Problem area

Electric cars that eat tyres

Weight and instant torque wear tyres faster than on a petrol car. On the inspection data tyres are the single biggest cause of failure for electric cars, twice their share on petrol and diesel.

49.8%of all electric-car failing defects

23.7%on petrol and diesel cars of the same age

Models where tyres take the biggest share of failures

Share of each car's own failing defects. A high share means this is what the car fails on, not that the car fails more overall: the fail rate column tells you that.

Model	Tyres share	vs fleet	Overall fail rate	Tests
Toyota BZ4X	100.0%	4.2×	0.7%	138
Volkswagen ID5	100.0%	4.2×	2.9%	204
Mercedes-Benz Eqs	100.0%	4.2×	3.2%	280
BMW I4	95.7%	4.0×	6.4%	266
Mercedes-Benz Eqe	93.9%	4.0×	2.8%	939
Mercedes-Benz Eqb	87.5%	3.7×	4.7%	129
Audi Q4	78.7%	3.3×	11.4%	3,945
Volkswagen ID4	78.3%	3.3×	8.8%	6,402
MG 4	76.5%	3.2×	5.7%	966
Mercedes-Benz Eqa	75.7%	3.2×	10.1%	5,119
Tesla Model Y	74.9%	3.2×	8.0%	1,765
Mercedes-Benz Eqc	74.6%	3.1×	14.7%	7,232
Audi RS	74.6%	3.1×	17.4%	172
Volvo XC40	74.0%	3.1×	10.7%	1,746
Porsche Taycan	73.4%	3.1×	8.5%	6,264
Mini Cooper Se	73.2%	3.1×	9.6%	9,945
Kia EV6	72.7%	3.1×	5.2%	1,399
Tesla MODEL 3	72.4%	3.1×	14.6%	67,849
Volkswagen ID3	70.8%	3.0×	8.3%	16,546
Polestar Polestar	70.5%	3.0×	10.1%	5,892
Audi E-Tron	69.9%	2.9×	9.1%	14,319
Ford Mustang	69.2%	2.9×	7.0%	2,846
BMW IX3	68.4%	2.9×	11.4%	3,079
Skoda Enyaq	67.7%	2.9×	11.3%	4,360
BMW IX	67.0%	2.8×	11.6%	484
BYD Atto	66.7%	2.8×	1.6%	124
Mazda MX-30	65.7%	2.8×	6.4%	2,026
Volkswagen E-Golf	65.1%	2.7×	11.9%	6,536
Kia Niro	64.0%	2.7×	8.0%	29,589
Lexus UX	60.3%	2.5×	4.4%	1,019
BMW I3	59.1%	2.5×	8.8%	15,271
Hyundai Kona	57.9%	2.4×	8.1%	15,479
Jaguar I-Pace	57.3%	2.4×	6.7%	18,063
Tesla Model X	57.1%	2.4×	18.3%	6,208
Volkswagen E-Up	56.1%	2.4×	6.4%	1,540
Honda E	55.2%	2.3×	7.6%	1,476
Volkswagen Golf	52.6%	2.2×	12.1%	808
Skoda Citigo	51.7%	2.2×	6.4%	329
Seat Mii	50.6%	2.1×	10.5%	1,415
Mercedes-Benz Eqv	49.8%	2.1×	12.6%	898
Smart Forfour	49.5%	2.1×	15.0%	386
Citroen E-Dispatch	46.7%	2.0×	6.6%	151
Kia Soul	46.6%	2.0×	9.9%	2,957
Smart EQ	44.0%	1.9×	8.3%	2,590
Smart Fortwo	43.4%	1.8×	9.7%	921
Tesla Model S	42.8%	1.8×	18.0%	10,892
Hyundai Ioniq	42.7%	1.8×	6.8%	12,581
MG 5	41.3%	1.7×	8.6%	8,748
Vauxhall Corsa	38.1%	1.6×	14.7%	8,595
Citroen E-Berlingo	37.5%	1.6×	6.9%	102
MG ZS	37.2%	1.6×	9.4%	13,341
Mercedes-Benz B-Class	36.6%	1.5×	15.6%	397
Peugeot 208	35.5%	1.5×	13.4%	7,252
Vauxhall Mokka	34.7%	1.5×	8.0%	2,837
Peugeot 2008	33.2%	1.4×	11.2%	6,497
Nissan E-NV200	32.2%	1.4×	19.3%	6,054
Renault Zoe	30.4%	1.3×	19.0%	22,057
Ford Mondeo	29.1%	1.2×	12.2%	370
Volkswagen UP	29.0%	1.2×	9.5%	201
Mercedes-Benz Vito	28.3%	1.2×	14.3%	126
Citroen E-C4	28.2%	1.2×	14.2%	1,413
Mercedes-Benz Evito	28.2%	1.2×	9.1%	593
MG MG	26.3%	1.1×	11.0%	700
Nissan Leaf	26.0%	1.1×	15.4%	49,764
DS DS	25.5%	1.1×	12.5%	1,212
Peugeot Expert	25.0%	1.1×	3.3%	1,137
Volkswagen Abt	25.0%	1.1×	4.2%	263
Fiat 500E	23.5%	1.0×	12.6%	2,577
Vauxhall Combo-E	23.1%	1.0×	6.7%	163
Vauxhall Vivaro-E	23.0%	1.0×	13.6%	921
Nissan Dynamo	22.6%	1.0×	12.0%	249
Maxus E	22.6%	1.0×	21.2%	936
Toyota Proace	21.4%	0.9×	4.8%	208
Nissan NV200	19.8%	0.8×	20.1%	2,903
Peugeot Ion	18.9%	0.8×	18.7%	343
Renault Kangoo	17.9%	0.8×	17.8%	4,063
Street Scooter Unclassified	11.1%	0.5×	6.4%	109
Citroen Berlingo	10.6%	0.4×	18.5%	216
Peugeot Partner	10.5%	0.4×	8.1%	778
Toyota Auris	10.5%	0.4×	27.4%	164
Renault Twizy	10.0%	0.4×	20.4%	500
Citroen C-Zero	8.8%	0.4×	20.0%	130
Honda Insight	6.8%	0.3×	23.6%	140

What to ask the seller

Look at the inner edge of the front tyres: that is where electric cars wear first.
Four matching, dated tyres is a good sign; four different budget brands is not.
Ask for the last tyre invoice. On the heaviest models a set can be due every 20,000 miles.

Electric cars that eat tyres

Models where tyres take the biggest share of failures

What to ask the seller

Other problem areas