The motor show in Frankfurt last month was dominated by electric cars. But we are still unlikely to see our streets dominated by near silent electric cars for some time.
Unfortunately there is actually only one vehicle, the Mitsubishe MIEV supermini, that is close to becoming readily available. A forthcoming year-long Government sponsored trial will see 25 lucky motorists driving and assessing the MIEV for their feasibility for daily use on British roads.
There were over 3000 applicants to take part in this trial, clearly very popular. Interest is so great that Mitsubishi have ordered a further 500 vehicles for 2010.
There is so much confidence in this model that both Peugeot and Citroen have signed agreements to sell the electric motors with their badges on them.
Economy is one of the MIEV key selling points. It costs only about 96p to fully charge the battery (about $1.60), taking about 6 hours to do so. A fully charged battery will let you travel a little less than 100 miles, under ideal conditions. This enables the MIEV to travel 12,000 miles for only £115 ($183).
Another aspect of the electric MIEV that always attracts attention and comment is the fact that it is near silent. Concerns have been raised by road safety organisations including advocates for the blind and elderly.
If you have never encountered an electric car before you’d be excused for expecting the performance and speed of a golf buggy. But the MIEV is capable of a top speed of 87mph, easily fast enough for any of Britains roads. But travelling at speed will soon run down the battery.
The future for motoring certainly looks electric. With new advances in battery technology taking place almost daily it is likely that within a few short years our roads will begin to fill with near silent electricity powered cars, plugging in to lampposts to refuel on cheap electrical power.
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