Fastest-depreciating cars for less than £50,000

Model 39kWh Acenta List price £31,070 36k/3yr resale value £6450 Price drop £24,620 Retained value 20.8%

The Nissan Leaf is offered with a choice of two battery sizes: 39kWh and 59kWh. And while an example with smaller battery will cost you less to buy, it also depreciates in value faster, to the point that after three years and 36,000 miles, it’s worth the least of any car here.

That might be something to do with its lacklustre range. Officially, it can take you 168 miles, beating the Mazda MX-30 but little else, and that figure fell to just 128 miles in our real-world test. However, that might be enough if you mainly drive in town and can charge up regularly.

The Leaf is generally better to drive than its Renault Zoe rival; its ride is comfier and it leans less in corners, plus it reaches motorway speeds with less effort. The Zoe is no longer available from new, though.

Passengers will be at least as comfortable in the Leaf as they would be in the Zoe, but neither car offers anything close to the amount of stretching-out space they’d find in an electric SUV like the Kia Niro EV. That said, the Leaf has an impressive appetite for luggage; it swallowed seven carry-on suitcases in our test, beating the Zoe’s six.

Read our full Nissan Leaf review

Model 50kWh Design List price £29,045 36k/3yr resale value £7300 Price drop £21,745 Retained value 25.1%

The Design trim level brings the Corsa Electric’s price tag down, but being cheaper to buy doesn’t protect this electric hatchback from the spectre of depreciation.

Design trim is available only with the smaller of the two batteries the Corsa Electric offers; that means an official range of 222 miles, which is competitive against the entry-level MG4 but behind plenty of rivals.

Acceleration from the 134bhp electric motor is decent, though, and the Corsa Electric has plenty of punch for overtaking. However, it doesn’t feel especially sporty to drive, with vague steering and a fair bit of body lean through the corners. The closely related Peugeot e-208 is more fun to thread along a country road.

The Corsa’s interior is nice enough, and we’re happy to see most functions controlled using physical buttons and dials, but the thick windscreen pillars and tapering roofline can make it hard to see out of. Luckily, rear parking sensors come as standard, but you’ll need to step up to GS trim to get a rear-view camera thrown in.

Read our full Vauxhall Corsa Electric review

Model 35.5kWh Makoto List price £34,195 36k/3yr resale value £9550 Price drop £24,645 Retained value 27.9%

The Mazda MX-30 is available both as a plug-in hybrid and as a fully electric car. And while neither performs especially well in terms of depreciation, it’s the electric model that comes off worst.

You’ll need to be taken by the MX-30’s unique looks to consider one; it lags behind the competition by some margin in most other respects. For starters, its 35.5kWh (usable capacity) battery returns an official range of just 124 miles, and that’s beaten by most other electric cars on sale today. The MX-30 isn’t especially fast, either; it just about matches the Renault Zoe in a sprint to 60mph, but it quickly runs out of puff on the motorway.

That’s a shame, because the MX-30 is otherwise decent to drive. Its suspension is firm enough to keep body lean at bay in corners, yet it soaks up most bumps without being bouncy – unlike the DS 3 E-Tense.

The MX-30 has a great driving position, too, and its high-quality interior features an easy-to-use infotainment system. There’s not a lot of room for passengers or luggage, though.

Read our full Mazda MX-30 review

Model 50kWh You List price £31,960 36k/3yr resale value £9275 Price drop £22,685 Retained value 29.0%

There’s a lot to like about this fully electric coupé-SUV, from its cushy ride, which takes the sting out of battered British roads, to a plush interior that’s loaded with kit.

Your family should like it, too; there’s lots of room for adults to stretch out inside, and we managed to fit five carry-on suitcases into the boot – more than we could squeeze into the rival Mazda MX-30 or Smart #1.

As a comfortable and practical cruiser, then, the e-C4 scores big points, but there are better electric car options if you’ll be covering lots of miles, because its 260-mile official range isn’t a patch on what some rivals can manage. The MG4 Extended Range, for example, can go farther on a charge, is comparable on price and holds onto its value for longer.

Don’t expect the e-C4 to be the last word in engaging handling, either; it’s not remotely sporty and there’s quite a bit of body lean through corners. At least it’s very quiet, doing a better job of cutting out road noise than the Kia Niro EV and Volkswagen ID 3.

Read our full Citroën ë-C4 review

Model 50kWh GS List price £37,310 36k/3yr resale value £11,400 Price drop £25,910 Retained value 30.6%

The Mokka Electric isn’t among the cheapest electric SUVs to buy to begin with, and after three years it’ll have shed more of its original price than any other car here. Plus, while your head might be turned by its looks, its performance is rather less striking, lacking the kind of instant shove you get in the rival Kia Niro EV and Smart #1. Those models can take you farther on a charge, too.

When hustled along, the Mokka Electric leans more through bends than the best electric SUVs. However, it also deals with lumps and bumps in the road better than some rivals and is less bouncy than the DS 3 E-Tense.

While its tall window line and tapered roofline can make rear seat passengers feel a bit hemmed in, there’s actually more room than they’ll find in a DS 3 E-Tense or Mazda MX-30. The Mokka Electric’s boot is small, though, taking just four carry-on suitcases in our test.

Entry-level GS trim has most of your equipment needs covered, with adaptive cruise control, keyless start and heated front seats all coming as standard.

Read our full Vauxhall Mokka Electric review

Model La Prima 42kWh List price £30,995 36k/3yr resale value £9650 Price drop £21,345 Retained value 31.1%

There are both hybrid and fully electric versions of the Fiat 500 available, but it's the fully electric model which drops its value the fastest. 

This model comes with the larger of the two battery options available, at 42kWh. That's enough for an official range of up to 199 miles depending on the trim you chose, which should be enough for most commutes. Going for the bigger battery also gets you a more powerful motor with 117bhp, which is enough to get the tiny Fiat up to motorway speeds in 8.0sec.

If you've seen any of the countless Fiat 500s on the road in recent years, then you'll already know that it's a small car. Still, if you view it as an occasional four-seater, then it's perfectly fit for purpose. Indeed, we think a couple of adults will be perfectly comfortable on the rear bench, provided the journey you're taking them on isn't too long. There isn't much hope for luggage, though, with space for just two carry-on suitcases.

Read our full Fiat 500 Electric review

Model 1.6 Hybrid 225 GT List price £47,490 36k/3yr resale value £14,900 Price drop £32,590 Retained value 31.4%

Peugeot's executive car is intended to bring the fight to established rivals including the BMW 3 Series, Skoda Superb and Mercedes C-Class. And while those cars are ultimately more well rounded, there's still plenty to like about the 508.

This plug-in hybrid model offers an electric range of up to 34 miles, and the combined power of the petrol engine and electric motor delivers acceptable levels of acceleration – even if the eight-speed automatic gearbox can feel a bit dim-witted.

Peugeot's i-Cockpit layout, which has you looking at the instruments over a small steering wheel rather than through it, take some getting used to, especially if you're very short or tall. And while there's enough space for a couple of six-footers to stretch out in the rear seats, the boot is on the small side compared with rivals.

Read our full Peugeot 508 review

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Model Etoile List price £32,140 36k/3yr resale value £10,425 Price drop £21,715 Retained value 32.4%

There's no getting away from the fact that the DS 3 E-Tense is a niché choice, but it's one which counts the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV among its rivals.

Performance from the car’s 154bhp electric motor will be plenty quick enough for most drivers, and it’s impressively quiet. Ride quality is generally good, too, but the steering isn’t as precise as that of the rival Kia Niro EV, and there’s quite a lot of body lean in corners.

When it comes to range, the E-Tense’s 50.8kWh battery offers an official 250 miles, and that means plenty of rivals can take you farther between charges.

The DS 3 is big on visual appeal inside, but its touch-sensitive ‘buttons’ can be hit-and-miss to use, and some controls – including for the air-con – are buried in infotainment menus. The Niro EV, while more drab inside, is easier to get along with, plus it’s much more spacious in the back.

Read our full DS 3 E-Tense review

Model Match Pure 52kWh List price £45,860 36k/3yr resale value £15,025 Price drop £30,835 Retained value 32.8%

The ID 4 was Volkswagen's first fully electric SUV, and there's lots to like about it. For one thing, it's massive. If you regularly carry taller passengers in the rear seats, then they'll have have more head room than they would in the rival Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6, as well as a more comfortable seating position. The boot is large, too, and we managed to fit nine carry-on suitcases inside it in our tests.

The 146bhp motor you get with this version is the entry-level choice, and it offers only modest acceleration, but more powerful models don't feel that much faster. Real-world ranges from the 52kWh battery should be around 160-190 miles, which should be enough for the needs of most families.

It's worth noting that rivals like the Audi Q4 e-tron and Kia EV6 ride more comfortably than the ID 4, but the Volkswagen is more forgiving over larger bumps than the Ford Mustang Mach E.

Read our full Volkswagen ID 4 review

Model Allure List price £34,400 36k/3yr resale value £11,300 Price drop £24,500 Retained value 32.8%

The latest Peugeot e-2008 is a case of style over substance. It might attract admiring glances from your neighbours as you drive past, but they’ll end up frowning should you offer to give them a lift.

You see, the e-2008 is notably less spacious than the best small electric SUVs; both the Hyundai Kona Electric and Smart #1 offer more room for passengers to stretch out, and a middle rear passenger will be much comfier in most rivals. At least the boot is the same size as the regular, non-electric 2008’s, swallowing five carry-on suitcases in our tests.

The e-2008’s range is nothing special, either; while its 54kWh (usable capacity) can officially take you 250 miles on a charge, it managed only 183 miles in our real-world test. And while the e-2008 offers a comfier ride than the #1, ironing out lumps and bumps with less choppiness, the #1 is more fun to thread along a country road, thanks to its more consistently weighted steering. Better news is that the e-2008’s 154bhp electric motor feels sufficiently punchy in most driving situations.

Read our full Peugeot e-2008 review

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