Best EVs: The top all-electrics across seven categories

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A sign that the electric vehicle segment has matured over the last decade is we have moved on from selecting a singular ‘best EV in Canada’ to being able to select the best EV across several categories. As we reported last year, there were 50 different electric vehicle models available for sale in Canada, and even more 2024. Now that we have such a large and varied sample size of EVs on the market, selecting the best EV across various segments provides a robust overview of how efficiency, charging ability, innovation, engineering and overall capability sets some electric vehicles apart from the competition. Here are Driving.ca’s best electric vehicles, with input from some of our veteran reviewers.

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Best Overall EV: 2024 Kia EV9

Using that criterion established in the introduction — efficiency, charging ability, innovation, engineering and overall capability — the Kia EV9 excels in all categories. And in the highest of compliments, our Matthew Guy contends, “This isn’t just a great three-row electric crossover, it’s a great three-row crossover – full stop.” The first three-row EV to arrive in Canada, the EV9’s boxy design and flat-floor architecture creates a simply massive cabin, with no leg- or headroom compromise for those in the back row. Speaking of architecture, the all-wheel-drive EV9’s electric platform punches well above its price point, featuring a 99.8 kWh lithium battery supported by a 400/800-volt fast charging system, a battery heating system and a heat pump. It starts at $63,144 and offers a range up to 451 kilometres.

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Honourable mentions: Graeme Fletcher lists the Ioniq 5 as his top overall EV, asking, “how can you ignore the diversity? From lowly long-range rear-driver to manic speedster it has the bases covered.” Brian Harper gives the nod to the Tesla Model 3.

Best Affordable EV under $50K: 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric

This one was unanimous by our reviewer panel, though in fairness there aren’t that many EVs that currently come under that $50,000 threshold, at least not before various government rebates kick in. In addition to great new styling, inside and out, the Hyundai Kona Electric offers a few luxe-level features, including a standard heated steering wheel, a standard 12.3-inch infotainment/NAV display, ventilated front seats and heads-up display. In terms of electric architecture, there’s a 64.8 kWh battery pack powering a 150-kW motor, 400-volt charging capability and an estimated range of 420 km. Graeme Fletcher noted that his vote would have gone to the Chevrolet Bolt EUV if it was still in production, adding, “sadly, affordable and EV are contradictory terms at this point.” Matthew Guy called the Kona EV a “remarkable machine with decent range for $48,449,” while admitting,” I can’t in good conscience say Equinox EV given software problems, and the Fiat 500e is an unknown at this point.”

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Honourable mentions: I’ll throw in the 2024 Mini Cooper SE, which is arguably the most fun-to-drive EV currently available in Canada. However its limited range (under 200 kilometres) is a bit of a deal-breaker for most user cases.

Best Mainstream EV: 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro

No consensus on this one, probably because there are so many ‘mainstream’ EVs available in Canada today. So, it is difficult to choose a clearcut winner since much of this category comes down to what is the user case for your vehicle. But as crossovers are the dominant segment in the EV space, I’ll give it to the Volkswagen ID.4 Pro, if for no other reason than apart from the ubiquitous Tesla Model 3 and Y, the ID.4 is by far the most prevalent EV in and around my North Vancouver neighbourhood. It’s a smart looking vehicle — I particularly like the optional illuminated VW badge front and rear — it drives very well thanks to typical top-notch German engineering, and its full-charge range of 468 km is among the best in its class. And that four years of free charging at Electrify Canada public chargers is a very sweet incentive indeed.

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Honourable mentions: Harper had a tie between the Volvo XC40 Recharge and the Polestar 2, while Fletcher went with either the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the Kia EV9, saying of the latter, “it is not difficult to get why it has won every award of note including World Car of the Year, World EV and Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year.” Guy doubled down on the Hyundai Kona Electric, putting it over the Ioniq 5 “because it’s ten grand less expensive yet offers similar space and range.”

Best Electric Pickup: 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning

I’ll defer to Matthew Guy on this one, after all he does host our Truck Guy podcast, although I am in full agreement with his choice of the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning. Granted, the pool of all-electric pickups available in Canada remains shallow, but it shouldn’t surprise that the long-time dominant pickup truck maker in North America has produced the best EV version to date. As Guy points out, “Blue Oval engineers know a thing or two about trucks, making this thing capable of pulling off ‘real truck’ duties like hauling a trailer filled with 3,000 pounds of Polaris Ranger. The hit to range, as a percentage, is not much off the gasser.” Fletcher, as did Harper, took himself out of the voting on this one, saying there is no such thing as a ‘best electric pickup.’ “If the reason for being is to function as a workhorse, then the current crop of electric trucks fails miserably. Half the driving range with a 5,000-lb trailer in tow?”

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Honourable mentions: I took a Rivian R1T on a plus-1,000-kilometre road trip for my Power Trip series and was very impressed by the vehicle. It was comfortable, the onboard tech surpassed the Lightnings’ and it drove like a dream. The only issue, and no fault of the R1T’s, was the public charging network’s reliability between North Vancouver and Clearwater, B.C.

Best Luxury EV: 2024 Porsche Macan EV

Well, like the best mainstream EV category, this one is chock-full of a few top dog contenders. And not surprisingly, all but one of those chose by our panel are of German origin. Harper went with either the Mercedes-Benz AMG EQE SUV or Maserati Grecale Folgore; Guy chose the BMW i4 M50 xDrive Gran Coupe, saying “It’s a snazzy EV that isn’t a crossover yet still belts out 536hp and about 500km of range”; and Fletcher tagged the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo. “Practicality and speed in one sassy package,” he said. “The peak of 938 hp and 818 lb-ft of instant-on torque sums up the fun factor.” All very compelling arguments, but the best new luxury EV is the all-new Porsche Macan EV. I might be falling victim to recency bias on this — I drove it a couple of weeks ago — but as I reported in that First Drive review, “When the Porsche Cayenne debuted two decades ago, it was billed as the ‘911 of SUVs,’ but in my opinion it wasn’t until the Macan showed up a decade ago that Porsche fulfilled that promise. And now this Macan EV betters that gas Macan in the driveability department.”

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Honourable mentions: I’ll add the Genesis Electrified G80. True, it doesn’t pack the punch of those listed above, but its remarkable efficiency, elegant lines and sophisticated driving characteristics make the slippery mid-size sedan a quintessential luxury vehicle.

Best Price-Is-No-Option EV: 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre

Matthew Guy says, “it would have been too easy to just say ‘RR Spectre’,” but as someone who has always preferred the easy life, I can in full confidence say, as I did in my First Drive review of the Roller, the Rolls-Royce Spectre isn’t just the best EV I’ve ever driven, it is the best motorcar I have ever driven. Harper agrees. The Spectre is a two-door coupe that is 10 centimetres longer than the new Cadillac Escalade, yet it handles and performs like a middleweight boxer, oh so light on its feet but capable of landing a punishing knockout blow with a stab of the accelerator. How? A 102-kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery drives front and rear motors with respective power outputs of 190 kilowatts and 360 kilowatts, which translates to a combined horsepower rating of 584 and a torque rating of 900 newton-metres, or 664 pound-feet. And its sculpted beauty gives it the one thing that Roll-Royce vehicles do better than any other marque: a sense of timelessness. Pricing starts at $495,000.

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Honourable mentions: As to Guy, he went a little off script here — the ‘price-is-no-option’ thing — and chose the hot-hatched Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. “Over 600 horsepower, the pops and bangs of a tuned turbo four, sticky handling, and chunky styling.” Fletcher embraced the blank cheque assignment, and went with the Lucid Air, though he was torn between two; the Sapphire, with its 1,234 hp and 687-km driving range “tickling my fancy,” and the Air Grand Touring, which “is less than half the price, yet still gets 819 hp and 805-km driving range.”

Best Tesla model: Model 3

This category was a bit of a contentious one around the (virtual) Driving newsroom, as some felt it unseemly to include a single brand as its own category. But as managing editor Jonathan Yarkony pointed out, “Tesla essentially is its own category. It is completely unique as a 21st century automotive start-up with the success of its branding, sales and sales model, charging network, and is so obviously the standard to beat in terms of EV passenger vehicles.” Yes, this assignment went out before the latest round of Tesla layoffs, but despite the gutting of some departments, the California-based automaker is still the dominant EV manufacturer in North America. Of those who took up the challenge, Guy chose the Model Y — “With pricing of the Y now only a pittance over the 3, it makes sense to pop for this model’s more practical bodystyle” — while Harper went with the Model 3, defending his choice by observing, “there’s a crap ton of them in my neighbourhood.” I’m with Harper on this one, as from a value-for-money proposition it is one of the best EVs available, its quick, has good interior space and, yes, there are a crap ton of them in my Vancouver neighbourhood too.

Honourable mentions: Would we lose all credibility if we went with the Cybertruck? I thought so. Let’s stick with the Model X, which unlike the S, 3 and Y has stood the test of time rather well.