MG4 hatchback review
Best cars for Uber and Taxi drivers 2023
Ideal cars for Uber and Taxi drivers need to be economical, cheap to maintain, practical and very reliable
The increasing popularity of plug-in hybrids and electric cars means more people than ever are getting behind the wheel of these efficient vehicles, but when your day job involves spending long hours at the wheel ferrying passengers, having a good choice of affordable, energy-efficient cars can make a real difference to your livelihood.
The longest-range electric cars on sale today
The good news is that in both the new and used markets, there are several plug-in cars that should meet the needs of taxi drivers, minicabbers, Uber drivers and other ride-hailing service employees, from practical hatchbacks to estates and SUVs.
Below we’ve put together a list of the best cars for Uber drivers and taxi drivers, from a choice of fully electric and plug-in hybrid models, both new and used. All offer practical cabins, are comfortable and easy to drive, and should be efficient enough not to make too much of a dent in your earnings.
Best new cars for Uber and taxi drivers
Many of the qualities that make the MG4 one of our favourite family cars also make it very well suited to use as a taxi or Uber. It’s affordable to buy but also to run even by the standards of other EVs, with good efficiency and a generous range, for minimal downtime while recharging. And while its keen handling may not be so important, the fact it’s intuitive and undemanding to drive counts in the MG4’s favour – a day at the wheel should be no hardship. There’s good space inside too, though a few other cars here provide more luggage space than the MG4’s 363 litres. A smattering of cabin cubbies give you places to store personal effects.
You don’t see many Volkswagen Golfs as taxis or Ubers, but the Golf-sized ID.3 could be a different proposition. While its footprint is similar to VW’s big-seller, battery power and beneficial packaging give it a more airy, spacious interior, and a decent 385-litre boot. There is a downside to the ID.3’s packaging, in that cars with the larger battery pack lose the central rear seat (in other words, it becomes a four-seater, rather than five), so that’s worth bearing in mind. The ID.3 has a modern look inside and out though, it’s good to drive, and even the smaller (and cheaper) 58kWh cars have a 265-mile quoted range, which should cover a few shifts between charges.
It might be doing a disservice to call the Tesla Model 3 the new Ford Mondeo, but sometimes it feels like Tesla’s entry-level model is as ubiquitous as Ford’s old stager, and it’s just as much of an all-rounder too. We don’t really need to impress upon you the Tesla’s performance and range benefits – the latter being more than 300 miles on a charge – but the simple cabin design and excellent infotainment make it an easy place to spend hours behind the wheel. Rear headroom is a little tight and the traditional saloon-style boot isn’t as practical as a hatchback, but charging via the Supercharger network is a doddle. The large central screen with games and media streaming should also provide plenty of entertainment while waiting at the taxi rank.
While first impressions in the taxi market usually entail ensuring your car is clean, presentable and doesn’t arrive at the next customer in a cloud of smoke and to the distant sound of sirens, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 gives you another option: looking like you’ve arrived from the future. It’s comfortably the most striking, modernist shape in our list, and has a cabin design that neatly treads the line between usability and futurism too. And the Ioniq 5’s talents are more than skin deep. Its infotainment works well, the cabin is spacious and comfortable (aided by a pliant ride quality), and even if its range can’t match some equivalently-priced rivals (though between 240-315 quoted miles isn’t bad), up to 220kW rapid charging keeps downtime to a minimum.
If the Ioniq 5 above is a statement car, the Nissan Leaf might be the exact opposite. As one of dozens of electric models on the market rather than one of just a handful, it no longer stands out, particularly as this second-generation model – now in its sixth year – was deliberately less challenging to behold than the original. It doesn’t have the longest range, the fastest charging, or the most interesting cabin, but it does still have a few points in its favour: it’s one of the more affordable models in its sector, Nissan’s ‘e-Pedal’ one-pedal driving is among the most intuitive of its type (perfect for town use), and it’s undemanding to drive. The length of time it has been on sale also means it has proven reliability.
Best used cars for Uber and taxi drivers
1. Kia e-Niro
Kia, along with parent company Hyundai, was among the first manufacturers to offer a model in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric forms. With the Niro compact SUV, the e-Niro was the latter of these three, with a choice of either 39kWh or 64kWh battery packs, good for a range of 180 and 282 miles respectively, according to official figures. And unsurprisingly they sold well, making used examples plentiful. They’re nothing special to look at – we’re talking generic SUV styling here – but the healthy range and comfortable, practical cabin should appeal to private hire customers and your passengers. Prices for the earliest 2018 and 2019 models start at a snip under £20,000.
2. Toyota Prius plug-in
If you’re reading this then you probably either own, or have at least considered a Prius before. They are wildly popular in the private hire and ride-hailing sector for reasons that need no great explanation to understand. The Prius is among the most reliable cars on the road, the calibration of its hybrid drivetrain is almost unmatched thanks to Toyota’s more than 25 years of experience, and few cars that use internal combustion as a primary power source use less fuel. A 34-mile plug-in range means if you’re clever with charging, you’ll use even less petrol (Toyota quoted in the region of 200mpg), while this most recent iteration is more comfortable and spacious than ever. Prices start at around £15,000.
3. Mercedes E300 e
Available in both saloon and estate, and petrol and diesel forms, the plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz E300 e (and E300 de) certainly give you plenty of choice. Plenty of class, too, and no small amount of quality, practicality, and refinement; there’s a good reason that there are still multiple generations of E-class parked in the taxi ranks outside every German airport. Look after a Mercedes E-Class and it can go on almost indefinitely, and these plug-in ones will do so on remarkably little fuel, thanks to an electric range of up to 35 miles, and combined economy approaching and even exceeding 200mpg with regular charging. Saloons get a 370-litre boot, and despite the batteries robbing space, the 480 litres of the Estate is still pretty good. They aren’t cheap – more than £30k for the earliest 2019 cars – but the outlay may prove worth it over time.
4. Skoda Superb iV
Another long-time taxi driver favourite, the Skoda Superb has all the qualities you could ask for from working wheels. It’s affordable, long-lasting, very comfortable and spacious, well-built, and frugal, despite its relatively large size. While diesel is the go-to choice with Superbs, the plug-in hybrid is well worth a look too, thanks to an all-electric range in the mid-30 mile bracket, and the smooth response and useful power of its electrically-assisted petrol engine. When new, we found it very difficult to fault, and provided you buy one that has lived a charmed life – prices begin around the £20k mark – a used Superb should be easily up to the task of taxi service, too.
5. MG5 (pre-facelift)
The MG5 has recently enjoyed a facelift, giving it an up-to-date look that fits better with more recent models like the MG4. Used, you’re more likely to find the previous model, which had the generic, slightly misshapen appearance of an unlicensed videogame car, designed to avoid too closely resembling a Volkswagen Passat. No matter though, because when new the MG5 represented excellent value for its 214-mile range (or 250 miles, with the larger battery) and practical estate shape – still one of very few EV estates available. The MG5 is now plentiful for under £20,000 despite being just a few years old, so even the highest-mileage examples should still feel fairly fresh.
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