Which electric vehicles have the highest ground clearance?

Whether you often drive on dirt roads or just have a steep driveway, ground clearance can be an important factor when purchasing a vehicle. Electric vehicles are no different in that regard, although there are some additional things to keep in mind. 

Electric versions of some models have less ground clearance than their equivalent combustion versions. In the worst case I’m aware of, an electric XC40 Recharge (181 mm) loses 30 mm of ground clearance compared to a petrol XC40 (211 mm). This is due to the battery pack being located underneath the chassis between the two axles.

Driving on dirt roads in an electric vehicle is generally safe because manufacturers ensure the battery pack is well shielded with multiple layers of protection. For example, after two fires occurred in Tesla Model S vehicles over ten years ago, Tesla subsequently added more protective layers to their new cars to make them even safer.

Fellow contributor Bryce Gaton answered a reader question on this topic a year ago: Are there any high ground clearance passenger vehicle EVs yet? However, several new electric vehicles have arrived since Bryce’s answer and there are more coming with high ground clearance.

The ground clearance data below has been sourced from the Australian Government’s ROVER list of road vehicle type approvals wherever possible.

I picked the highest ground clearance for a model where it differs between variants, for example sportier variants often have 5-10 mm less than their regular variants due to lowered suspension or different wheels.

There are also two vehicles further down the list that are capable of rising above the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X. The upcoming Porsche Macan EV has optional air suspension which can raise ground clearance to a maximum height of 225 mm. A second hand Tesla Model X can also use its air suspension to raise itself up to 223 mm on the highest setting.

Here is the full list of passenger electric vehicles available in Australia from our EV Models page, sorted by ground clearance from top to bottom.

1. Subaru Solterra – 212mm
2. Toyota bZ4X (coming soon) – 212mm
3. Mercedes-Benz EQB – 210mm
4. Mercedes-Benz EQA – 209mm
5. Volvo EX90 (coming soon) – 205mm
6. Polestar 3 (coming soon) – 201mm
7. Jeep Avenger (coming soon) – 200mm
8. Peugeot e-2008 – 196mm
9. Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV – 192mm
10. LDV eT60 Ute – 187mm
11. Skoda Enyaq (coming soon) – 186mm
12. Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV – 184mm
13. Porsche Macan (coming soon) – 184mm (max 225 mm with air suspension)
14. Volvo XC40 Recharge – 181mm
15. Audi Q4 e-tron (coming soon) – 180mm
16. BMW iX – 180mm
17. BMW iX3 – 179mm
18. Kia EV9 – 177mm
19. Volvo C40 Recharge – 177mm
20. Volvo EX30 – 177mm
21. Genesis GV70 – 175mm
22. Volkswagen ID.4 (coming soon) – 173mm
23. Ford Mustang Mach-E – 172mm
24. Audi e-tron S – 171mm
25. Tesla Model X (second hand) – 171mm (max 223 mm with air suspension)
26. BMW iX1 – 170mm
27. BMW iX2 – 167mm
28. Tesla Model Y – 167mm
29. Polestar 4 (coming soon) – 166mm
30. Ford Puma BEV (coming soon) – 164mm (figure based on petrol version)
31. Volkswagen ID.5 (coming soon) – 163mm
32. Peugeot e-308 (coming soon) – 162mm (figure based on PHEV version)
33. MG ZS EV – 161mm
34. Audi Q8 e-tron – 160mm
35. Genesis GV60 – 160mm
36. Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 160mm
37. Kia EV5 (coming soon) – 160mm (best guess, no official figures)
38. Kia EV6 – 160mm
39. Volkswagen ID.Buzz (coming soon) – 159mm
40. Hyundai Kona Electric – 158mm
41. MG MG4 – 158mm (with 18 inch wheels)
42. Lexus RZ 450e – 156mm
43. Nissan Leaf – 155mm
44. Polestar 2 – 151mm
45. BYD Atto 3 – 150mm
46. Hyundai IONIQ Electric (second hand) – 150mm
47. Kia Niro EV – 150mm
48. LDV Mifa 9 – 150mm
49. Mitsubishi i-MiEV (second hand) – 150mm
50. Mini Countryman E – 149mm (figure based on petrol version)
51. BMW i5 – 146mm
52. Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo – 146mm
53. Rolls Royce Spectre (coming soon) – 146mm
54. Chery Omada 5 (coming soon) – 145mm (figure based on petrol version)
55. GWM Ora – 145mm
56. Mercedes-Benz EQC – 145mm
57. Jaguar I-Pace – 142mm
58. Lexus UX300e – 142mm
59. Hyundai Ioniq 6 – 141mm
60. BMW i3 (second hand) – 140mm
61. Genesis G80 – 140mm
62. Mercedes-Benz EQS – 139mm
63. Tesla Model 3 – 138mm
64. BMW i7 – 136mm
65. Mazda MX-30 – 135mm
66. Tesla Model S (second hand) – 135mm (max 160 mm with air suspension)
67. Peugeot e-208 (coming soon) – 134mm
68. Mercedes-Benz EQV – 133mm
69. Cupra Born – 131mm
70. BYD Dolphin – 130mm
71. Fiat 500e – 130mm
72. Mercedes-Benz EQE – 130mm
73. Mini Cooper SE – 128mm
74. Renault Megane E-Tech – 128mm
75. Porsche Taycan – 127mm
76. BMW i4 – 125mm
77. BYD Seal – 120mm
78. Renault Zoe (second hand) – 120mm
79. Audi e-tron GT – 105mm