The fastest charging electric cars in the UK

If you're thinking of buying an electric car but have no experience of charging one, you might be concerned about how long it will take to replenish your car's battery.

Well, the bad news is, it will take longer to "fill up" even the best electric cars than any petrol or diesel vehicle. However, if you can find a fast enough public charger and have a car with rapid charging capability, you can slash the time it does take.

To help you decide whether electric motoring is for you – and if it is, which model suits your lifestyle – below we list all the electric cars and electric SUVs we've test-driven, ranked in order of the maximum charging speed rating in kW. If a model has different charging rates across the range, we've given the quickest (you can find out more by clicking the link through to our new-car review).

We've also given an estimate of how many miles of range you'll be able to add by plugging it into a rapid charger for a 10-minute "pitstop" top-up.

So, starting with the fastest charging electric car in the UK by kW rating – the Lotus Eletre – here are all the electric car models we've reviewed listed in order of charging speed...

Maximum charging speeds for EVs available in the UK

– Models with charging rates from 250kW to 350kW

Depending on how efficiently a car uses its charge, a 10-minute battery top-up at 270kW should add around 120 miles of range.

Lotus Eletre – 350kW

Audi e-tron GT – 320kW

Porsche Taycan – 320kW

XPeng G6 – 280kW

Audi A6 Avant e-tron – 270kW

Audi A6 Sportback e-tron – 270kW

Audi S6 e-tron – 270kW

Audi Q6 e-tron – 270kW

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore – 270kW

Porsche Macan Electric – 270kW

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo – 270kW

Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo – 270kW

Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 260kW

Kia EV6 – 258kW

Polestar 3 – 250kW

Tesla Model 3 – 250kW

Tesla Model S – 250kW

Tesla Model X – 250kW

Tesla Model Y – 250kW

Volvo EX90 – 250kW

– Models with charging rates from 200kW to 249kW

At 200kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 90 miles of range.

Kia EV6 GT – 238kW

Kia EV9 – 238kW

Genesis Electrified GV70 – 233kW

Genesis GV60 – 233kW

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – 238kW

Hyundai Ioniq 6 – 233kW

BYD Sealion 7 – 230kW

Genesis Electrified G80 – 230kW

BMW i5 – 205kW

Polestar 2 – 205kW

Mercedes EQS – 200kW

Mercedes EQS SUV – 200kW

VW ID Buzz LWB – 200kW

Volvo EC40 – 200kW

– Models with charging rates from 150kW to 199kW

At 150kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 50 miles of range.

BMW i7 – 195kW

BMW iX – 195kW

Ford Capri – 185kW

Ford Explorer – 185kW

Rolls-Royce Spectre – 195kW

VW ID Buzz SWB – 185kW

BMW i4 – 180kW

Audi Q4 e-tron – 175kW

Cupra Born – 175kW

Skoda Elroq – 175kW

Skoda Enyaq Coupé vRS – 175kW

VW ID.7 – 175kW

Audi Q8 e-tron – 170kW

Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron – 170kW

Mercedes EQE – 170kW

Mercedes EQE SUV – 170kW

VW ID.3 – 170kW

Peugeot e-5008 – 160kW

Volvo EX30 – 153kW

BMW iX3 – 150kW

BYD Seal – 150kW

Ford Mustang Mach-E – 150kW

Lexus RZ – 150kW

Renault Scenic E-Tech – 150kW

Smart #1 – 150kW

Subaru Solterra – 150kW

Toyota bZ4X – 150kW

– Models with charging rates from 100kW to 149kW

At 100kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 40 miles of range.

KGM Torres EVX – 145kW

MG Cyberster – 144kW

Skoda Enyaq (excluding vRS) – 143kW

Skoda Enyaq Coupé (excluding vRS) – 143kW

Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron – 135kW

Cupra Tavascan – 135kW

MG4 EV – 135kW

VW ID.4 – 135kW

VW ID.5 – 135kW

BMW iX1 – 130kW

BMW iX2 – 130kW

Mini Countryman Electric – 130kW

Nissan Ariya – 130kW

Renault Megane E-Tech – 130kW

Smart #3 – 130kW

Volvo XC40 Recharge – 130kW

Kia EV3 – 128kW

Maxus Mifa 9 – 114kW

Mercedes EQA – 112kW

Mercedes EQB – 112kW

Mercedes EQC – 112kW

Jaguar I-Pace – 104kW

Hyundai Kona Electric – 102kW

Citroën ë-C4 – 101kW

Citroën ë-C4 X – 101kW

Peugeot e-208 – 101kW

Vauxhall Mokka Electric – 101kW

Abarth 600e – 100kW

Alpine A290 – 100kW

Alfa Romeo Junior – 100kW

DS 3 E-Tense – 100kW

Fiat 600e – 100kW

Jeep Avenger – 100kW

Peugeot e-308 – 100kW

Peugeot e-308 SW – 100kW

Peugeot e-2008 – 100kW

Renault 5 – 100kW

Vauxhall Astra Electric – 100kW

Vauxhall Combo Life Electric – 100kW

Vauxhall Corsa Electric – 100kW

Vauxhall Frontera Electric – 100kW

– Models with charging rates from 50kW to 99kW

At 50kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 20 miles of range.

Mini Aceman – 95kW

Mini Cooper Electric – 95kW

MG ZS EV – 94kW

BYD Atto 3 – 89kW

BYD Dolphin – 88kW

MG5 EV – 87kW

Abarth 500e – 85kW

Fiat 500e – 85kW

Hyundai Inster – 85kW

Leapmotor C10 – 83kW

Omoda E5 – 80kW

Skywell BE11 – 80kW

Honda e:Ny1 – 78kW

Kia Soul EV – 77kW

Kia Niro EV – 72kW

GWM Ora 3 (Funky Cat) – 64kW

Lexus UX 300e – 50kW

– Models with charging rates up to 49kW

Leapmotor T03 – 48kW

Honda e – 46kW

Nissan Leaf – 46kW

Renault Zoe – 46kW

Mazda MX-30 EV – 36kW

Dacia Spring – 30kW

Smart EQ Forfour – 22kW

Smart EQ Fortwo – 22kW

Citroën Ami – 3.6kW

How we compiled our fastest charging EVs list

This information has been gathered from a selection of sources – including manufacturer websites, press-release information and the EV Database

We've quoted the maximum charging speed that should be achievable by the quickest-charging versions of each model. Not every version of each car will be able to charge at the speed listed – often the fastest charging capability is reserved for the model with the biggest battery capacity.

You can read more about how speeds vary across the range by following the link from each model's name to our full new-car review.

Note that electric cars vary the rate of charge to protect the battery, so the charging rate usually slows down as it gets close to capacity.

Read more: The best electric cars in the UK

Read more: The best electric SUVs in the UK

Read more: How long does it take to charge an electric car?

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here