LITTLE MIX

Stylish, small, retrofuturistic... these are the EVs that everyone's talking about. Where should you spend your hard earned cash?

- WORDS PAUL HORRELL PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY FLEETWOOD

Before you cry foul... yes, we know these pages are a playing field that’s badly unlevel. The price of this top of the range electric Mini is half as much again as this electric Panda. It’s not a normal comparison test. We're here to show how much choice there is among desirable little cars. I don’t just mean in the way they look, either, but also how you interact with them and drive them. These aren't just cars, they’re characters, somehow animate. In an age where the global auto biz has decided - because it thinks you have decided - that what you need is a blobby crossover with a generic twin screen interface and blasé dynamics, that’s a relief.

If you really want to save money, the Grande Panda is for you. There’s a cheaper trim than this one, called Red, at £20,995. It has the same power and the same 199 miles of WLTP measured range as this top spec La Prima version. The Red is the one to buy because the Grande Panda, like all Pandas through history, feels cheap because it is. It doesn’t insult you with the notion that cheap is boring. The Red saves money by rolling on (perfectly attractive) white steel wheels and goes without the roof rails and heated seats, its climate control is manual and its centre screen has no built in satnav but you'll be mirroring your phone anyway.