Almost Electric

It’s a long story but at last we have gone for a Prius.

Ideally we would have liked an electric car and my researches at the motor show turned up a few possibilities.

But then I went to a really interesting lunch at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the leading manufacturers were discussing their plans for launching electric cars in the next few years. What I picked up was the very strong advice that this was not the right time to buy electric – at least for a family car. The reason is that battery technology is evolving rapidly, so the plan for the future is to sell the car and battery separately – like a torch. That way batteries can be upgraded and even exchanged at future electric filling stations. But buying a car with a fixed battery now would render it unsalable in a few years. And it will be, by all accounts, at least three years before the new electric cars will be available in Europe.

So the best option for the next few years seemed to be the Prius, not only for the low emissions but also because I’d really enjoyed driving them in the States. Plus Andrew has one and is very fond of it. Second-hand prices turned out to be reasonable. And so far we are really delighted with it.