Vauxhall’s electric game-changer

It’s a plug-in electric car that has a small petrol engine up front that can drive the electric motors when the batteries are spent so there’s none of that usual electric car ‘range anxiety’.

It’s fiendishly clever and for a few lucky people, it makes a brilliantly green and wholly practical transport solution that works out on the balance sheet too, especially if you opt for the entry-level ‘Earth’ version.

The ‘Earth’ variant is mechanically identically to plusher models further up the range and, like them, is a thoroughly relaxing way to travel. I know this might sound a little trite. After all, there are many cars which offer a serene driving environment right? Not in this way.

Top end Bentleys and the like aside, I’m not sure if I’ve ever driven a car that feels as effortless as the Ampera when it’s running on electrical power. Unlike most hybrid cars that’ll manage a couple of kilometres on battery power alone, the Vauxhall can stretch that out to up to 50 miles, so if you’ve got an urban commute, you could be running on electrical power almost all the time.

The 198kg battery pack is located in a T-shape under the transmission tunnel and behind the rear seats and this gives the car a centre of gravity 40mm lower than a typical hatchback but the ride quality probably isn’t as good as the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

Should you forget about economy and give it a proper bootful, you’ll find it’s actually quite exciting.

There’s instant torque available and with a fully charged battery, you’ll see 60mph come and go in just 8.4 seconds. Flat out it’ll just about scrape 100mph.

The engine provides charge for the electric motor instead of the batteries, so even when you’re driving on fossil fuel, possible for up to 300 miles, it still feels like you’re driving an electric car.

You can switch between three different drive modes using a button which toggles between Normal, Sport, Hold (which holds your battery charge until you need it) and Mountain (for steep climbs).

There are three Ampera model choices. We’re looking at the entry-level Earth model, priced from around £30,000 when the government £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant contribution is taken into account. Earth buyers miss out on the leather trim, rear parking camera or Bose DVD stereo found in plusher variants.

Vauxhall reckons that the effective range of the Ampera’s battery would satisfy the daily commuting needs of between 80 and 85 per cent of the western motoring population without any consumption of petrol at all. So a shoo-in for success then?

No. If you’re one of these people who commutes a relatively short distance to work in town but needs a car with the legs for longer weekend trips, owns a garage or secure off street parking and can drop around £30,000 on a four-seat family hatch, then the Ampera makes a really strong case for itself, particularly in this entry-level Earth trim.

Unfortunately, each of those criteria narrows the market by a significant amount and Vauxhall is left with a very small target market to pursue with a modestly-sized group of dealers who are trained to deal with the specialist requirements of Ampera sales and servicing.

Make no mistake, this is a game-changing car and quite brilliant in its execution. The electric car as a concept has all manner of caveats attached to it, but the Ampera succeeds in knocking many of them down.

For a car that’s so complex in its technology, the Ampera offers a very straightforward proposition.

It’s the first electric car you could seriously consider as your only car. Well played, Vauxhall.