Not surprising, though, as this four-seater will actually hit 87mph. On December 12 the first electric i-MIEVs to be seen in Britain will be driven away in a launch in Birmingham city centre. 

These cars will be leased to local business users, but the i-MIEV should be on sale in the UK before the 

end of 2010. 

Charge it for six hours using a normal three-pin socket and it’ll be good for 100 miles. Special fast- charge units to be installed in garages boost it to 80% of full power in just 30 minutes. 

With the average charge costing just 96p it means that 12,000 miles of travel works out at £115, Only drawback will be an estimated £25,000 price tag. 

Mind you, look what’s happened to the price of flat- screen TVs and laptops. It’s bound to go down.