FROM the moment the power lights up the dashboard in an electric car it is easy to forget this is not a high-tech toy or part of a film set.
Although it felt like it, I wasn't filming in Hollywood, but was driving round Harrow Civic Centre car park trying out the new Nissan Leaf.
I had always thought electric cars were tempramental, unreliable and looked like they were made of Lego, but this was like a vision of a clean, green future.
Everything had been thought over and simplified. There was no gear stick, no clutch, the hand brake was a discrete handle and the dashboard computer showed exactly what was behind me while I reversed.
This was the kind of luxury usually seen in a top of the range commuter car and not a vehicle which has just been plugged in to a green stand in a car park. As I set off I was expecting loud revs and dark fumes but instead we just glided out of the parking bay.
The almost silent and dazzlingly futuristic car was on show at the unveiling of the first electric car charging point in Harrow at the Civic Centre last Friday (July 8), and I was able to take it for a spin.
Councillor Keith Ferry planning, development and enterprise portfolio holder, also had a test drive and said he would definitely consider buying one for short journeys around London. Although the event would have left the Stig itching to take the Leaf, which has a top speed of 90mph, onto the M25 the Cllrs Ferry and Philip O'Dell are hoping the charge point will encourage more environmentally friendly urban driving.
Cllr O'Dell said: "It is ideal for driving in the capital. We are taking advantage of government schemes to expand the use of electric cars, and people can benefit as well, especially considering the high price of petrol at the moment."
The cost of the electricity is minimal and is taken from the mains supply. Cllr Ferry said that the car parking charges will more than off-set the cost of the electricity. Plugging in the car is as simple as charging a mobile phone, but can take up to seven hours for a full battery.
The council hope that interest in the charging point will be sparked over the next few weeks and that if they know there are accessible charging points all over London they will be more likely to invest in an electric car.
For stop-start driving in central London an electric car is ideal, and you are helping save the world by cutting emissions you can imagine Tom Cruise in sci-fi police gear is in the passenger seat, well almost.
Fact box - see page 2
Fact Box
Owners of electric cars don't pay the congestion charge in central London
They pay a heavily reduced rate of road tax
Electricity is free after a £100 annual membership fee to Source London
The council are planning to install a charging point in Harrow town centre
Electricity works out at roughly two pence per mile
An overnight charge can power a journey of up to 120 miles
The Nissan Leaf is priced at £25,000 but prices are rapidly falling as technology progresses
2100 electric cars are currently registered for the congestion charge exemption
By 2013 Source London, which is the main provider of charging points, hopes to have 1300 across London
The council currently uses electric street cleaning vehicles and plans to extend the use of electric vehicles
