A new industry report produced by our team at The Car Expert finds that, on average, electric cars are receiving better reviews from the UK media that their petrol and diesel equivalents.
The Car Expert’s unique Expert Rating Index compiles and aggregates new car reviews from 25 of the top UK motoring sites to give each car a percentage rating, with nearly 9,000 reviews analysed to date across 315 cars.
Our Autumn 2021 Expert Rating Index report finds that the average rating across all cars in the index is 67%, while the average rating across all the electric vehicles indexed to date is 71%.
Increasing number and quality of electric cars
It may come as a surprise for many people to know that there are more than 40 different electric cars currently on sale in the UK, with a lot more arriving over the next 12 months. But it may be equally surprising to find that electric vehicles tend to achieve better review scores than conventional petrol or diesel cars.
A number of critically acclaimed EVs have arrived on UK roads in recent months, such as the Skoda Enyaq, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Audi Q4 e-tron, and this could go some way to explaining why electric vehicles are generally faring better in our Expert Rating Index.
These latest-generation models are dedicated EVs, rather than existing petrol or diesel cars that have been modified to take an electric motor (like the Mini Electric, BMW iX3 or Smart EQ Fortwo). That means there are fewer compromises when it comes to incorporating a large battery pack and electric motor that are completely different in size and shape to an internal combustion motor, fuel tanks and exhaust system.
More affordable EV options
The report also highlights that an increasing number of smaller and lower-priced electric cars are entering the marketplace to meet the UK’s increasing demand for electrified motoring.
When it comes to large vehicles, plug-in hybrids are taking the lead over pure EVs when it comes to electrification. The majority of large SUVs are now available with a plug-in hybrid option, although there are still very few dedicated EVs available.
“As we approach winter, the EV revolution is really starting to snowball,” explains The Car Expert editorial director Stuart Masson.
“With every new electric model that arrives, the quality is getting better. Most of the new EVs being launched have a battery range that exceeds the crucial 200-mile benchmark making them entirely viable for the vast majority of UK households.”
A whole host of new EVs will be added to the Expert Rating Index by the end of the year, such as the BMW iX, Kia EV6, Mercedes-Benz EQS, and Tesla Model Y, and the impact of these will be displayed in our next quarterly report, due to be published in January.
Tracking the decline of diesel
The report also highlights the disappearance of new diesel cars from UK car showrooms. This is most clearly seen in small cars, while diesel is still a common choice for buyers of large cars and large SUVs. These categories are currently the slowest adopters of EVs, but this will start to accelerate over the next year as well.
