000 pounds. So you can have it in silver, white or black. Only although, as always with mini, there are a few little ways to make it your own, but that will inevitably put up the price. So if I didnt have two kids pushchairs all the crap – and it was me just living in London, nipping around town – then I would a hundred percent see myself driving this. I absolutely love it its just the fact that its got a tiny boot space that would hold me back. So what about the mg4? Because I think this is where it gets interesting yeah, because at 26 995 pounds the standard range mg4 is actually the cheapest, probably useful, pure electric car. You can buy right now. Today. Are you saying the Citron Armys not properly useful, no comment, thats just move on from that one that is a glorified pet Ginny youre so mean about that Carl look. The mt4 also costs a little bit less than the cheapest Ford Focus, so its also comparable in price with a petrol car. So the cheapest four uses a smaller 50.8 kilowatt usable battery offers 270 miles per inch according to the official test, its the fastest.

At the three cars, and even though it only gets 6.6 kilowatt AC charging, it is equipped with 117 kilowatt DC charging, so its more than capable of doing longer, trips being able to charge quickly without you having to pitch your tent overnight. If you need to charge up at the services, oh, please no um, and it is a five seater, its got a decent Boot and theres loads of stuff to keep you going actually and it might be the sexiest of cards kind of functional Workman life um. But you do have this rather nice 10 and a quarter inch screen up front which comes as standard. There is carplay Android, auto theres, also an app called iSmart, which is quite useful. Theres driver assistance systems, some rather lovely cloth seats, weve seen lots of good seats. Oh yeah my face and, and you also get a vehicle to load charging as standard thats cool, I think, is rather good. So you can charge stuff with a three pin plug in the middle of fields or in the middle of a power cut. Did I ever tell you what happened when we had a power cut? Oh no. I sent Zach out to the car to do his homework. You tried to get out of it with that one we had a power cut, no power was dead. I was like in the car plug it in its got vehicle to load yeah thats, not going to cut it anymore.

My dog ate machine, no dont call him homework, oh my God, the top tip for parents everywhere yeah. The interesting thing here is that the standard range mg4 has something called an lfp battery. Are you ready for some science lithium ferrous phosphate? Batteries have slightly lower energy density than the more usual lithium ion, but they do last longer and theyre easier to charge and discharge. Theyre also cheaper and dont use Cobalt, which is quite a contentious commodity. However, they do tend to be a bit bigger, which is why lithium ion tends to get favored for current electric cars. There are decent advantages, though, to them, and you could argue that the standard range mg4 is actually the best one in her neck. I think the mg4 might feel like its the winner here for me, its the cheapest, the speediest in both acceleration and also in terms of charging. I guess a battery thats, more eco, conscious and it has the most range. Its also got that fantastic, warranty full seven years and it does Drive quite nicely, although mg did sneak in a 1 000 pound price rise recently so sneaky. I do hear you Jenny, but you know what Im gon na say: dont you. I do remember the mini. Look, I get it the mg4, it is the most sensible car, but if Im living around town, I want to be able to enjoy my journey and proper handling and I do think it has better handling.

Maybe if I was doing a longer Journey, but then I would be taking a bigger car so agreed, I dont think you can argue with the MD Force value for money, though. However, I think we also do have to give kudos to the leaf dont you it can still hold its own. It really can. I can understand why people feel comfortable buying a car that has got that really proven track record and also is so easy to drive. Lets just think about it that feels in a good way, though, maturity is good yeah. We like maturity for sure. Thank you thats. Why youre my friend? There is one more aspect, though, that we do want to cover, and that is finance. So if you do have a company car scheme or a salary sacrifice scheme its a really good idea to chat to your employer, because that is by far the most affordable way to get into an electric car. It is indeed, however, if you are a private car. Buyer then the best way or the cheapest way is going to be a PCP scheme. Now weve done a little bit of digging and found that the leaf ascenta comes in at 316 pounds per month with a five thousand pound deposit and 10 000 miles a year for three years. That is basically the cheapest. I think thats a pretty good deal, its a really good deal, um the we round, the numbers as well on the mg4 standard range.

Let me just check them down here. It does run close 326 pounds a month for the same terms and the same miles. The mini was 340 pounds. Okay for the same. Obviously, there are lots of deals out there, theyre changing all the time time you might be able to get them cheaper or those might not be around because, as we say, changing all the time, but thats what weve managed to find today. Look its really frustrating because, with high inflation, high energy costs, you know The Disappearance of the plug in car. Grants really means that electric cars arent affordable for everyone at the moment and that really needs to change. One of the things wed really like to see here at electrifying.com is an extension of Scotlands interest. Free loan for used electric cars, its a brilliant way to get more people into them, and you know we think it should be available right across the UK, not just in Scotland, lucky or Scotland. I know it really would make a big difference. So come on. Uk government people help us out without one and the car makers as well its down to you guys. You need to produce some more affordable cars and we promise to buy them. We will and then it will give us more to talk about next time as well and while were at it, charging infrastructure people. You need to get the infrastructure source today, because if people can rely on the infrastructure, they wont need big battery cars and then we will get more affordable cars on the market, its a big old Vicious Circle.

We have the solution, so we do do what Jenny says and everyone will be happy there. We go sorting there. Weve got the solutions. The question is: should the government listen to us? Let us know in the comments below or maybe dont, but also while youre there subscribe to electrifying Channel and switch those notifications on.