Best EVs for petrolheads 2023

‘Petrolhead’ is a wide-ranging term but, clue in the name, people identifying as such tend to be fans of cars powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) and left cold by electric vehicles, or EVs as they’re typically known. If you believe the stereotype these traditional car fans consider the whirr and hum of an electric motor soulless compared with the noise, smell and sensations of an ICE powered car, and all the tech in the world can’t compare with the more mechanical connection they crave.
The petrolhead world is a broad church, though, and while there will be some people for whom EVs won’t work there is a much bigger number just waiting to be convinced by the new electric technology. If that’s you here are some EVs in the market right now that might just win you over, and reinvent what you love about cars for the new electric age. For more on this check out Rory’s video here, and if you like what you see don’t forget to like and subscribe for more great content like this. Read on for more on the cars he’s chosen, and why we think they’re the perfect EVs for petrolheads.

Switching from ICE to electric is a huge investment for car manufacturers, even those as established as Porsche and Audi. Little surprise they’re pooling resources, then, and we’re seeing collaborations and partnerships like this all over the industry. Built on the technical insight learned in motorsport and the decades of expertise making some of the best sports cars in the business, the Porsche Taycan is every bit as impressive as you’d hope. And if you’re switching from a 911, a Panamera or any other Porsche you’ll feel right at home, even with the novelty of electric power. Rear-wheel drive, ‘Turbo’ or shooting brake style estate there’s a huge range to choose from as well. The same applies to the closely related E-Tron GT, which is based on a lot of the same technology but has a character of its own that will, again, feel an easy transition from an ICE powered Audi. Especially one of the high-performance S or RS models.
Search for a Porsche Taycan on Auto Trader Search for an Audi RS E-Tron GT on Auto Trader

Mazda always does things its own way, its decision to equip its stylish MX-30 electric car with a small battery to keep cost and weight down admirable and meaning it has a taste of MX-5 nippiness in its handling. Unfortunately, it also means the range is pitiful for anything other than nipping about town, somewhat limiting its appeal. But, as promised from the start, Mazda has a solution and has revived its signature rotary petrol engine for the electric age. Back in the day these rotary engines powered the car in the conventional way, but while they won many fans for their character and smoothness they were also very thirsty and somewhat unreliable. The small rotary added to the MX-30 answers all those issues and plays to the strengths of the design, whirring away as an onboard generator if the battery runs flat rather than driving the wheels. Technically what’s known as a ‘range extender hybrid’, which means the MX-30 operates as a pure EV that can charge its own battery for longer journeys if required. For Mazda’s old-school petrolhead fans the return of a rotary engine will be the real draw, the flexibility and freedom from having to plug in to charge a bonus for everyone else.
Search for a Mazda MX-30 on Auto Trader

The Cupra brand was born under Seat as a hot hatch model line, traditionally using souped-up and rebadged versions of the VW Golf GTI. So, it makes sense that in this electrified age the Cupra Born is a spicier take on the VW ID.3, with a bit more Spanish style and some tweaks to the set-up to make it feel a little more exciting. We’ve been running one on Auto Trader for six months and have appreciated the extra power of the 230 horsepower ‘E-Boost’ motor, the sporty looks and the nimble handling. While the performance isn’t quite up there with ICE-powered Cupra models of the past there’s much of the same spirit, as demonstrated when we took it on a track day and enjoyed the agility of its rear-wheel drive set-up.
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As a pure electric brand Tesla has won over the early adopting tech fans. But what does it have to offer the more traditional petrolhead community, beyond famously ludicrous straight-line acceleration figures? More than you might think as it turns out! While all Teslas have class leading performance and range the Model 3 Performance has some surprising tricks up its sleeve to put a smile on any face, including a drift mode clearly configured by people who really know what they’re doing when it comes to handling. You’d be mad to try and use it on the road, of course. But it’s a little ‘tell’ that the people who engineered the Model 3 understand what car fans like, and there are depths to the ‘baby Tesla’ people may not have appreciated in the noise about its broader talents.
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Polestar has come to mainstream attention as a forward-thinking, stylish and purely electrified offshoot of its Volvo parent company. And given the number of top prizes owners awarded it in the 2022 Auto Trader New Car Awards it’s clearly doing something right. Few may realise Polestar’s pure petrolhead roots though, the team behind it previously running Volvo’s motorsport operations and building beautifully engineered high-performance derivatives of its road cars. Some of this spirit has been channelled into the Polestar 2 as well, the Performance Package including race car style manually adjustable suspension from boutique Swedish supplier Ohlins. Endlessly customisable, Polestar offers a menu of five configurations of settings you can apply yourself. Or, if you don’t fancy getting your hands dirty, you have the option of a free set-up to your chosen setting at a Polestar service centre. Just one example of how Polestar’s petrolhead instincts endure into its new electric age.
Search for a Polestar 2 on Auto Trader

On the face of it the new Maserati Gran Turismo is very much business as usual for a brand built on a legacy of beautiful, sporting coupes with powerful petrol engines under their long bonnets. And if that’s what you want that’s what you can have, with as much as 550 horsepower from turbocharged V6 engine in the Trofeo version. So far, so petrolhead. Interestingly Maserati is launching the ICE version of the Gran Turismo alongside its fully electric Folgore alternative. It’s got the same traditional Gran Turismo looks but under the skin packs a triple-motor powertrain with an astonishing total output of 761 horsepower. It’s quite a bit heavier than the petrol one. But also a whole lot faster to the same 199mph top speed. If there’s an EV more perfectly pitched to traditional petrolhead tastes we can’t think of it.
Read more about the Maserati Gran Turismo

The best petrolhead cars usually have petrolhead engineers involved in their creation, but just as drivers are having to adjust their expectations in the switch to electric cars so too are the talented individuals designing them. Which is how the guy who played a big part in the legendary Ford Focus RS is now putting those same skills into the cars built by his new employer, Hyundai’s luxury arm Genesis Motor. His signature? Well, like the hot Focus the all-electric GV60 has a drift mode buried deep within its menus but, day to day, keen drivers are more likely to appreciate the precision and balance in the handling on every journey. This is, after all, an EV engineered by a proper petrolhead.
Read more about the Genesis GV60

Those with a longer memory will recall the old BMW slogan “The ultimate driving machine” and the days when all its cars were sporting saloons of one type or another, the rear-wheel drive balance to the handling always a signature feature. These days the range is packed with front-wheel drive hatches, all-wheel drive SUVs and crossovers and electric cars of various types, perhaps diluting that message somewhat. But if you’ve grown up with traditional BMWs and consider yourself a petrolhead fear not – the i4 is based on the more conventional ICE-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe and drives very much the same way. Indeed, you could potentially climb from one to the other and, apart from the lack of engine noise, not even realise you’d switched to electric. Others in the range like the more radical looking iX offer a more ‘EV’ experience. But if you just want a sporting BMW saloon that happens to be electric the i4 is the car for you.
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The I-Pace feels like it’s been around for a while now, at least in electric car terms. But the fact it’s still a benchmark for the way it drives shows how much of a head start Jaguar had over key rivals like Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Lexus and others. It still looks fresh and distinctive, the interior tech is much-improved after a recent update and the performance is well up to the standards of its newer rivals. Most of all it’s just a brilliant reinvention of the classic Jaguar driving manners old-school fans of the brand have enjoyed over generations of its ICE-powered predecessors. So, you get the same smooth ride quality, while accurate, well-weighted steering is something all drivers can appreciate, whether they consider themselves petrolheads or not.
Search for a Jaguar I-Pace on Auto Trader

There are counter arguments to be made for nearly every criticism a petrolhead might make of electric cars. Apart from engine noise. Sure, for many people it may just be an irritation. But for a keen driver the noise and sensations you get from a good internal combustion engine are a key emotional connection it seems impossible to live without. Step up Abarth, with its sporty take on the newly electrified Fiat 500e. Just like the ICE versions it’s built until now, this increases performance and visual impact through extra power and lairy paint, the noisy exhausts that were all part of the package reimagined for the electric version with a speaker system that simulates the sound of a petrol engine both inside and OUTSIDE the car.

There are various clever specialists out there taking iconic classics and swapping out the original ICE powertrain for a futureproofing electric one, the idea being you get the style and romance of driving an old car but with the speed and silence of a modern electric one. For petrolheads this isn’t without controversy, given for many the character of the engine and that of the car are one and the same. But, as Rory found out in his drive of a Porsche 356 electrified by British company Electrogenic, going electric doesn’t have to mean killing the soul of the source material. Watch the video for the reasons why, but suffice to say it’s a path to indulging your petrolhead dreams in a more responsible and sustainable way.