[Aragorn]

I started driving in a 1.2 Nova with 45hp. It was slow, but so long as you wrung its neck it wasnt so slow as to be dangerous. I dont ever recall a motorway sliproad being a challenge. If you didnt downshift and tried to accellerate from a high gear then absolutely it was dangerously slow, but that applies to many cars. It would easily do 70. Infact i'm sure quite a bit more than that once or twice. Google suggests a top speed of 90mph.

A light car with 45hp of e-motor is probably not as bad as you might think, as unlike an ICE, where it only produces that output at 6000rpm, the EV will produce constant output thru much of the speed range.

Many modern panel vans have ~130hp in something potentially weighing up towards 3 tonnes, and they could be towing a trailer on top too...

That said, the 65hp one is likely a much better option.

 

[Aragorn]

Insurance group is only loosely related to insurnace costs. I've seen multiple examples over the years where a car with much higher grouping is cheaper than one with a very low grouping. In one example a Volvo C70 T5 was cheaper than a 1.2 Clio...

New drivers can often find that driving a typical "new driver" car like say a Fiesta, can cost more than driving something a bit left field.