Cheapest electric cars to insure that qualify for new grant

The most affordable new EVs to insure under Labour’s Electric Car Grant scheme have been revealed. The cheapest EVs to insure are often the most unexpected models, and that people who assume smaller hatchback vehicles will be less expensive to insure are wrong. Instead many small hatchbacks EVs are costly to cover, while ‘van-like’ people-carrier EVs have much lower insurance premiums – and the difference can be over £500. Hatchbacks are often seem as a a sustainable alternative to petrol cars for first time drivers, but this pushes premiums up. As such, Moneysupermarket is warning drivers to consider the long-term running cost of EVs, and not just the on the road price. The average EV costs £741 to insure per year. The comparison website has ranked 24 new EVs that qualify for the ECG below, with one costing £827 per year…

Insurance: £826.76. Price: from £30,150. The Peugeot e-208 is available with the £1,500 Electric Car Grant, which brings the entry 50kWh 136 e-208 down to £30,150 or £30,950 for the 156 version. With a range of 223 miles or 267 miles respectively, the e-208 is touted as an affordable, practical, city car which can do longer distances when needed, and a easy way to switch from a petrol car into the electric equivalent. But it is the most expensive EV in the list to insure which turns that affordability upside down.

Insurance: £763.92. Price: from £35,400. The Vivaro Electric is a ‘lounge on wheels’ made for trundling large families or groups. It’s one of the more expensive EV options on the list, with the Combi 9-seater and Combi 9-seater XL eligible for the Government’s ECG price cap only. The Vivaro Combi 9-seater comes with 213 miles of range and a 75kWh battery which produces 134bhp and costs £35,400 with the ECG applied. But you’ll be coughing up £763.92 for insurance – making it the second highest premium on the list.

Insurance: £685.82. Price: from £33,500. The entry-level Ariya 63kWh Engage gives you 251 miles of range, five-seat family SUV driving and 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds. It has qualified for the Band 2 ECG, so with the £1,500 discount you’ll be paying £33,500 for the base spec. But insurance is high, with the £685.82 average premium placing it in third on the expensive list.

Insurance: £666.47. Price: from £26,150. It’s a pity that actually affordable family EVs like the Citroen e-C4 are expensive to insure, because it puts a dent in the progress cheap new EVs are making. The You!, Plus and Max trims all qualify for the ECG, costing £26,150, £27,215 and £30,005 respectively with the grant added. And yet the e-C4 costs £666.47 to insure according to MoneySuperMarket. The range is 219 miles for the You and Plus trims and 257 for the Max trim.

Insurance: £665.43. Price: from £35,445. The e-SpaceTourer is the second people-carrier to feature on this list, thanks to the You! trim being eligible for the government’s £1,500 ECG. Both the M and XL length are included in the grant – the largest passenger vehicles in the Citroen range – with up to 3,100-litre boot and 215 miles of range. But you’re still paying just over £665 to insure this people wagon.

Insurance: £642.47. Price: from £37,510. The Skoda Enyaq 6 3kWh qualifies for the Electric Car Grant, Band 2, receiving £1,500 off the OTR. The SE L delivers a very healthy 359 miles of range, as well as a lot of space for all the family, practicality and reliability. It’s one of the more pricey cars on the list so it makes some sense insurance is on the higher side, but it’s still less than the Peugeot e-208 hatchback.

Insurance: £625.37. Price: from £35,495. The DS 3 e-Tense is eligible for the Band 2 ECG – with that £1,500 price cut it starts from £35,495. The compact electric SUV has 248 miles of range and a premium cabin, and comes with a complimentary wallbox charger. The insurance is £625.37 which puts it in the middle of the field, but it is cheaper to insure than the Peugeot e-208 hatchback which makes little sense.

Insurance: £622.71. Price: from £30,995. Renault’s sensible family EV offering qualified for the £1,500 ECG, which reduced the Techno, Techno Esprit Alpine and Iconic Esprit Alpine trims to £30,995, £33,995 and £35,495 respectively. The Techno has 2200hp, and a range of 285 miles, and 440 litres of boot space. Despite it being cheaper than rivals, it’s still surprisingly pricey to insure.

Insurance: £622.49. Price: from £34,100. Along with the rest of Vauxhall’s electric range, the Astra EV has been awarded the Band 2 ECG. With the £1,500 grant applied the Astra will cost you from £34,100 new. With a decent range of 258 miles, family-friendly practicality, the Astra has smart, mature styling. But again it comes with a insurance premium of over £600, which lands it in the top 10 most expensive EVs to insure under the Electric Car Grant, according to MoneySuperMarket.

Insurance: £560.50. Price: from £30,210. This is the first EV that’s dipped below the £600 premium point; it’s the 10th entrant on the list. The Elroq is also the second Skoda to feature – and though it is very similar to the Enyaq the insurance prices vary by around £80. The Elroq SUV receives the same £1,500 ECG, but starts from £30,210 compared to the £37,510 Enyaq. The Elroq is cheaper and less to insure but the smaller electric SUV also has a 115-litre smaller boot – the Elroq offers 470 litres compared to the Enyaq’s 585 litres.

Insurance: £555.01. Price: from £30,860. A number of ID.3 trims meet the ECG Band 2 criteria, with £1,500 automatically applied to the OTR. The ID.3 Pure Essential starts from £30,860 and offers 241 miles of range from its 52kWh battery. A small electric car, the ID.3 can fit five and a boot that’s slightly bigger than a Golf. The cost to insure it, although nowhere near the top of the list, is significantly more than some larger SUV options that are over £100 cheaper to cover.

Insurance: £544.63. Price: from £34,960. The Peugeot e-308 all-electric family hatchback has a 361-litre boot, a 53kWh battery and a 156hp motor. And you’ll get a range of between 236 and 267 miles. With the Band 2 ECG it costs £34,960 once the £1,500 discount is taken into account and costs an average of £544.63 to insure according to MoneySuperMarket.

Insurance: £544.51. Price: from £36,995. A number of CUPRA Born variants meet the Band 2 ECG criteria: V1, V2 and V3 models. The V1 79kWh variant costs £36,995 once the £1,500 grant has been deducted. MoneySuperMarket found that the Cupra Born costs an average of £544.51 to insure. The 79kWh Born hatchback has an impressive range of 346 miles on a single charge – a standout among its hatchback rivals as well as SUV competition.

Insurance: £533.52. Price: from £35,455. The Grandland is Vauxhall’s top-of-the-range SUV, with the electric version qualifying for the Electric Car Grant Band 2, with £1,500 off the OTR price. For £35,445 you get a 73kWh battery, 213bhp and a range of 325 miles as well as great family practicality. For that MoneySuperMarket has worked out you pay £533.52 in insurance – less than the smaller Cupra Born.

Insurance: £502.74. Price: from £26,245. The Puma is the first Ford electric car to start at the sub-£30k price point. And thanks to its sustainable credentials it’s one of very few EVs on this list that qualifies for the full, Band 1 Electric Car Grant. With the £3,750 discount applied the Puma Gen-E costs from £26,245, which gets you a 43kWh usable battery, 233 miles of range, 166bhp and a total of 566 litres of packing space thanks to ‘Gigabox’ storage in the boot. The SUV is still £502.74 on average to insure, which although on the cheaper end of this list, is almost £200 more than the cheapest EV on the list and a lot for an EV that’s impressively affordable.

Insurance: £495.50. Price: from £35,425. Another EV people-carrier/van, the E-Traveller is an eight-seater with huge practicality. The E-Traveller Combi is eligible for the ECG, Band 2 – with the £1,500 reduction it costs £35,425. Insurance comes in just under £500 – the first one to duck under the £500 mark. You get a range of up to 219 miles WLTP and 20 to 80 per cent charge (100kW) in 45 minutes.

Insurance: £486.97. Price: from £26,005. The Vauxhall Corsa Electric is one of the most well known EVs out there, often compared to its petrol sibling for cost and charging comparisons. Like the rest of the Vauxhalls on this list it receives the Band 2 £1,500 ECG which brings it down to £26,005. Despite it being smaller and cheaper than the Mokka EV, which will feature later on, it’s more expensive to insure demonstrating it’s not always about the size of the car.

Insurance: £485.65. Price: from £35,495. The Scenic e-Tech delivers 220bhp, and a whopping 381 miles of range, making it the long distance EV in this roundup. It’s spacious, comfortable and a superb family long-distance all-rounder. And it’s towards the cheaper options on this list to insurance – making it a more cost effective EV buy in the long run than cheaper hatchbacks.

Insurance: £478.18. Price: from £29,740. An EV for family needs, the Berlingo has a range of 213 miles, a lot of tech and comfort features. It costs £29,740 once the Government’s ECG £1,500 discount has been applied. And its less expensive to insure – at £478.18 – than many smaller, far less family-friendly EVs.

Insurance: £450.45. Price: from £20,595. The Citroen e-C3 arrived as one of the cheapest new EVs you could buy in Britain, and now it’s even cheaper thanks to the ECG: with the £1,500 grant it costs just £20,595. For that the small SUV gives you 201 miles of range, funky styling, 113hp and a 44kWh battery. The e-C3 is also one of the top five cheapest EVs to insure under the ECG according to MoneySuperMarket, with an average premium of £450.45.

Insurance: £440. Price: from £33,900. Another Peugeot that qualifies for the £1,500 EC, the e-2008 SUV comes down in price to £33,900 once it’s taken into account. And despite it being more expensive than a number of EVs here, it’s cheaper to insure with an average premium of £440. It looks smart, has a surprisingly upmarket interior and a 434-litre boot.

Insurance: £418.93. Price: from £31,005. We’re into the top three cheapest EVs to insure under the ECG, and taking home bronze is the Vauxhall Mokka Electric. After receiving the £1,500 Band 2 grant the Mokka starts from £31,005 for the Griffin model. MoneySuperMarket found that the average premium is £418.93 – £68.04 cheaper the second cheapest Vauxhall EV to insure. You get 250 miles of range, 20 to 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes and 153bhp. It’s also the cheapest non MPV/van EV on the list to insure.

Insurance: £337.34 Price: from £30,850 The e-Rifter is the second cheapest EV to insure that qualifies for the ECG, with the £1,500 discount bringing the cost down to £30,850. 199 miles of range, 0 to 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes and fun styling makes this versatile MPV a great buy that’s cheap to insure. At £337.34 the long term running costs are far better than the most expensive EVs to insure, proving it to be a more sensible buy over time than some smaller options.

Insurance: £309.62. Price: from £29,940. And finally, the cheapest EV to insure under the ECG is the Ford e-Tourneo Courier five-seater EV. It qualifies, like the Ford Puma Gen-E, for the full £3,750 Band 1 ECG, bringing the OTR price down to £29,940. MPVs aren’t the sexiest but they are some of the most practical cars for families, and the e-Tourneo is also the least expensive EV to insure. It costs just £309.62 on average to cover, which means you’d save over £500 compared to the smaller, more affordable and yet less practical Peugeot e-208.