Car Hunter

£30,000 to buy an upmarket electric car to get to work and back

THERE'S no shortage an EV for commuting these days, and no of reasons for choosing shortage of tempting battery-powered cars in which to do it. Most of them are terrifyingly expensive new, but a few have been around long enough to have filtered onto the used market at prices that are starting to look more affordable.

Having said that, a £30,000 budget is hardly chicken feed, and for that sort of cash you're entitled to expect a little luxury and presence on the road. You get that to varying degrees from all three of our contenders here, each of which has a distinctly different feel and characteristics.

So whether you're drawn to the swoopy exterior and bespoke-feeling interior of the Jag, the more conservative-looking but still very swanky Audi, or Tesla's almost-iconic premium saloon, one of this trio ought to do the trick.

Dear Chris, I want a luxurious EV that is suitable for commuting and have a £30k budget-what do you recommend? Mark Armstrong, via E-mail Contact: [e-mail]

THE 'SELF-DRIVING' CHOICE 

Tesla Model S

FOR: Roomy, fast and practical, loaded with digital tech

AGAINST: Relatively low-rent interior, uninvolving drive

FROM its HQ in Silicon Valley, Tesla was truly disruptive when the Model S hit the scene around a decade ago. It certainly put the cat amongst the auto-industry establishment pigeons, and they scrambled to play catch-up.

We found the 328bhp 75D variant to be most commonly available at this price, and you should be able to get a 2017 car with fewer than 50,000 miles on the clock for £28-30,000. The far-rarer 420bhp 90D goes for similar money, for a 2018 car with 80-90,000 miles, while prices start at £23,000 for a 2015 70D.