Plug-in babies

Who says you can't have fun with electric? STEPHEN DOBIE samples three accessible, affordable, grant-friendly EVs that are ready to put a smile on your face

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This is a fascinating time to spectate the car industry. Its constantly shifting sands feel equal parts enthralling and petrifying, as looming electrification targets put some of our favourite brands in danger - and others atop a new pedestal. Weave in the sporadic nature of the UK government's EV grants, and even a fastidiously published weekly magazine must hang tightly to the coattails of the ever-evolving situation.

A point sagely proven here. The day after photographing this trio (and the day before these words are typed), Ford trumpeted that its Puma Gen-E was the first car clean enough of conscience for the full, £3750 'Band 1' UK car grant benefit - enough to buy a pretty tidy example of its turn-of-the-millennium badge forebear, the truly wonderful Puma 1.7 coupé...

There are abundant £30k electric crossovers to choose from, but these are the ones from which we've gleaned real enjoyment thus far; they are the charmers of an ever-expanding and overwhelming marketplace. While the Puma has since snatched the headlines, it is in fact the Renault 4 that inspired this gathering. It picks up all that's irresistible about the littler 5 and kneads it into a longer, more flexible shape, all with a character entirely of its own.

It’s not as immediately lovable as the 5 - the classic 4 design doesn’t translate quite so deftly into a 2020s streetscape - but time is kind to it and after just a few days I become very protective of the Renault. It attracts plenty of glances on the road, and boy does its styling stand out among its amorphous rival blobs plugged into a line of motorway service station chargers.