Baldy goes carbon free (for an afternoon at least)
The Jersey Electricity Company invited me to test-drive a new all-electric Smart Car today. As an unashamed petrol head, the experience came as something of a revelation.The Electric Smart Car is identical to an ordinary Smart Car. The give away is the curly yellow cable leading from a 13amp plug to the place where you should stick petrol in. Inside, there’s a gear-stick that shifts between drive, neutral and reverse. That’s about it. You turn the key, press the accelerator, and then you silently waft away on a gentle hum. The near silent operation is the biggest revelation, and I think one of the biggest benefits to a defined road network like Jersey. Imagine all road noise and pollution gone over night … Driving the SmartCar was surprisingly good. It’s nimble, torquey, responsive, goes up hill without looking like a milk float. With a range of 70 miles, it would be more than enough for 90% of the journeys carried out in Jersey. At £20k it’s not a cheap option, but if the States get into gear with cheap parking and free charging for electric cars, it would look very viable. At £20k however, I’d expect the user interface of the car to look better. 
SmartCar really needs Apple to do it’s UI. Then I might have a go, but for now it’s back to burning petrol.
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