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Electrifying

Electrifying

Ever since my first remote-controlled tractor I had as a toddler, I’ve loved battery-powered things.

I’m keenly aware of their flaws too, especially when you need 16 AAA batteries at 6.30am on a Bank Holiday Monday to pacify a three-year-old.

And this has been the problem with electric cars, too – range anxiety. But thanks to improved technology there’s never been a better time to buy a proper grown-up battery-powered car.

Leading the pack right now is BMW’s i3 – a premium hatchback that looks good in a bonkers way – and is a finalist in the 2014 Car of the Year contest, underlining its global importance.

In pure electric guise, the i3 has a driving range of 80-100 miles, which is three to four times more than the average daily commute.

It can re-charge in as little as half an hour and has enough poke to hit the magic 62mph in 7.2 seconds. And for just under £31,000 it’ll never emit an exhaust fume.

For the not-so-brave there’s a ‘range extender’ version with a small petrol engine that roughly doubles the miles allowing you to go from Ayr to Aberdeen in one hit.

At the other end of the luxury scale there’s the American luxury saloon, the Tesla Model S for £50,000-£70,000.

At 55mph it will do over 300 miles – and that makes it viable for everyday use.

Also, rivalling the likes of Porsche’s Panamera E-Hybrid, the all-electric American machine will even catch the wallet of the fleet buyer thanks to its 0% Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) rate for the next year, at least.

What both the Tesla and BMW have by the bucket load is desirability – a word that’s previously been as far removed from the electric car scene as a toaster is from the bath.

But these are cars that people will want, as well as want to be seen in, and that’s a massive step forward for the AC/DC market.

Even the entry-level motors have plenty of appeal with the likes of Renault’s cute £7,000 2-seater Twizy and the more practical Clio-based £14,000 supermini, Zoe.

Then there’s the Nissan Leaf, Vauxhall Ampera and imminent electric versions of the VW Golf and Ford Focus.

But what are they like to drive? In a word, quiet.

In 2008 I raced a 2-seater Tesla Roadster and the only sound to reach my ears was the wind as it rushed over the windscreen and in through the open roof.

The biggest problem I realised came as I slowed down for a massive bend when I understood for the first time how important noise is when calculating speed.

Here, there was no engine sound to help me assess if I’d slowed down enough or too much, so I had to rely on other senses (eyes to the speedo) for the full picture. It was a bit unnerving.

What’s really great about electric cars is their instant power. Foot down and whoosh, off they go thanks to maximum torque (grunt) that’s dished out in one big dollop.

No need to laboriously go through the gears when you run out of revs, because there’s just one to take you forwards.

I know the infrastructure of public charging points needs to improve, especially as industry predictions are for 1million electric cars to be registered in the world within the next 10 years, some say sooner.

But one thing’s a dead cert – it’s an electrifying scene to plug into, for sure.

Vicki returns to Your Car on Wednesday, June 4.