Your choice: Ultra-low carbon cars coming to UK showrooms with £5,000 government Plug-In Car Grant

The government is getting right behind ultra-low carbon cars with buying grants and vehicle charging network developments all very recently announced, so now is probably a good time to take a closer look at the ultra-low carbon cars that are actually ready to roll (quietly) out of the showrooms and onto our driveways.

As of today, the government has confirmed exactly which vehicles are eligible for the new 'Plug-In Car Grant'; a discount of up to £5,000 against the purchase price of a qualifying low carbon car, with CO2 emissions less than 75g/km.

It's actually a 25% discount on the purchase price, up to a maximum of £5K. The discount begins on 1st January 2011 and also applies to the leasing of these vehicles.

Whilst there are nine cars on the list only three are ready to be a green New Year's resolution in January 2011, with the rest coming early next year, or indeed early 2012.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond confirms the good electric news: "Government action to support affordable vehicles and more local charging points means we are on the threshold of an exciting green revolution. 2011 could be remembered as the year the electric car took off."

So the incentives and extra infrastructure appear to be coming thick and fast, so let's take a look at the three cars ready to be received in January.
 

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV

- Available to buy from January 2011 for £23,990 including the £5000 grant.
- Small, city car shape and design that can carry up to four people.
- Aimed at town and city dwellers with its easy-parking-size and London congestion charge exception.
- Low servicing costs with only approximately 4 working parts compared to over 300 in a typical internal combustion engine.
- £144 average 'fuel' costs for 12,000 miles of driving at around £0.96 pence for a full charge.
 

Peugeot iOn

- Available to lease from January 2011 on an 'all-inclusive' mobility offer consisting of a four year, 40,000 mile lease contract costing £415 per month excluding VAT. The contract includes servicing and maintenance as well as warranty cover for the vehicle, battery and electric power train for the period of the lease.
- Again city-car-sized to carry up to four urban passengers over a potential range of 93 miles.
- Six hours to fully recharge the battery using a traditional household socket. A quick charge using a special charging unit provides a 50% charge in only fifteen minutes, or 80% in thirty minutes.
 

The smart fortwo electric drive

- Available from early 2011 on a lease basis initially with no exact lease price currently available from the manufacturer. Full details to be confirmed.
- Based on the popular fortwo but powered solely by electricity and charged using any standard three pin plug socket.
- Electronically limited top speed of 62mph and can cover up to 84 miles between charges, which typically take around 8 hours for a full charge.
- At average city speeds of around 30mph, its range extends to 100 miles.
- Accelerates from 0-38mph in 6.5sec.
- Average cost per mile is 2p.
 

These are the cars available from March, or early, 2011.

Nissan LEAF

- Available from March 2011 for £23,990 including the £5000 grant.
- Larger, more family-sized than the city cars with room for five passengers, with a large boot.
- Modern user interactivity with smart phone or computer access to program the navigation, charging and interior temperature remotely.
- 90mph top speed.
- Average range of around 100 miles.
 

Tata Vista

- Available from March 2011 with pricing to be confirmed.
- Carries up to four passengers over an average range of around 100 miles.
 

Citroen C-Zero

- Available early 2011 with pricing to be confirmed.
- Carries up to four passengers over an average range of around 93 miles.
- Top speed of 80mph.
- Recovers kinetic energy under braking to help recharge the battery.
- Can be charged in 7 hours via a standard mains plug, or 30 minutes for an 80% charge when connected to a quick-charging terminal.
- The usual road tax and London congestion charge exemptions also apply.

 

And these are the cars available from early 2012.

Vauxhall Ampera

- Available to buy in early 2012 for £28,995 including £5000 grant. Lease rates TBC.
- Five doors and individual seats for four adults.
- 300 litres of storage.
- Pure electric range of 40 miles from the battery after an overnight home charge. Further than that and the on-board petrol generator will start to power the battery to allow the car to be driven another 310 miles on a full tank of petrol.
- The battery takes 4 hours to fully recharge using the boot-stored charging cable and a household plug.
- Expected cost of about £0.02 per mile to drive electrically.
 

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

- Available from early 2012 with pricing to be confirmed.
- Based on the third generation Prius with Toyota's full hybrid technology, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid also comes equipped with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery.
- Top speed of around 62mph when driven in full EV (electric vehicle) mode.
- One and a half hour battery recharge time.
- Range of around 12 miles in EV only mode.
- Combined CO2 figure of 59g/km.
 

Chevrolet Volt

- Available from early 2012 with pricing to be confirmed.
- Five doors and seating for four adults.
- Battery range of up to 37 miles in EV only mode.
- Total range of over 300 miles using onboard, 1.4-litre petrol generator.
- Battery charge time of around 3 hours.
 

So there's an up-to-date list of current EVs that make the discount list, part of the government's £43m scheme to encourage drivers into environmentally-friendly vehicles. The discounts go someway to making currently expensive electric technology more competitive against the frugal-engine'd petrol or diesel equivalents.

Concern over the range of EVs is always a point of discussion and the network of recharging stations throughout the UK needs further expansion to allay these concerns.

There's £20m committed by the government to build more recharging points across the country, and by 2013 there will be around 11,000 posts across most of the densely-populated areas of the UK.

The government will continue to accept applications from vehicle manufacturers for more cars to be made eligible for the Plug-In Car Grant and another selection of eligible vehicles will be announced next year.