- For a company car driver with a €30,000/€40,000/€60,000 limit
Company cars used to be the home turf of frugal diesels. Now, shopping for one is more akin to a tax seminar. Benefit In Kind (BIK) rates for cars with the lowest possible emissions make a car with a plug socket the smart pick. In reality, however, it’s the only pick, unless you are a long-haul driver.
Without getting tied up in the tax bands, it is safe to say that since October, under the new “A1″ tax band for vehicles with zero exhaust emissions, you’ll pay a maximum possible BIK rate of 15 per cent, and a minimum of just 6 per cent on a company-provided electric car. Even with the €10,000 discount - currently applied for BIK purposes to the value of a new company car - being phased out over the next three years, those are temptingly low rates.
Here’s our pick of the best cars for company user-choosers, based on some common company-applied upper price limits.
- Up to €30,000: Renault 4 E-Tech
The fashionable choice would be the Renault 5, but it’s simply too cramped for everyday family motoring. If you’re single, or rarely use the back seat, that’s fine, but for the rest, it will have to be the Renault 4 E-Tech – which strums the same retro styling tune as the 5. It’s roomy and practical, and has a 420-litre boot with a floor so low that you can use it as a picnic seat on days out.
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The 4 isn’t quite as gorgeous as the 5, but it’s still got a whiff of 1960s cool about it, and it’s almost as much fun to drive. The rear seat footwell remains an issue, but it compensates for this by offering a full-length canvas sunroof. Weighing it all up at this price, it’s a bit of a winner.
- Up to €40,000: Skoda Elroq
The only catch with this one is that to keep the budget below the €40,000 barrier, you’re not going to be able to experience the Elroq as its best, big-battery, long-range self. Still, a 58kWh battery with a claimed range of 428km isn’t too shabby, and the rest of the Elroq will soon show you why it’s so class-leading. This is essentially a compact Skoda Enyaq, with all the calmness, quality and space that that model delivers. It’s not the most thrilling car to look at, nor to drive (not even in sporty RS form), but the Elroq is massively satisfying, and a terrific electric all-rounder.
- Up to €60,000: Polestar 2
At this price, there are lots of seriously talented electric cars, from the impressive VW ID.7 to your choice of Tesla “muskmobiles”. However, it’s the Polestar 2 that gets our nod. The oldest Polestar design it might be - in fact, it’s a pretty ancient Volvo under the skin - but it’s such a satisfying car on so many levels. A €60,000 budget gets you the long-range single-motor model in “Business” spec, which means a real-world range exceeding 550km, and a sweet rear-wheel drive balance to the handling. Yes, it’s a practical EV that’s fun to drive, has a Scandi-cool look and feel, and is just about practical enough. The back seats are snug for adults, but you’ll forgive that when you get with the Polestar groove.
- Wild card: Xpeng G6
Can a Chinese brand cut it in the image-conscious company car park? Five years ago, the Xpeng would have been mocked out of the garage. Now, they are serious players. While the rival BYD might be a better-known brand right now, Xpeng makes the nicer car. The G6 might have a few Tesla Model Y styling traits, but it also has a high-quality cabin and solidly impressive range from either of its two battery choices. It’s smooth and refined to drive, and if the big touchscreen is awkward to use, well, aren’t they all? An upcoming update brings with it a seriously impressive high-performance all-wheel drive model. That’s the curveball that makes this the wild card choice.
For a premium luxury car buyer
Premium car buyers tend to lean towards conservative – and exacting - tastes, which is why the big three German brands, equally, tend to dominate this segment. That’s not surprising, and the likes of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes go to enormous lengths to keep that kind of customer continuously happy. Little wonder, then, that so many are happy and so few will tend to look far beyond the boundaries of what they’re used to. Which is a shame in some ways, but when you try some of the cars on this list, you’ll soon see why these customers are loyal ones…
- Best: BMW 5 Series
At one end of the BMW 5 Series line-up, we have the humble (relatively speaking) 208hp 2.0-litre turbo petrol 520i. At the other end, we have the fire-breathing 727hp M5, which, thanks to the fact that it’s a plug-in hybrid, is as cheap to tax for the year as a Toyota Corolla. That’s quite the spread of talent and performance, and in between there’s a pair of impressive plug-in hybrids, and two fully-electric models, one - the M60 - which packs a staggering 600hp punch. We especially love the eDrive40 i5 Touring estate, in which we drove from Munich to Dublin to prove that EVs can do long-range driving, but the plug-in hybrid 530e is probably the best all-rounder for now. The exterior styling is a bit heavy-handed, but the stylish, comfortable and roomy cabin is a winner, and nothing else in the class gets close to how much fun the 5 Series – or i5 – is to drive when the road gets twisty.
- Also try: Lexus RX
We’re eagerly waiting for Lexus to unleash its new ES saloon, which combines Blade Runner styling with a choice of conventional hybrid or all-electric power. That car might just be a bit of a game-changer, but for now, we’re more than happy to “make do” with the Lexus RX. It’s a large SUV that somehow manages not to look like a large SUV, in that it’s not quite as hulking and as scary to small children as some others. The RX comes only as a plug-in hybrid, which gives you a potential 75km of electric range, and entirely sensible fuel-economy figures on longer runs. It’s also silent, soothing, comfortable, and should be about as reliable as government bonds. The F-Sport version is the one to have, as you get the sporty looks but none of the uncomfortable compromises demanded by others.
- Also try: Mercedes E-Class
To anyone who questions whether a plug-in hybrid can actually be driven long distances in electric mode, we present the Mercedes-Benz E300e. Starting from Dublin’s Naas Road, with a fully charged battery, we drove out to and up the M50 motorway, and along the M1 motorway, cruising at the legal limit where safe to do so. And the E300e remained steadfastly under electric power all the way to Dundalk. After that, with the petrol engine running, it returned diesel-style fuel economy. Combine that with a high-quality interior, exceptional comfort, and the sort of upright, patrician style which even the most traditional parent-in-law would approve of, and you have the best Benz currently on sale. The only limitation is the E300e’s small boot, but that’s just more excuse to buy the brilliant E-Class Estate (other engines are available…).
- Wild card: DS No.8
Okay, so you’re going to need to take a bit of a leap of faith to go for DS’s new all-electric model, but it might just be worth it. Up till now, DS cars have felt like what they were: plain-Jane Peugeots and Citroens wearing spangly jewellery. The No.8 is different. It looks, feels, and drives like its own thing. It focuses on comfort and refinement, and it is styled to look like a shrunken Rolls-Royce. Not everyone is going to love it, but if you’re after a car that makes a more distinctive personal statement, one that genuinely stands out from the crowd, then the No.8 is for lucky old you.
Part one: Best cars to buy in 2026: from family EVs to city runabouts
Next week: Our tips for those buying their first EV on a budget, plus rural drivers and long-distance commuters
