UK Electric Cars

When Gordon Brown revealed his new budget in March 2006 he launched an attack on gas guzzling vehicles with large tax increases for the most unenvironmentally friendly cars.

One of the new breed of vehicles to benefit was the electric car which qualifies for the zero band road tax. Unfortunately the UK is lagging behind the US in terms of models currently on sale but many manufacturers have advanced plans to produce electric vehicles in the near future.

G-Wiz

About the only option in the UK is the US designed G-Wiz which is manufactured by the Indo-US Reva Electric Car Company. There are two versions, the original DC which offers a top speed of 40 mph ( 40 mile range on a single charge ) and the newer AC which gives a top speed of 45 mph, greater torque at higher speed and a 48 mile range.

The G-Wiz is becoming an increasingly familiar site around London which is no surprise as they are congestion charge exempt and receive free parking in 7 city car parks the majority of which also have free charging points. There's also a massive discount on MasterPark season tickets ( at least ninety six percent ) and the use of 56 free charging points. Prices for these two models are in the region of £7000 for the G-Wiz DC and £8000 for the AC.

Smart EV ( Electric Vehicle )

The Electric drive train is being built for Smart by Zytek Electric Vehicles and the performance figures are impressive with a top speed of 70mph and a maximum range of 72 miles. Peak torque figures are 120Nm and power output is 30kW or 40bhp. The entire drive unit including inverter, gearbox and control electronics weighs a mere 70 kg.

Recharging the battery requires 15 KWh and the cost of this can be as low as 85 pence if carried out on cheaper overnight electricity rates. Whilst a complete charge can take up to 8 hours, Smart state that the time taken to go from 30% to 80% capacity is 3.5 hours.

As with all electrically powered cars the Smart EV is London congestion charge free.