Electric Cars That You Can Buy Today (or possibly next year)

The first electric vehicle was designed by a Hungarian inventor, Ányos Jedlik in 1828 – and while this first incarnation was in no way capable of carrying people, the electric motor quickly developed and was for a while more powerful and commonplace than the petrol motor: in fact the Jamais Contente, an electric car, was the first to break the 100km/h mark.

The development of the electric motor was surpassed by the internal combustion engine, the indisputable champion of the 20th century, but now as we move into the 21st things look as though they might come full circle, with some of the most desirable, powerful cars around being built to run on battery power rather than fossil fuels. There is definitely something appealing about the idea of letting your sports-car charge up from a windmill, or a solar panel. Indulge this fantasy by browsing through the following electric vehicles, some of which you can buy now, some of which will be available in the next few years.

1) The SUNNev Pickup. Even for the bargain price of $5279, you might think this looks like a metal box with some bicycle wheels nailed on the sides. And you’d be right; it is a metal box with some bicycle wheels nailed on the sides, but critically, it also has a solar panel and an electric motor nailed in there too, meaning it can do 35mph over a 30 mile range, and be left out on the driveway to charge up (sadly not overnight!), or hooked up to a windmill generator, meaning that you’ll never have to pay for fuel again, even if you do look like a bit of a wally driving to the shops and back. In the event there’s no sun or wind to charge your batteries you can plug it into the wall socket, and with the right batteries you’re going to get 5,000 charge cycles, giving you about 150,000 miles per battery change. An unglamorous entry into the world of electric motoring, but an efficient and affordable one.

2) The Reva G-Wiz. Only slightly less uncool looking than the SUNNev, this little vehicle is might get you looks on the street, but the Nelson “Haw Haw” is more likely to follow than a woman in a red dress leaping into your passenger seat. If you can get over the looks, £8,700 ($14,200) buys you a 50 mile range, a top speed of 51mph, two year battery life, and leather seats! Note that direct transmission means you can’t push the little brute off the road if you run out of battery power on Shepherds Bush Green though. I know becuase I’ve tried.

3) Smart ForTwo ED. A big step up in sophistication, the Smart ForTwo has been running around London with the Metropolitan Police behind the wheel for more than a year now, and a limited number will be released for public sale in early 2010. The little car has a 41hp motor, a top speed of 70mph and a range of around 72 miles. A full charge of the battery takes about 8 hrs from a wall socket. Price hasn’t been announced as yet, but look for them in the region of $16,000-$20,000.

4) Subaru G4e. Still at the concept stage, but a likely candidate for production, give Subaru’s traditional focus on small urban cars. Powered by a Lithium Ion battery that does 200km (125 miles) per charge, the most impressive thing about this car is that an 80% charge of the battery can be achieved in 15 minutes – if this were coupled with power outlets around cities and in motorway car-parks then we could see a viable roll-out of electric vehicles nationwide. A charge that takes you 150 miles in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee would mean that you could do motorway length trips in an electric car.

5) The Aptera 2e. With the entry model aimed at a cost of $20,000, the space egg, C5 looking Aptera 2e is striking and efficient. The range and charge time is similar to a ost of the vehicles we’ve looked at already at about 160km (100 miles) on an 8 hour charge, but it’s the futuristic looks and the amount of attention to detail that’s going into the design of the car (they’re doing extensive saftey testing and consumer surveys) that set it apart. The tree wheel design means it’s likely to be classified as a motorcycle in both the UK and US, meaning road tax will be lower than a standard car, but one that you can get 15 bags of groceries or two surfboards into the boot of. You can reserve an Aptera for a fully refundable deposit of $500.

6) Volvo ReCharge – Slated for a full release in 2012, Volvo’s electric version of the C30 has four motors directly attached to the wheels, with four independent throttles controlled by an onboard computer. At the moment the range is listed as only 100km, but look for that to increase before the car is launched. We’re getting into more serious money here though, the ReCharge will likely set you back €40,000 ($60,000).

7) Tesla Roadster. This has got to be one of the sexiest cars on the road at the moment. The car is in it’s second phase of development, Tesla having delivered about 700 of them in the US and Europe already. The thought of leaving an M3 in your dust at the traffic lights, zooming off in an eerie silence is pretty cool – and this puppy is definitely more lady-in-red than Nelson Muntz. The 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds and the 240 mile range don’t come cheap though; expect to find a $100k sized hole in your bank account before you find one of these in your garage.

Chrysler Circuit. This electric version of the Viper was a long way through its development when the American car industry suddenly found itself plunged into the current financial crisis. If they can manage to negotiate a financial support package from Fiat then it might make it back down from the shelf it currently resides upon. The currently quoted 0-60 of 5 seconds isn’t quite as fast as the Tesla, but then the Viper has got a tractor engine in it, and I’d still buy one for the sheer throbbing joy of it.

9) MEV R2 Electric. Seen here in it’s early stages of construction, this is exactly what I fantasised about when I was driving my remote controlled car as a kid – a stripped down, no frills kit car built for no other reason than to move quicker than hot greased weasel shit on ice. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds is slightly slower than the tesla, but I’d be willing to bet this little electric rocket would beat it round any track you’d care to name, and cost a good chunk less then $100k, if the current petrol kit price of £4,500 is any indication. It would involve you being handy with a spanner though…

10) The Eliica. Give up hope of owning one of these 8 Wheeled mostrosities right now. The only one ever to be made was clocked at 250mph round Italy’s Nardo test track, but even though it’s faster over a quarter mile than a Porsche 911 turbo whilst having an interior spec more like a Maybach, the university team that built it can’t bring the estimated production price for the first run of 200 cars under $225,000. For that price you could buy two Ferraris and offset the carbon emissions by planting a forest!