Electric cars you can lease for under £300 per month that are available now
A lot of people want to make the switch to electric right now, but the initial purchase price is still a barrier. Add that to the current long wait times for new cars and it feels as though going electric is just not possible for a lot of people.
But, there is another way. If you’re not too bothered about actually owning a car, leasing could be for you.
We’ve done some research and put together a list of cars that are not only available to lease right now, they’re also all less than £300 per month!
Factor in the savings you could be making on fuel and other expenses and you might find that’s making you a decent saving on what you pay for a petrol or diesel. You also might be surprised by the choices available...
Of course, the price you end up paying per month will vary depending on how much money you can put in upfront, how many miles you do and how long you want the lease for.
All of the cars below are available to lease for less than £300 per month if you drive the average of 8,000 miles per year, on a 4 year lease and can pay up to £2000 down.
A great, no frills city car that is comfortable and fun to drive with responsive steering. Being only 3.6m long and 1.6m wide, it's also easier to park in busy places. That said, being so small means it only has 251 litres of boot space.
It is probably the best value for money city car available to lease, though. With 159 miles of range and the ability to charge from 20-80% in about an hour at a fast 50kW DC charger, it’s practical if you don’t do much motorway driving.
It’s got most of the essential kit, but is pretty old fashioned in some areas (it has an actual key!) but we kind of like that. Also, it doesn’t have a sat nav screen. Instead, it has this little mount for your smart phone.
The best part is the lease price on this one, which is just currently about £200 per month and the lowest lease option we could find.
If you only commute the average 20 miles per day, you would only need to charge up once a week at a public fast charger. That means this Up! could still work for you if you cannot install a home charger and could be one of the most affordable ways of switching to electric.
Another option is the good old reliable Nissan Leaf. First launched in 2011, it is now in its second, pointier-looking generation and still going strong.
There are two battery options, a 40kWh and a 62kWh. For our lease cash you’d be getting the smaller 40kWh pack, but that still gives you a range of 168 miles and 20 to 80 percent within an hour on a decent public charger.
It’s a sensible, family car, about the same size as a Ford Focus or VW Golf. That means a bit more space than the Volkswagen e-Up!, but only a once a week fill up at a fast charger if you’re doing average commuter miles.
The other thing it gives you is a more comfortable motorway experience. Where the e-Up! might feel a bit bijou next to a big lorry, the Leaf is much more secure-feeling. The Leaf is also pretty simple to drive, with the technology in it quietly sophisticated. There are lots of assistance systems, and a personal favourite, the Nissan ePedal. This is the brake re-generation system, when the car claws back energy usually lost during braking to top up the battery, and in the Leaf, it’s properly strong. Even though one-pedal driving is almost ubiquitous in electric cars now, the Nissan system is muscular enough to mean you never really have to touch the actual footbrake except in an emergency.
If you’re keen for a cheap way to switch to electric, a Nissan Leaf could be the answer. You can lease one for about £250 per month and they’re available from stock, so you don’t need to wait.
If you're looking for something a little more stylish, the DS 3 could be for you.
It has a distinctive look, a luxurious feel and drives pretty well. With a range of 196 miles and the ability to charge from 20 to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes, means it’s also pretty practical too.
Talking of practicality, it has enough space for a small family and a reasonable amount of boot space, with 350 litres. The biggest concern about the DS 3 is that the Peugeot e2008 arguably looks just as distinctive, feels a bit faster and is a bit cheaper to lease.
The DS 3 is one of the most expensive in our list, available to lease for just shy of £300 per month. The thing is, it doesn’t really do anything better than its cheaper rivals, so you’d be spending the extra for the looks alone.
Something else you won’t need to wait for is the Vauxhall Mokka. It’s available right now and great if you’re looking for an electric vehicle that can go a bit further on a single charge. It comes with a 50kWh battery and 209 miles of range, so probably a better option for you if you’re travelling longer distances on a regular basis.
When you do have to charge, it can do it at a maximum rate of 100kW DC, so it’s faster to charge than the Nissan Leaf too. Where the Volkswagen e-Up! and Nissan Leaf will take about an hour to charge from 20 to 80%, the Mokka will do it in just half an hour. This makes it much more practical if you can’t install a charger at home and have to rely on public ones.
It drives well and up in the driver’s seat, it does have a quality interior. The issue is in the back, where there’s not quite enough room. The boot space is also disappointing, as it has slightly less than the Leaf.
It shares a lot of hardware with Peugeot and Citroen, so it does have some decent technology, including wireless charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
So, the Mokka could be a very good option for you if you need to rely on public chargers or regularly travel longer distances. That said, the lease price is up there with the DS3 at just below £300 per month, so is also one of the most expensive on our list.
If you wanted a slightly cheaper option, but with the same motor and battery set-up, you could go for the Vauxhall Corsa-e instead. With the identical 50kWh battery it gives you the same 209 miles of range as the Mokka. It also charges at the same rate, from 20 to 80 percent in about half an hour.
One thing about the Corsa-e is that its regenerative braking isn’t very strong, so you need to use the brake a lot more. This means it feels like a traditional automatic petrol or diesel car to drive, which might be important to you when making the switch to electric for the first time.
The best part about the Corsa-e is the lease prices, because for a car with over 200 miles of range and fast charging, it’s currently available at about £250 per month.
The Corsa-e is at a reasonable price. Something else that is reasonable is the MG ZS. Very reasonable, in fact. It’s essentially a family-sized electric car with decent range for the price of a hatchback.
Its relatively compact shape puts it up against the Hyundai Kona electric and the Kia e-Niro, with its 154bhp electric motor, 72kWh battery and range of 273 miles making it a strong competitor against its south Korean counterparts.
On the inside, the infotainment system is pretty smart, there’s keyless entry, 360 degree cameras, a 10.1 inch touchscreen, smart phone connectivity, multiple USB charge points and a wealth of driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control.
The best news, is that you can lease one of these for about £270 per month, and that’s with the larger 72kWh battery. That makes this a very good contender for families keen to make the switch to electric.
The MG ZS is a great option for families looking to make the switch
Alongside the more upright SUV ZS, MG also offers a nicely affordable estate, the MG5. It's currently the only electric estate available (we're ignoring the Porsche Taycan Turismo) and while it’s not exciting or pretty, it’s practical and extremely comfortable to drive.
Despite batteries being bulky, MG have managed to set them fairly low down to make sure that the interior space is similar to that of a petrol estate car. Albeit a small-ish one. The leasing deals only include the larger 61.1kWh battery, because the smaller one is being discontinued. That means you get about 250 miles of range, and with 80kW DC charging you can get to 80% in about an hour on a common 50kW charger.
The technology is also pretty good, with an infotainment system that has more gadgets as standard than you would expect. It has a rear parking camera, parking sensors and an 8 inch touchscreen with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The MG5 doesn’t wow you, but it’s incredibly practical and a chilled-out car to drive. If you’d like a great family electric vehicle, but aren’t interested in an SUV, the MG5 could be ideal. Especially because you can lease one from about £250 per month.
If you'd prefer an electric estate, the MG5 is the one for you. Literally, the only one.
A car that might excite you a little more whilst costing you less, is the FIAT 500e. A recognisable car that could help ease the transition into electric.
The 500e has all of the charm of the original FIAT 500, but with added efficiency, comfort and technology you’d expect from a new car. An electric only 500 is the ultimate city car and we love ‘Sherpa’ mode which makes sure you get the most out of your battery range. You can also charge the 42kWh pack from 20 to 80 percent in just 30 minutes at a 150kW DC charger.
The best part is the lease price, which is about £250 per month, making it one of the more affordable ways to make the switch to electric.
Would you like a side of charm with your charging?
All that is great, but if you need more space than a FIAT 500e can give you, for just a few pounds more a month, you could get this Mazda MX-30. Well, up front anyway. Some of the team find it difficult to contort themselves into the back seat.
It does have 366 litres of boot space, which is far more than a FIAT 500e. There is a but though. The battery is smaller. In fact, it has one of the smallest batteries on this list at just 35.5kWh and a range of 124 miles. Which in real-world terms, is going to be double figures in winter and therefore a bit limiting.
However, it will only cost you around £260 per month on a lease, so is worth considering if you live in town. Especially if you like cork.*
*There's a lot of cork on the inside. We're not sure why.
Not the biggest battery in the world, but could be an affordable option if you can charge at home
Another of the nation's favourites is switching to electric. If you love a Mini, you might be surprised that you can lease and electric version for about £290 per month.
It's a familiar car that is fun to drive, but it also has a mini 32.6kWh battery. This gives you just 145 miles of range, which could be in double figures in the winter. This is a lot less than it's main rivals, but one thing is does have is that the quality is what you have come to expect from Mini.
The electric version drives in much the same way as any Mini. So, it’s fun, with steering that feels as though it’s truly connected to the wheels, so small inputs result in quick changes of direction. It’s pretty fast too, especially from a standstill. Owners swapping from the sporty Cooper to an Electric won’t be disappointed.
It may come as a bit of a surprise to see the Mini is cheap enough to be on this list, but it’s not without its compromises. If you can live with the fact that it’s only available as a three-door and don’t need the extra range then it’s funky looking, drives well and has a sense of quality that’s a cut above rivals. It certainly puts a smile on our faces.
So, there you have it. There are some great deals to be had and if you’re happy to not own the car, leasing could be a cheaper way to get into an electric car right now.
Also, there are more electric cars coming soon that are likely to be well under £300 per month, including the Ora Cat. So, it’s well worth keeping an eye on those leasing deals, especially as they keep changing almost daily.
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