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Updated: May 7, 2026
Small, inexpensive electric cars are usually written off as city-only runabouts. Battery cost and weight leave little room for big packs in budget models, so their official range figures tend to be modest. But Carwow’s latest real-world test tells a different story: eight cheap EVs were driven until their batteries died on U.K. motorways, and several overdelivered — one significantly.
The lineup was a mix of microcars, compact hatchbacks and tiny crossovers: Fiat Grande Panda, Microlino, Honda Super-N, Citroen e-C3, Dacia Spring, BYD Dolphin Surf, Leapmotor T08, and Hyundai Inster. Each car began the run at 100 percent state of charge. The team then drove at highway speed limits until the dashboards showed almost no battery remaining, before pulling off the motorway to finish the final miles safely.
This is a useful test because highway speeds are an EV’s weak spot. Range often drops quickly above 60 mph, especially in small cars with low battery capacities. So when a budget EV beats its official range in those conditions, it says something real about its efficiency and thermal management.
The Microlino was both the most efficient and the most unusual vehicle in the group. It isn’t legally a car; it’s a quadricycle, and it is registered as such. That means it doesn’t have to meet normal passenger-car safety standards. It has no ABS, one door, a single bench seat, and space for only two people. Its retro styling is a direct nod to the BMW Isetta.
But those compromises allow the Microlino to be absurdly efficient. Carwow measured a remarkable 7.7 miles per kWh — far ahead of every other car in the test. For context, the next-best cars, the BYD and Dacia, managed 4.8 miles per kWh. The Microlino used that efficiency to cover 115 miles on a full battery, which is 101 percent of its claimed range.
It’s an important distinction: efficiency and range don’t automatically go together. The Microlino’s efficiency is brilliant, but its practicality is extremely limited. This is a niche urban machine, not a small family car.
Fiat isn’t usually the first name people think of when it comes to EV engineering. Its Grande Panda, however, should change that impression. The little crossover covered 202 miles in the test, which is 102 percent of Fiat’s official figure. That made it the strongest overachiever among cars that are, for all practical purposes, true automobiles.
Even more notable is that the Grande Panda did this with a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery, a chemistry often chosen for lower cost and longer life rather than maximum range. LFP packs tend to be less energy-dense than nickel-based ones, so beating the official range on a motorway is a sign of very efficient energy use.
Watson also described the Fiat as one of the more enjoyable cars to drive in the group. That combination of real-world range, pleasant driving, and an affordable price makes the Grande Panda one of the more compelling small EVs available today.
The Fiat was the percentage winner, but the absolute champion was the Hyundai Inster. It managed 212 miles before shutting down, representing 95 percent of its official range. That kind of result is closer to real-world normal because few EVs match their WLTP numbers on a highway. The Inster, then, deserves credit for doing as well as it did with such a small footprint.
Carwow’s Mat Watson said the Inster would be his personal choice from the eight-car group. The reasoning is clear: it pairs near-class-leading range with the kind of practicality and day-to-day usability that most other budget EVs can’t match.
The results show that the cheapest EVs on sale can still be genuinely functional beyond urban commutes. Efficiency numbers like 4.8 miles per kWh from the BYD Dolphin Surf and Dacia Spring are respectable. The Grande Panda and Inster prove that affordable electric motoring no longer has to mean obsessive route planning.
There is a broader lesson for used-EV buyers, too. A car that exceeds its official range in a tough test is likely to be more forgiving in winter weather, hilly routes, and when carrying roof boxes. The opposite can be a real inconvenience when charging networks are sparse.
None of the cars in this test is sold on a U.S. dealership lot today, but that doesn’t make the results irrelevant. The U.S. market has been waiting for truly affordable EVs with useful range, and Europe keeps showing what can be done when automakers focus on efficiency rather than just battery size.
EPA range estimates are generally more conservative than the WLTP numbers used in Europe. That means a Fiat Grande Panda wouldn’t necessarily beat its EPA rating if it ever came to the U.S. Still, the engineering lesson is transferable: by reducing weight, improving aerodynamics, and controlling power consumption, small EVs can go much further than their specs suggest.
Carwow’s eight-car test is an encouraging sign for anyone who wants an EV without spending big money. The Fiat Grande Panda stood out by beating its official range, the Hyundai Inster went farthest in absolute terms, and the Microlino proved just how far efficiency can stretch. Small, cheap EVs still have compromises — but range no longer has to be the kind of compromise that rules out highway travel.
