The most direct competitor to the Volvo is the Kia. The same sort of boxy SUV styling, the same striving for classiness and versatility. Similar size, too, at 5015mm long.

Entry-level Air has a single motor and rear-wheel drive. GT-Line and GT-Line S have a dual motor and all-wheel drive. GT-Line S is available as a six-seater with big swivelling chairs in the second row, or a conventional seven-seat arrangement like ours. As you go up through the trim levels you get bigger wheels, massage front seats and even more electronic safety systems. But, thankfully, the cabin doesn’t get too digital; like a lot of Kias and Hyundais, it strikes a good balance between physical buttons and on-screen control.

Tester Mal Bailey points out that the headrests are lovely to the touch – a tiny detail, yes, but one that improves the sensual quality of every single journey. Talking of details, Matt dePrez reckons the Kia-Hyundai blind-spot camera system – which shows the relevant image at the relevant time in the instrument panel – is brilliant. ‘I think the approach to infotainment and switchgear is probably the best of the bunch, although it’s not a great bunch in that regard. At least Kia has included some physical controls for temperature, volume etc, and the buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel are on the door, not in the screen.’

There’s good foot room and head room for all three rows. The air vents in the third row are excellent – effective, and well positioned so they’re not blasting you. The second row splits 60:40 and slides asymmetrically, which seems odd, especially in a car designed to be an electric seven-seater from the off. Rapid charging from 10 to 80 per cent can be done in 24 minutes. It also has a handy socket for ⊲ charging electronic equipment, or indeed other EVs. Its range is okay, at an official 313 miles and tested 267, but that’s not because it’s particularly efficient, and it’s certainly not because the Lego-alike EV9 is aerodynamically sleek – it’s because the battery’s big.

The ingredients all sound pretty standard for a fairly posh family electric car. But then you drive it and you’re quickly reminded that this is the big sibling of the EV3 and EV6, two of our favourite electric cars – favourites for a lot of reasons. It’s much bigger and heavier than those cars, of course, but has a responsiveness that makes a lot of its bulk seem to disappear. The idea is pretty conventional, but the execution is exceptional.

Personally, I regard the Kia as an eyesore. Those wheels, those wheelarches, those… everything. I really wouldn’t want it parked outside my house. In which case the related Hyundai Ioniq 9 should do the job nicely: similar, but less ugly. (Go ahead, Hyundai, the slogan’s yours if you want it.) If you can cope better than me with the looks, then the Kia is a car to be taken very seriously. It’s aiming at pretty much the same targets as the Volvo, but hitting more of them. It is, give or take, better in every way. And cheaper. Also, bear in mind that this is a twin-motor, all-wheel-drive version, when really a single-motor version would be fine, and probably still better than any version of the EX90, even in Kia’s entry Air spec.

If the Kia is a superior attempt to do the same things as the Volvo in the same way, the VW is travelling a very different path to a similar destination. It makes so much more sense as a seven-seater than in its original – and still available – five-seat form. This version, with its longer wheelbase and its three rows of seats, does everything better: it’s more practical as a people carrier, more helpful when you’re trying to use it as a beach hut/cafe/lounge, and somehow more fun to drive.

Its 3239mm wheelbase is 25cm longer than the five-seater’s, but overall the Buzz doesn’t seem huge in this company, at 4962mm long. There’s a decent level of standard equipment, and a lot more available via the options list, but the main joy of the electric-only Buzz interior is its versatility. The second row slides, reclines and folds flat. The third row is removable, giving an impressively large boot space (and it’s not bad with the third row in place). Everyone gets a good view and a good amount of space for their head, arms, knees and feet. And those big sliding side doors are neighbour-friendly and fun. (I know, I know: if I drove a van every day, I wouldn’t think there was anything fun about sliding doors.)

And the stowage box/armrest between the two front seats can be taken out of position – one of many examples of the thought given to the way the Buzz will be used when it’s parked, not just when it’s being driven. Then again, as Matt points out, VW’s combustion-engined Multivan is actually better than the Buzz when it comes to interior versatility, with its three independent middle-row seats.

It’s not fast, but you don’t find yourself yearning for the extra potency of the GTX version. ATJ notes: ‘Performance is more than adequate and it handles far better than it has any right to. The low-speed ride can be a little severe at times, but it feels more settled as a longer, heavier LWB than the SWB.’ On a rapid charger you should expect it to take 30 minutes to get from five to 80 per cent full. Note that it’s a much smaller battery than the Volvo and Kia, with a shorter range.

More than any of the other cars here, this is very focused on the passengers. They’re comfortable, they get a get view out, they’ll see people smiling at them, and they’re well provided with USB slots, lights and vents. Disappointingly, though, the interior looks better than it feels. Ours is a £70k car, and yet some of the plastics feel ready to snap off in your hand.

In contrast to the flamboyant, statement-making VW, the Peugeot is visually anonymous. This must be deliberate, given how good-looking various recent Peugeots have been, and will suit a lot of people just fine. If you just want to get on with living your life, rather than having to explain your choice of vehicle in every supermarket car park, the Peugeot is your friend.

Even with some extras fitted, consisting of a £700 heat pump and £600 worth of driving assistance features, our GT-spec test car is pretty keenly priced in this context, at below £54k.

It comes with Peugeot’s divisive i-Cockpit, here involving a 21-inch curved display, an oddly shaped steering wheel that blocks your view of the fancy digital instruments, and an embracing, cossetting vibe. You couldn’t get further from a van if you wanted to.

Like all these vehicles, it involves certain compromises. Here, the emphasis is on being relatively car-like, both to drive and in terms of its interior ambience. In much the same way as its body feels right-sized for everyday driving conditions, so does its performance feel appropriate to the world of school runs, shopping and weekend family trips. On paper, its figures look rather modest, and it’s certainly nothing like as rapid as the Kia. (A more powerful version is available, although it trims only 0.1sec off the 0-62mph time; its main aim is longer range.) That said, its efficiency figures during this test are the best of the quartet. On a rapid charger you’re looking at 30 minutes to get from 20 to 80 per cent full.

This generation of 5008 is bigger than its predecessor, but not huge in this company; 4791mm long. It has conventional suspension, a conventional layout and a conventional feel, as befits a car designed to accommodate a plug-in hybrid powertrain or a mild hybrid for customers not ready to go electric. Alan says: ‘The surprise of the test. It really didn’t disgrace itself on the road in much more expensive company. It’s also one of the comfier cars on test, if rather roly poly in the bends. A bit more pace would be nice, if not essential.’

The flip side of that car-like dynamism is its car-like interior space. It’s the smallest car on the outside and, unmiraculously, the smallest on the inside too. Your family may be happily nuclear, but if they’re bringing any friends along for the ride they’d better not be too tall.

It’s also quite gloomy. There’s a £950 panoramic sunroof, but not on our car. There are also fancier seat options (although our manually adjusted seats are fine) but the option you might really want is not available: just a little more room for the third row. But then the price would go up, and so would the weight, and the charm of this oddly appealing French seven-seat EV would go down.

Having driven the Volvo up to Withernsea and been mildly impressed by its calm and comfort, that is put into context by my drive back south in the Peugeot. It’ss far from perfect, but almost as comfortable and relaxing, and a lot more fun – which, even when your focus is family-friendliness, must still count for something.

So, lots to argue about, but there’s an emerging consensus among our testers that this is a fine line-up if you’re in a position to choose an electric seven-seater in 2025. These are cars that overlap where it matters most, but which also offer significant differences to suit your preferences and requirements.

Some vehicle categories still seem to be problematic or unappealing to the makers of electric cars – where exactly are all the two-seat roadsters beyond the MG Cyberster, and why are there so few estate cars? But this impressive group of seven-seaters shows that tremendous progress is possible when the car makers put their minds to it.

A seven-seat EV is now a rational, versatile real-world choice. If only the prices would come down a bit – which they will, as less showy versions of the Volvo in particular become available, and as other manufacturers get involved, from the four corners of the Earth, trade wars permitting.