Currently I drive a great family diesel car the Skoda Octavia, she has been with me for the last four years. Being a spacious and smooth ride I do not have immediate plans to change, however when I do it will hopefully be for an electric car equivalent!

One thing that strikes me with an electric vehicle is the fact I don’t have to take it to the local garage in order to power it up. I can simply have a chargepoint installed at home and away we go. There are a couple of things that currently hold me back from wanting to jump straight into an electrically powered car and they a both are to do with range. Firstly the product range – can they currently cater for the family and secondly how far can you really go, without having to wait to charge.

When I first passed my driving test, I had the privilege of borrowing the mother-in-laws car, it was a duel fuel gas and petrol. I used to panic when it was running out of gas due to the fact it was quite hard to find supplies when driving rurally (forgetting that I could fill up with petrol and be fine!).

Conducting a little bit of research here are my top three electric car available on the market.

The cost effective

This has to be the Renault Zoe, with a cost price of £14,425 which includes the £4,500 government plug in charge relief. However you do have to lease the battery which will set you back at least £49 – £59 per month for up to 4500 miles – its then 8 pence per mile thereafter. But what do you get for your money?

A range of approximately 149 miles, charge times can vary from 60 minutes to 13.5 hours dependent on charge point. 15″ Aerobase wheel trims, TFT dashboard display with driving style indicator ABS with EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) and EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution), Cruise control and speed limiter and ESC (Electronic Stability Control.)

The best for family

I am really keen on the Tesla Model S Hatchback, priced between £64,000 to £130,000. Yeah it would have to take some persuading for the Mrs to sign up, but this is a good size car. Plenty of boot space, up to 381 miles on the battery. Charge times again depended on options you decide to take on the vehicle and charge points you have available. This vehicle not only appears practical but its speedy too with a 0 – 60 of just 4.2 seconds on the basic battery, reducing to an incredible 2.5 on the upgraded one.

There are so many options available it would be difficult for me to list them all but if you fancied check it out for yourself.  A quick search on the model will give you all the information you need!

Money is no object

If your living a Top Gear (or should I say The Grand Tour) style life then for me it has to be the Nio EP9 costing around £1,000,000. One day Rodney, one day!

For me it has been a real eye opener looking into electric cars.  I had no clue about having to lease batteries and the additional costs involved. To be quite honest I never really thought much about having to stop and wait to charge again! I am sure with time the cost of this technology with drop, the ability to charge become quicker and more easily accessible. So it probably best I keep my Octavia for a few more years yet!