The UK's perfect electric car? Meet the Autovia EV-21

Today (9 September) is World EV Day, and to mark the occasion, DrivingElectric and its parent company Autovia have created 'the perfect electric car' – a model that satisfies everything UK buyers could want from a zero-emissions car by blending together the most appealing aspects of today's best EVs.

Working with experts from across our sister automotive brands Auto Express, BuyaCar, Carbuyer, CarThrottle and Evo, we've designed the Autovia EV-21 – a hypothetical creation, but one that reveals many cars now on sale are already hitting the mark for buyers looking to make the switch to electric motoring.

With the UK ban on combustion-engined car sales set for 2030, and the vast majority of car companies having pledged to go fully electric in Europe on or near that date, a real-world model that fulfils all these criteria is now the goal for the industry, in order to win even the most reluctant holdouts over to battery-powered motoring.

The main features of the EV-21 are based on motorist opinion gathered by Autovia's annual Driver Power survey of car owners, as well as data on the interests and priorities of millions of readers of Auto Express and DrivingElectric, insights on the secondhand market from online used-car sales website BuyaCar, plus the expert opinions of our own writers. The car has been created by mixing elements of existing models from Audi, BMW, Citroen, Honda, Lexus, Mercedes, MG, MINI Porsche and Vauxhall.

Key aspects include the low price and servicing cost of MG's electric models, giving a great '£ per mile of range' figure, the up-to-10-year warranty available on the Lexus UX 300e, the frugal running costs of the Vauxhall Corsa-e, the rapid 800v charging capability of the Audi e-tron GT, the country-crossing range of Mercedes EQS and the boxy practicality of the Citroen e-Berlingo (and its Peugeot and Vauxhall sister models).

On the more emotional end of the spectrum, the EV-21 also incorporates the ultra-cool interior of the BMW i3, the smooth ride comfort of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the geek-pleasing gadgets of the Honda e, the face-bending performance of the Rimac Nevera, the involving handling of the Porsche Taycan and the sheer sense of fun inherent in the MINI Electric.

Commenting on the car, Autovia editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, said: "Revealing our own perfect electric vehicle by combining the very best of existing EVs into one hypothetical car is the best way to illustrate that the final breakthrough for EVs is closer than many people realise. We considered every aspect that people love about the best EVs in today's market, from price and running costs, through to charging speed, range, practicality and comfort.

"This shows that most of the perceived problems that hold people back from taking the plunge with an EV have already been solved – and that the next step is to unify all of those solutions in the next generation of EVs. We're confident that this will happen sooner than many people believe and our imagined perfect EV won't be hypothetical for very long."