My Nissan Leaf

My electric car is a Nissan Leaf, one of about 400 sold in Britain since its launch earlier this year. I put my name down when Nissan first started to register expressions of interest and mine was one of the first to be delivered. We have driven about 2,500 trouble-free miles so far. It is a reliable, very quiet and I have to say rather dull family car. It is perfect for most of regular transport; my wife uses it for her commute (about 17 miles each way); I use it for my journey when I teach at Henley Business School (round trip of 32 miles). I take my children to their various activities, if we need to shop outside the village or off to see grandma in Oxford (55 mile round trip). These are all well within the range even with a very heavy right foot – the car has a respectable turn of speed and good acceleration, but if you use it do not expect to get anywhere near the claimed range of 100 miles. Flat out it will pull 90 mph and manage one motorway junction and back before the battery gives out. It is madness to compare an electric car with a conventional car (listen up Jeremy Clarkson). An electric car fits the niche of local transportation rather well; it is not designed for, and is not suitable for, long journeys.

We plan to keep the battery in tiptop shape so we seldom charge it beyond 80% using cheap night-time electricity ―unless we know we have a long journey coming up ― and do not use rapid charge. It is simpler and takes less time to plug it in each night than filling with petrol once a week. Our credit card bills are noticeable less.

Top Gear gave the car the sort of treatment you would expect; they ensured that the story had all the interesting angles, silent running of course and cheap to operate but also stranded after running out of charge. You have to be quite an idiot to get caught like this but then the presenters on the programme like to fit this description. It makes an entertaining story and good TV but does not provide a useful analysis – Top Gear is high octane entertainment not a consumer affairs programme.

My electric car fits my need perfectly. Whether the car is green or not is a different question. Using the current electricity grid, it is not a very green option but it is worth introducing the technology concurrently with driving forward decarbonising the electric supply. The greenest solution is of course to alter city infrastructure and support lifestyles that do not need the car. I suspect that by the time the government grant programme (£43 million at £5,000 a time to the first 8,600 electric cars bought) runs out in March next year the government will be able to pocket a healthy surplus. The government should thank Top Gear for obscuring the benefits of electric cars and ensuring that the grants are not taken up in full.