Move Electric's best reviews of 2022: notable cars, e-bikes, e-scooters and more

By James Attwood

23 Dec 2022

The progress of electric vehicle technology is relentless at the moment, and that’s reflected in the volume - and quality - of new machines that have been released in the last 12 months.

In fact, so many new electric vehicles have been released during 2022 it can be quite hard to keep track of. So here’s a quick recap of the handful of the most notable electric cars, bikes, scooters and motorbikes that have been launched in the past year.

This isn’t a complete list, and there aren’t necessarily the best – instead we’re highlighting the broad range of e-vehicles you’ll now find on sale.

Electric cars

The variety of electric car that was released in 2022 surely puts an end to the myth that they’re all essentially identical. Yes, a lot of them use similar ‘skateboard’ chassis, and electric motor technology offers less distinct characteristics than a variety of combustion engines – but they certainly aren’t all the same.

For a good example, just look at the Volkswagen ID 5 and Volkswagen ID Buzz, both of which we tested for the first time this year. Both machines share the same MEB platform, essentially the same motors and batteries and have the same badge on them. But while one takes the form of a sweeping coupe-SUV, the other is a bold electric revival of a much-loved classic.

Sister firm Skoda was also putting the MEB platform to good use with the new Enyaq Coupe iV vRS, which added a bit of style and performance to its hugely successful SUV.

The Hyundai Motor Group has been on brilliant form with machines that use its advanced E-GMP platform – such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which won the Best Electric Car prize in the Move Electric Awards 2022.

The manufacturer isn’t getting complacent, though: we had the chance to head to Korea to sample the new Hyundai Ioniq 6, which is an excellent slipstreaming saloon that offers similar underpinnings in a very different package.

Sister brand Kia expanded into the performance market with the Kia EV6 GT, which really is a Kia that rivals the Porsche Taycan. We reviewed it earlier this year, and more recently puts its special Drift Mode to the test.

Genesis, Hyundai’s premium brand, has been active in the UK for a little while, but is really taking a step forward with electric cars. We had a chance to drive the excellent Genesis GV60 SUV earlier this year, which sits on that E-GMP platform. But if you’re still looking for a compelling big electric saloon, we’d also recommend the Genesis Electrified G80.

Speaking of the premium market, BMW and Mercedes-Benz was busy this year. Munich firm BMW kept filling in its EV line-up with the addition of the iX1 and iX3 SUVs, although sadly there did come at the expense of the groundbreaking i3.

Mercedes-Benz also launched a host of new models, including the flagship EQS saloon, complete with a huge infotainment screen.

One notable trend in electric cars this year was the arrival of some hugely compelling cars from Chinese-owned brands. Forget any images of questionably built copycat models: the new wave of Chinese EVs really are credible contenders.

We were particularly impressed by the MG 4, which is a hugely credibly Volkswagen ID 3 rival, but at a significantly cheaper price. A similar class contender emerged in the brilliantly named Ora Funky Cat, although it didn't quite hit the mark so well.

We also tried a few SUVs from Chinese brands that haven’t yet reached these shores, but will do soon – and look to be credible contenders. There was the Aiways U5, which we tried on UK roads, and the BYD Atto 3 – which will launch over here very soon.

Meanwhile, the Citroën Ami isn’t really a car, but we couldn’t leave it out here. We had a chance to try UK spec cars on our roads this year, so have updated our comprehensive review. At the same time we also found out exactly what it’s like to drive in London – good practice for our new #MEAmi arriving recently.

Electric bikes

It wasn’t long ago that you could spot an e-bike at a distance thanks to its ungainly design and chunky battery. No more. The ability to mount batteries inside bike frames and ever-smaller motors means they’re just as sleek as their purely pedal-powered siblings.

They cover an increasingly diverse range, as well. The Ribble Endurance SL e showed how an endurance road bike can really benefit from electric power.

Another long-established bike firm making some compelling e-bikes is Specialized, and we were suitably impressed by the step-through Turbo Como 4.0. That said, don’t underestimate the dedicated e-bike firms: we also loved the new Volt London.

While those e-bikes are road-focused, we tried several this year that are intended for rougher stuff. We tried the Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 1 is a pure-bred electric gravel bike, and also braved more trails to test out the Whyte E-160 RS.

Picture a Ducati bike and it’s probably some form of high-powered MotoGP racer. It’s almost certainly nothing like the Ducati MG-20, a folding city bike that has plenty of promise but can’t quite match the class leaders.

That said, the folding bike category is really competitive, thanks to machines such as the ultra-high tech Gocycle G4i and the more affordable MiRider One and GB3. There’s also the Flit-16, an ultra-lightweight bike from a new Cambridge-based firm.

Cooper has been developing bikes since 2009, but you might know it better from the company name better from Formula 1 and performance versions of the Mini. Yes, that Cooper. Anyway, Charlie Cooper – the son of tuning legend Mike – is focused on two-wheeled machines, including the retro-styled CG-73 that we were impressed by this year.

Cargo e-bikes are increasingly popular, and we took the chance to try a couple. The Eskuta SX-250 is an unusual commuter bike that’s based on a popular delivery machine. And if you want to do some load-lugging Riese and Muller are one of the top cargo e-bike firms, as we found out testing the Load 60 Rohloff.

And we don’t just review the e-bikes that you can buy. We also had a first taste of the Lime Gen4 rental e-bike, which you’ll find available to hire in various areas of the UK including plenty of London boroughs.

Electric scooters

There’s a growing number of quality e-scooters on the market, although as ever it’s worth remembering that they remain illegal to ride on public roads in the UK.

When they are finally legalised, expect Pure Electric to remain one of the main firms offering them. We rate the current range-topping Pure Air Pro LR highly, and we’ve also had an early taste of the next-gen Pure Advance that is set to arrive next year.

We were also impressed by the Niu KQi3 Sport, which is produced by a Chinese firm that also offers some impressive electric motorbikes. We also tried the 8Tev B12 Roam, which proved a convincing offering near the premium end of the market.

Meanwhile, if you’re surprised that Ducati makes folding e-bikes you might be positively shocked to learn the firm also offers its own e-scooter. That would be the Ducati Pro 3, which had much to recommend it but fell short of the class lead in a few key areas.

Electric motorbikes

There's a lot happening in the electric motorbike world, with rapid progress being made in adding range and performance.

Perhaps one of the best examples is the Super Soco TC Max, which won our Best Electric Motorbike prize in this year's Move Electric Awards. We put it through a full test to find out why.

Another intriguing urban option is the Niu GT Evo, which Autocar's Matt Prior kindly tested out for us. But not every firm making urban machines is new: long-established Yamaha released the very promising (if grammatically awkward) Neo's this year.

Several car firms are also now producing their own e-motorbikes, which were were intrigued to try. The Seat Mo eScooter 125 is a convincing effort - unsurprisingly so given it shares its underpinnings with the Silence S01.

We also were very impressed by the BMW CE 04, the next-gen of the German firm's electric bikes which offers radically new styling.

The Maeving RM1 might look like a classic British bike from the last century, but it's an entirely new electric offering – and it's also one of the best machines we've tried this year.