Can you get a used electric car for less than £5,000?

You can get a used electric car that costs less than £5,000. Despite what you may have heard about electric cars costing a fortune to buy, there are now lots of affordable EVs on the market. That's partly because electric cars have been around longer than you might think, with popular models such as the BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, and Renault Zoe all introduced well over 10 years ago. And it’s partly because used prices have dropped over the past year or so, making many electric cars cheaper than an equivalent petrol model.

If you're looking for a cheap electric car, then you have some great options. Here, we've selected what we think are the top seven used EVs you can buy for less than £5,000, with prices researched in July 2025 using the UK’s largest used car online marketplace.

1. Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is practical, dependable and remarkably cheap. Why is it so affordable? Well, the Leaf is the first proper mass-market electric car and has been on sale in the UK since 2011. This means depreciation has had lots of time to work its magic on it. In addition, the Leaf was the UK’s best-selling EV from 2011 to 2018, there are many on the market, meaning no supply-and-demand issues to bump up prices.

What you get for the money is a family-friendly hatchback that’s about the same size as a Ford Focus. The Leaf is quiet, comfortable to drive, and it’s also well-equipped considering its age and price. Most models come with air-con, sat-nav and a reversing camera as standard. However, battery range is the Leaf’s weakness. Early models have an official maximum of 109-124 miles but in real-world driving you’ll be lucky to get much more than 90 miles, especially in winter.

An update in 2015 included a larger battery, for an official range of 155 miles, and one of these could give you around 120 miles of real-world driving. Charging speeds for the first Leaf aren’t a match for the latest EVs, either, but a 0-80% top-up is possible in about 30 minutes. The Leaf has a very good reputation for reliability and, like any electric car, has fewer mechanical parts to go wrong than a petrol car. 

2. Renault Zoe

Of all the small electric cars you can find for less than £5,000, none can match the blend of style, practicality and battery range you get with the Renault Zoe. This little hatchback has the kind of chic looks that Renault’s small cars are famous for, and although it’s compact on the outside, there’s good interior space and a surprisingly large boot. 

So what can you expect from a full charge? Go for one of the later (post-2016) Zoe models, and the official range is a remarkable 250 miles. Those are at the very top end of our £5k budget, but earlier models (the Zoe was launched in 2013) have a range of between 130 and 149 miles. That’s not bad considering how little they cost.

There is one thing to be aware of: some Zoes may carry an additional cost in the form of a monthly battery lease payment of £50 or more. Look for ‘battery owned’ rather than ‘battery lease’ in the listing, and it means there’s no extra cost to pay. 

3. BMW i3

The BMW i3 is the only premium-brand electric car you can buy for less than £5,000, and it lives up to the promise of that distinctive blue-and-white badge on the bonnet. For starters, although it was introduced in 2013, the i3 still feels up to date thanks to its futuristic styling.

The interior is pretty special, too, with a beautiful minimalist design and materials (many of them recycled) that have a high-quality look and feel. There’s lots of headroom thanks to the i3’s tall shape, but although there’s space for two adults in the back, the i3 isn’t especially practical. The boot is small, and its tiny back doors can only be opened (backwards) if the front doors are open. They do look cool, though.

As you’d expect of a BMW, the i3 is fun to drive. It accelerates quickly and feels very nimble, perfect for darting around city streets. That’s where the i3 is most at home, and on longer trips, the i3’s battery range might be an issue. A budget of £5,000 is enough for an early car with a maximum 118-mile range – later (post-2016) models have a bigger battery for a range of 195 miles, but prices for these start at about £6,000.  

4. Kia Soul EV

The Kia Soul EV was the Korean brand’s first electric car, and although it can’t match the range or tech of its newer models, it still has plenty to recommend it. Thanks to its boxy shape, the Soul EV has more interior space than you might think, so even though it’s compact and car-park-friendly, it’s very practical. That tough, 4x4-like stance helps the Soul stand out from the crowd, too, and it gives you a raised driving position and great all-round view. 

As well as being roomy, the interior feels solid and well-built, and everything’s easy to use. All Soul EV models are well-equipped, with standard features including a touchscreen infotainment system and a rear-view camera. Maximum range is 132 miles, with a 0-80% charge possible in just over half an hour using a rapid charger.

You’re unlikely to find any Soul EVs at this price that still have any of their original Kia seven-year warranty remaining, but Kia has a reassuringly solid reputation for reliability overall. 

5. Hyundai Ioniq Electric

The Hyundai Ioniq is available with hybrid or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power, but it’s the pure-electric version (called Ioniq Electric) that features here. Obvs. And even though the Ioniq Electric costs more than its hybrid equivalents when new, it now costs less than its hybrid equivalents, so it’s an even better value. 

If you’re thinking ‘hmmm, looks a bit like a Toyota Prius’, it’s because, like the Prius, the Ioniq has a shape designed to cut through the air as efficiently as possible, to maximise battery range. The result? A maximum of 174 miles on a full charge for the early models that are within our budget.

The downside of that sleek roofline is that rear headroom isn’t anything special, but the Ioniq is practical enough to make it a decent choice for families. It’s also comfortable to travel in, and all versions come extremely well-equipped. 

6. Citroen Ami

The Citroen Ami is one of the cheapest new electric cars you can buy because it’s not actually a car at all. To explain: the Ami is classed as a quadricycle, a type of vehicle that has a limited weight, power and top speed. You can drive one if you have a normal driving licence, but also using a moped or motorcycle licence, so you only need to be 16 to drive one.

Quadricycles are also known as ‘microcars’, so you can probably guess that the Ami is on the small side.  In fact, it’s tiny, being 1.5 metres (almost 5 feet) shorter than a Mini. It means the Ami will fit into parking spaces you wouldn’t dream of trying to get into in a normal car, so it’s great for crowded city streets. In truth, it’s a bit out of its depth if you venture out of town because top speed is limited to 28mph, and the maximum range is just 46 miles.

There are also only two seats, no boot to speak of, no air-con, no stereo, no airbags and no rear-view mirror. And it’s only available in left-hand drive. As a cheap-as-chips urban runabout, the Ami works fine, however, and £5,000 will stretch to a two-year old model with just a thousand miles or so on the clock.