2026 Volkswagen ID. Polo GTI prototype | Image: Marcus Boothby/Author

Electric cars are here to stay, whether you like them or not. Up until a few years ago, most electric cars were larger vehicles - typically crossovers, egg-shaped saloons, and the occasional sleek four-door coupé.

Manufacturers have also learned that an electric car doesn’t have to feature radical design, with smoothed-off body panels and interiors dominated by screens.

We are now seeing a new phase of electric cars that look ‘normal’, with some of the best examples coming from the small hatchback segment. Cars like the Renault 5, Fiat Grande Panda and Hyundai Inster all spring to mind.

The segment is set to become even more crowded over the coming year, with many new arrivals on the way. Here are some we’re looking forward to seeing in 2026.

Kia EV2

While the Kia EV2 looks chunky and versatile, it’s relatively small, measuring just over four metres in length. It’s Kia’s smallest EV, but it promises a range of 197 miles for the Standard Range model and 281 miles for the Long Range version - the latter beating the Renault 4 and Skoda Epiq.

The EV2 is already on sale in the UK, with prices starting at £27,995.

Honda Super-N

Now this doesn’t happen often - a kei car is coming to the UK. Honda is bringing the Super-N over, channelling the spirit of the City Turbo II from the 1980s.

It won’t go far on a full charge, with a maximum range of 199 miles in ‘city mode’ and a combined range of 128 miles. But as a kei car, it’s tiny, making it perfectly suited to urban driving. It’s dinky in person - the chunky body kit really makes it look bigger than it is.

It’s set to go on sale in the UK in July 2026, with a tempting price of under £20,000.

Renault Twingo

Réjouir! The Renault Twingo is back, and it’s coming to the UK. The new Twingo is one of the most anticipated cars of the year, already picking up awards—Top Gear even named it ‘Electric Car of the Year’ at its EV Awards 2026.

On paper, it looks promising too: a 163-mile range, 10 to 80% charging in 30 minutes, and a starting price of under £20,000.

I’ve seen the new Twingo in person - at Renault’s excellent Battersea showroom and the April 2026 Bicester Scramble. I was impressed with the car as a static item, thinking Renault have nailed the design and doing retro right. I can’t wait to drive one when they hit UK roads.

Volkswagen ID. Polo

Hot on the heels of the recent ID.3 Neo reveal, Volkswagen have finally taken the camo wrap off the ID. Polo. The new ID. Polo is remarkably similar to the ID.2all concept and is set to take on the Renault 5, Peugeot e-208 and the tidal wave of Chinese EVs set to land in Europe soon.

The ID. Polo is a clean sheet design, with no visual elements shared with the outgoing ICE Polo, aside from the VW badge.

It looks like the design team has listened to customer feedback, as there are buttons back on the dashboard and steering wheel, along with an updated infotainment screen and two sets of window controls - because having one row and a touch-sensitive toggle for the rear windows was a ridiculous idea.

On paper, the ID. Polo looks promising. At the time of writing (30 April 2026), the ID. Polo has one powertrain option - a 52kWh battery paired to a 208bhp front-mounted electric motor, allowing for an estimated range of 282 miles, which for the battery size and overall size of the car, is rather good and should be enough for the majority of people.

If that’s either too much or not enough, don’t worry as there’s two other powertrain options coming. If you want a smaller battery, a 37kWh option is coming, with either 114bhp or 133bhp with an estimated range of 204 miles. If you want something a bit sportier, you’ll have to wait for the ID. Polo GTI, which is coming later down the line, which will of course have more power.

How much is it? Prices for the UK aren’t confirmed yet, but the ID. Polo ‘Trend’ will start at €24,995.

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Smart #2

Some of us were under the assumption that when Geely took a stake in Smart, the brand would turn into another brand rebadging slop from China. But no, Geely actually seem to be a pretty serious player.

In Europe, Smart currently sells the #1 small crossover, the larger #3 crossover, which looks like a better-designed Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, and the ruggedly styled #5. Soon joining those three cars will be the reborn #2, which was recently previewed in concept form at a recent brand event in Beijing.

The concept looks like a slightly redesigned last-generation ForTwo, which isn’t a bad starting place. Arguably, you can’t do much in the way of design when the car measures just 2,792mm in length. But what they have done is update the iconic ForTwo shape with the current Smart design language, and the result is exactly what you should expect.

Other than the exterior, not much else is known about the #2. We know it’ll sit on an all-new platform, will have two seats and a range of just over 180 miles. We’ll wait and see if Smart have magic’d that number out of thin air.

We’ll know the full specifications and information when the car is revealed in full, at the Paris Motor Show in October 2026.

Vauxhall Corsa GSE

The Vauxhall Corsa Electric has been on sale for some time now, and many have been waiting for a performance version.

It’s been a while since a proper hot Vauxhall, and the Corsa GSE looks set to change that. With 277bhp, it’ll take on rivals like the Alpine A290, Mini John Cooper Works Electric and its sister car, the Peugeot 208 GTI.

The Corsa GSE has been undergoing final testing at the Nürburgring ahead of the full reveal at the Paris Motor Show in October 2026.

Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, but don’t expect it to be cheap.

2026 Will Be The Year Of The Small EV