Expert answer

Hi William,

There are plenty of good new EVs on the market within budget to consider, though most are crossover or SUV-style vehicles. That's a good thing in terms of ease of access, as their door openings are usually large and the roofs are not too low. It also usually means a relatively high-set seating position, to the benefit of comfort and visibility.

We prefer to drive regular car-shaped vehicles, but there just aren't enough all-electric options, unfortunately. While there's some negativity towards SUVs in general, we reckon a compact electric SUV ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of buyers, while not being completely inefficient.

Before giving you a few potential EVs to book test drives for, I'd urge you not to focus on the range too much. Assuming you can get a home charger installed, then going by your usage as described, you'll do the vast majority of your charging at home.

Prioritising a longer-range car means getting one with a bigger - i.e. heavier - battery, which will cost more up front and result in worse efficiency day to day. Relying on the public network a few times a year is no reason to compromise your car for the rest of the time.

The first car to come to mind is the excellent Renault Scenic E-Tech electric. It's probably bigger than you need, but the long wheelbase helps with comfort, and it sits somewhere between a hatchback and an SUV in terms of design and shape. With your budget, you could probably get the larger (87kWh) battery pack or choose the smaller one and a higher specification.

Sticking with Renault for a moment, another cool option is the new Renault 4 E-Tech, launching in Ireland imminently, though it doesn't have as long a range as the Scenic.

If you can wait a little, then it's also worth considering the new Nissan Leaf. This is a really excellent car that will certainly be in budget. It's quiet and comfortable to drive and efficient, too. The Nissan Ariya is already available, but I suspect it's larger than what you were looking for. It is comfortable, though, so no harm test-driving it for yourself.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is another great option, with a fantastically comfortable interior, good efficiency and a decent range for the money.

I could go on and on, so let us know what you think of these by submitting another question and we'll try to narrow things down for you.

Expert answer

Hi Charlie,

There's a bit to consider there, including the lower total costs if you went for an electric van instead of an SUV. Businesses get an SEAI grant if buying an electric van, but not an SUV. And the VAT on a van should be fully recoverable, while it may not be for the SUV.

As you probably know, there is no VRT relief on an EV costing over €50,000.

There's a wide range of good electric SUVs available in and around this price bracket, including the Volkswagen ID.4, Peugeot E-5008, Toyota bZ4X, Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya.

Come back to us if you have other criteria to narrow down the search with as these all have decent boots and range.

Expert answer

Hi Michael,

The garage is correct. There is VRT relief at up to €5,000 for EVs worth below a certain threshold, and that Leaf certainly qualifies. 

Expert answer

Hi Conor, 

The information you've provided suggests that the Premium SV model emits 81-100g/km, while the SV emits 121-130g/km. It sounds to us like you're comparing cars with different engines completely.

Expert answer

Hi Conor, 

There's a wealth of choice at that price point on the used market really. Here are a few options to consider, many of them early 2025 registrations:

Dacia Duster
Hyundai Kona (the newer model)
MG ZS (newer model)
Nissan Qashqai
Skoda Octavia
Volkswagen Taigo or ID.4 if you fancy going electric

I've added links to our reviews of the cars so you can take a look and see what you like the look of. Come back to us and let me know if we're on the right track here, and your thoughts on each of these as we help you narrow down your search.

Expert answer

Hi Lisa,

I reckon your best bet is to use the car as is for a trade-in against your next car. You will be offered significantly less than its market value as the dealer will want to cushion themselves against unforeseen expenses in the repair, but it will mean you won't have to deal with all that. 

Expert answer

Hi Declan,

Nothing has been announced as yet, but I'd put money on the X-Trail adopting the same e-Power improvements as the Qashqai is getting. It certainly won't be before the middle of 2026, though.

Expert answer

Hi Ed,

There were several rule changes in the past few years, but it now seems to boil down to the relatively simple matter of whether you can prove the car was used for "as reasonable amount of time" in the North before it was imported. It sounds to me like that would be the case on the Leaf you've found and yes, I believe the official test history from gov.co.uk would suffice.

If in doubt, do contact Revenue directly for yourself.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

First up, if you're not going to be able to charge a car up at home, we'd recommend you do not buy the MX-30. Yes, it's much improved with the 'range-extender' engine on board, but it's still a car designed to be plugged in and charged up. Without that, it would be a very frustrating petrol car with a tiny fuel tank. Read our review of the MX-30 R-EV here if you're still interested.

We're big fans of the Qashqai e-Power. It feels very like an EV at times to drive, giving you a flavour for that, yet you don't plug it in to charge it up. Go take a test drive for yourself to see if you agree with us. And read our detailed reviews of the Qashqai e-Power here. https://www.completecar.ie/car/search/car-reviews/Nissan/Qashqai

There are 2021 examples of the plug-in hybrid Velar in the classifieds varying from about €49,000 to as high as €75,000, though none are as low-mileage as your car, so that will help get a strong price for sure. That €75,000 example is an anomaly though so bank on somewhere slightly north of €50,000.

Expert answer

Hi Lorraine,

There really is a lot of choice out there, but we will try to help you narrow things down.

With your car as a trade-in, and the €16,000 budget on top, we'll look for cars up to about €27,000.

First up, narrowing the search to automatic SUVs post-2021 really limits your options to the Nissan Qashqai, which isn't very powerful, the Peugeot 3008 (which is quite rare) or the Skoda Karoq and Volkswagen Tiguan. The latter two are potentially worth a look as they're built on much the same underpinnings as your Ateca and their 2.0 TDI engines have plenty of go. There aren't many of them about with automatic gearboxes though.

Removing the constraint on that opens up the options considerably and one car that stands out for us right away is the Mazda CX-5. It's perhaps not as common as some others, but it's great to drive in particular and it should tick all your other boxes. Try to get hold of one to test drive for yourself.

A newer Ateca is of course an option, and we're big fans of the SEAT, but all the newer ones we found haven't a very powerful engine.

The Peugeot 3008 is another car we like and would encourage you to try it out for size. There are plenty of them about with a manual gearbox.

All of these should have the niceties you're looking for as well.

Come back to us if you need help narrowing your search further, or if you want our opinions on any other alternative to the above.