T
ELECTRIC CARS
Lhe news headlines paint a gloomy
picture for the automobile as we
know it. Declining sales, increasing
taxation and a general disgust towards
diesel make the prospect of investing in
new wheels a bit daunting.
And yet, since the 1980s, car ownership
has more than doubled in the UK as the
cost of running a car has decreased by
12 % – while in the same period, bus fares
have risen 59% and rail fares 62%.
So we love cars, but need to save the
planet – Sir David Attenborough said so
at Glastonbury and therefore it’s gospel.
There is hope, because billions of pounds
are currently being poured into the
development of electric vehicles – and
the latest generation aim to eradicate
the nasty muck emitted from belching
tailpipes. We’re not naive enough to think
EVs are a silver bullet cure for Earth’s
assorted misfortunes, but we do knowthat impressive range, scintillating
performance and excellent practicality
make them an enticing, future-proof
offering. Plus it costs, like, a quid in leccy
to drive 50 miles.
Wrap your head around the UK’s
charging network – it’s better than you
think – get used to plugging in overnight
by installing a charger at home, and adapt
to eerily silent motoring with instant
acceleration, low maintenance and slashed
fuel costs. You don’t have to buy either:
leasing an EV is a bit like a phone contract,
where you pay a monthly fee and upgrade
your handset every few years.
To assist this surge of positivity we’ve
rounded up – and sampled – a collection
of the finest battery-powered vehicles on
the planet, ranging from compact city cars
to load-lugging premium SUVs, so you can
enjoy emissions-free motoring whatever
your oh-so-modern lifestyle demands.ASTON
MARTIN
LAGONDA
ALL-TERRAIN
£tbc (concept) /
astonmartin.com
Brace yourself for
the 2020s, where
007 is a woman
sipping Bollinger
in the back of a
fully autonomous
electric Aston built
in Wales. It may
only be a concept
for now but this
sleek marvel
is the Lagonda
All-Terrain and it’s
fact, not fiction.