All-electric: power from the plug

Plug-in electric vehicles have been around a while, if not in proliferation on the roads.

That's because, from the perspective of your average commuter, they've not been very useful -- slow, weak and most suitable for Emil the milkman's run through the suburbs of Rotterdam.

On top of that, they're silent. In short, they've traditionally borne no appeal whatever for anyone who even remotely enjoys driving. That's changing. Plug-in all-electric technology is approaching viability for use among soccer mums, family-guy types and hoons alike.

State of the art so far is Californian specialist Tesla Motors and its Roadster model.

Part Lotus Elise (with which it shares parts) and part slot-car (with which it shares handling characteristics), it appears to have surmounted the traditional issues curbing the viability of all electrics.

The Roadster's blindingly fast, reaching 100km/h in a Ferrari-like 3.9 seconds, and travels nearly 400km on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. It also has two seats and costs more than US$100,000.

So Tesla has shown it can be done, and plug-ins are clearly on the up. Indeed vast sums of money are being poured worldwide into the development of stronger, more efficient motors and lighter, more powerful batteries taking less time to charge, going further each time.

Which is lucky, because vehicles like the Indian-made Reva G-Wiz, though relatively affordable at around £8000 (that's nigh on $20,000) in the UK, compete with similarly priced, conventionally powered, very good and very economical counterparts like the Toyota Yaris or the Mazda2 on novelty alone.

And the novelty wears off pretty quickly on something that's ugly, cramped, slow and lacking in crash protection.

Consumer perceptions of such automotive incompetence are dissolving as all-electric product comes on stream from trusted marques like Citroen (whose Berlingo Electrique is already available), MINI (BMW pulled the wraps off the MiniE at last year's LA Auto Show), Renault (who already makes an electric Megane) and Subaru (working on electrifying its baby R1).

Clever independents are emerging, too, such as Melbourne outfit Blade Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Energetique, based in the regional NSW town of Armidale, from coming up with product that straddles the fence: electrified versions of normal street models. BEV uses Hyundai's Getz, while Energetique opts for the Mazda2.

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