► 7-seater electric cars rated ► Choice of SUVs and van-based MPVs ► Variety of brands and price points on offer
Nowadays, there’s a selection of seven-seater electric cars available, some of which are even quite good. It used to be the case that if you were shopping for the best electric car and needed seven seats, you’d have had almost no choice. Golf Car For Sale
The growing number is being driven by demand, changing legislation, advancing technology and falling costs. Many brands, such as Vauxhall and Peugeot, have also expedited seven-seat electric car development and deployment by bolting seats into the rear of their electric vans.
And keep your eyes peeled for more – with upcoming models such as the Volvo EX90 and Kia EV9 on the horizon, this part of the market is due for plenty of exciting additions.
Read on to find out about the zero-emissions seven-seater electric options on sale in the UK today, including SUVs, MPVs and vans. Alternatively, if you’re not quite ready to go fully electric, we have a list of the best seven-seater hybrids as well.
Best for: those seeking a mix of compact and premium
Pros: Small for a 7-seater, decent driving range, premium detailing Cons: Leaden, roly-poly driving experience
The Mercedes-Benz EQB is one of the more sensible seven-seater electric cars here. It’s a pure-electric version of the pragmatic but premium Mercedes GLB, which means it shares the same level of equipment and the same passenger-carrying ability. The rearmost seating row is relatively cramped, but there’s enough space everywhere else for most adults to get comfortable. If you need more room in the final row take a look at one of the van-based vehicles in this list instead; while there are plenty of other electric SUVs, none offer seven seats in such a compact package.
The all-wheel-drive EQB comes with either 225bhp or 288bhp – the later capable of 0-62mph in just 6.2sec. Both are limited to 99mph, and both quote the same maximum driving range, which varies with trim level rather than power output; entry-level AMG Line models claim 252 miles per charge, falling to 242 miles for the fanciest AMG Line Premium Plus versions. Either should be fine for regular family duties, while the 100kW DC fast-charging capability will do 10-80 per cent of the 66.5kWh battery pack in around 30 minutes.
For a more in-depth look read our full Mercedes-Benz EQB review
Best for: those who want a tried and tested solution
Pros: Incredibly fast, long-range, fancy doors Cons: The fancy doors break, LHD only
Tesla took a different approach when it designed its seven-seater electric car, the Model X. Rather than building a square box and filling it with seats, it took the same swoopy silhouette as the Model S saloon (read our full review), jacked it up on tall suspension and fitted a pair of ‘look at me’ vertically opening Falcon Wing rear doors. As you can probably guess from that, the rear row is among the most useless of all here, but the power of the Tesla brand is hard to ignore. For some people, if you want to go electric, this is the only way, thanks to the clear image, minimalist, high-tech interior and sensational performance. Certainly, it’s hard to ignore the specs, even if it’s not massively practical.
Buy the entry-level Dual Motor variant and you’ll get a maximum range of 348 miles and a 0-60mph time of 3.8 seconds. Opt for the flagship 1020bhp (!) Plaid variant and the sprint time drops to a supercar-slaying 2.5 seconds – and you’ll still be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge. The Tesla charging network is substantial and impressive, too. You’ll pay plenty for the privilege, however, as even the most basic model costs over £100k now. But the biggest problem is that the Model X is no longer made in right-hand drive, so you’ll now have to handle this vast, super-fast SUV from the wrong side of the cabin.
For a more in-depth look read our full Tesla Model X review
If you want an electric seven-seater with lots of space, this is it
Pros: Loads of room inside, 200+ miles of driving range, genuinely luxurious Cons: Not fast to drive or charge, more than double the cost of the equivalent Vauxhall
The Mercedes-Benz EQV is exactly what it looks like: a posh electric van with windows. It’s fundamentally based on the Vito commercial vehicle but is really the electrified version of the much fancier Mercedes V-Class (read our full review). The seven-seater EQV keeps all the V-Class trimmings but replaces the diesel engine and fuel tank with a 201bhp electric motor and a substantial 90kWh of useable battery capacity. Despite looking like a brick that’s enough juice for a claimed WLTP driving range of 213 miles per charge, though the sheer size of the pack means it’ll take 45 minutes to go from 10 per cent to 80 per cent at the maximum 110kW DC charging speed.
Sure, it isn’t the fastest option on this list – but it is one of the most comfortable. It might not look like much on the outside, but on the inside the EQV is loaded with luxury touches such as leather-trimmed captain’s chairs, electrically operated sliding doors, pillowy air suspension and a Burmester sound system. More importantly, it gives you a load of space for people and passengers – far more of both than anything else on the list except maybe the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, and the Mercedes has a much, much nicer cabin. It also smashes the Vauxhall for driving range – but then it needs to, since with a starting price of £87,995 (for the cheapest of three trim levels) it costs more than twice as much.
Read more about the Mercedes-Benz EQV
Best for: those seeking masses of space for not much money
Pros: Very spacious with seating for up to nine, drives nicely, great value Cons: Limited performance, driving range
Two ways to think of the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric – it’s either a budget alternative to the Mercedes EQV or an upgrade in size to the Peugeot e-Rifter. It actually uses the same 134bhp electric motor and 50kWh battery pack as the Peugeot, since they’re both from the Stellantis family, but the Vivaro is a much bigger vehicle, so it only manages a WLTP driving range rating of 143 miles per charge. Real-world, fully loaded, expect more like 100. That looks a bit poor these days, but on the plus you can seat up to nine adults in its most basic Combi guise, so it’s certainly spacious, and the small battery pack needs only 30 minutes to achieve an 80 per cent charge.
The top spec Ultimate variant, on the other hand, is a luxurious six-seater with individual captains chairs, though still a far cry from the comfort afforded by the EQV. But with pricing from just £36,795 – £48,445 for the Ultimate – it represents a comparatively massive bargain. Once again there are mechanically identical offerings from other brands, namely the Peugeot e-Traveller and Citroen e-SpaceTourer, so it’s worth visiting all the showrooms to see who can give you the best deal before committing to the Vivaro Life Electric.
Read more about the Vauxhall’s GSe range.
Best for: those seeking an elite, seven-seater electric car with style
Pros: An seven-seater electric car with retro looks, big battery, GTX performance version Cons: Not super practical
It’s not quite on sale yet, but we have now seen the production version of the long-wheel base (LWB) VW ID. Buzz, which increases the seat count from the standard model’s five to the seven chairs requisite for this list. It also gets a bigger 85kWh battery, which should increase the driving range to around 300 miles per charge, while a 335bhp GTX variant will follow later, promising to reduce the 0-62mph to just 6.4sec. That’s as fast a manual-gearbox Golf GTI. Not bad for a big, retro-styled brick.
The ID. Buzz isn’t the most practical choice – there are no individual chairs in the back of this, and you can’t even get three child seats across the middle row. But when it comes to style it’s got everything else on this list thoroughly beaten, and it’s arguably the best of all of the Volkswagen ID electric cars available so far. The pricing could sting a bit, but perhaps not as much as the EQV’s…
For a more in-depth look read our full Volkswagen ID. Buzz review
Getting an seven-seater electric car or van makes an increasing amount of sense these days, for those with large families, due to the rise in emissions-controlled areas. They are also ideal for average families with lots of friends and plenty of luggage to cart around – providing they don’t need to travel the length of the country in one go.
As with all electric cars, though, it’s important to make sure you can live with the limitations. Make sure you have somewhere convenient to charge it before you buy and weigh up whether the EV’s maximum driving range is sufficient for you daily driving needs. Otherwise, you could end up buying a very expensive headache. Check out our guide on the benefits of electric cars to find out more about living with an EV.
Also, unless your rationale for going electric is purely ethical, think about whether the running costs versus a petrol or diesel car will make the higher purchase price of an EV worthwhile for you. We also have a list of the best seven-seater cars with conventional petrol or diesel engines.
If you decide you really don’t need seven seats, or the sheer amount of space on offer from these vehicles, take a look at our list of the best electric cars on sale in the UK in 2023. Many are ideal for family life, and will serve up the zero-emissions motoring you’re looking for with other perks.
If it’s maximum space you’re after then you’ll be needing one of the van-based models. Cream of the crop is the Mercedes EQV, but the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric and its cousins offer similar space for much less money while the Peugeot e-Rifter and its relations do well for space versus compact size.
If distance is more important to you than outright passenger space, the Tesla Model X will go further than any other seven-seat EV. Go for the entry-level Dual Motor model, which has a WLTP rating of 348 miles per charge.
CJ Hubbard is a former CAR associate editor and now runs parent-company Bauer’s digital automotive content hub. In a ‘professional’ writing career that began back in 2006, he’s driven everything from tiny electric cars to articulated trucks, and is as happy discussing the importance of bump stops in suspension tuning as he is explaining the latest tech innovations.
Head of the Bauer Digital Automotive Hub and former Associate Editor of CAR. Road tester, organiser, reporter and professional enthusiast, putting the driver first
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