An electric car on the road

COMING AROUND TO THE IDEA

To move away, to swap prestige and size-as-status for a different sort of motoring egotism. After all, choosing to spend perhaps £30K on the iMiEV is to forego traditional indicators like performance and comfort and move towards a rather different value system.

This system prioritises long-termism and expresses a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.

But this isn't going to be worth much if the car doesn't work.

MAKING THE ELECTRIC CAR WORK

And to put it simply here the car was a revelation, as it was bound to be purely by virtue of its conceptual integrity: if the thing went round London and drove okay and the batteries didn't fall out, it was bound to be a winner.

Because it's all the issues it addresses to do with climate change, the cross this car carries on its back that makes this vehicle such a stand-out winner.

AN ELECTRIC CAR TO BUY NOW

The quietness is disconcerting only on start up as you expect some sign that the vehicle is ready to move. As it is you sit in silence after turning a fake key having only the dashboard indications to suggest incipient movement.

Before you move there's a brief moment of otherworldliness. But then you pull off, using what looks and feels like a conventional automatic gearbox, and you realise that an EV motoring experience is what manufacturers have been aiming at for years i.e. silent and smooth progressiveness.

ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE

Torque is instant and power is good in 'Drive' mode. Pulling up at some lights in Notting Hill I asked the young woman from the dealership if I could try to 'do' the Bentley pulled up next to us. The Mitsubishi pulled away smartly, provoking giggles from everybody in our tiny vehicle.

There's also an eco mode which reduces the power output and performance significantly and so conserves energy, but even here you find yourself making adequate progress around town.

But I found myself unable to ask the question I really wanted which was to do with the engine, because of course there is no engine, which leads you to ask: what the hell is there then?

ELECTRIC CAR COSTS

Mitsubishi reckon you can get 80 miles range following a six hour charge, which practically speaking makes this a city car capable of a handful of shortish journeys per week. This car then operates in tandem rather than competition with public transport, which is going to have to look after you on longer journeys until the EV infrastructure improves.

But these are early days. Legislators are bending over backwards to make the electric car a reality, and this includes offering no congestion charging costs, no tax costs and even free parking in certain London boroughs.

THE RIGORS OF OWNERSHIP

And with Mitsubishi suggesting the car will cost 10% of a similarly sized petrol car, the further economic benefits become clear. Some will baulk at the initial outlay, but to dwell on this is almost beside the point.

And so the thing should be revolutionary, largely because it works. The real test however will come once these cars have been on the road for a few years and we can see how this vehicle stands up to the rigors of ownership, of resale, servicing and fashion.