The final episode of the latest series of Top Gear has played out – as per Jeremy Clarkson’s reference in order to allow us all to watch ‘The X Factor’ drivel without interruption. If you saw it, I’d like to just put out there the question of what you made of the electric vehicle feature. For me, it really highlighted where we are with the technology.
Put simply, it’s a really nice idea but the issues around battery life and vehicle range are just too great to ignore. Aside from the fact that various precious (and hard to achieve) metals are used in the construction of these batteries, they’ll frequently only complete 100 miles on a charge. Couple that to long charge times and a battery that has a maximum life span of 10 years (realistically probably half that) and a replacement cost of £7,000 in today’s money and they simply don’t make a lot of sense.
As the lads on the show suggested, a VW Golf Bluemotion makes rather more sense.
Car News says
August 2, 2011 at 8:00 amShame I missed this episode. I say get rid of shows like The X factor and have more quality shows like Top Gear!