CATEGORIES

BMW 330e Plug-in Hybrid

BMW is on a bit of a mission. They were one of the first companies to actively back electrification of their vehicles with the creation of sub brand BMW i. The i3 and i8 were then released to a world not necessarily ready for the impact and stir they would cause.

Electric Cars Are Fun...?

When we think about electric cars, we don’t necessarily imagine them to be all that much fun. Yes, there’s plenty of talk about emissions, economy and efficiency but never much chat about cornering, speed or performance. There are exceptions, including the obvious Tesla cars and a few other electric exotica, but the mainstay electric car isn’t what most would call exciting.

BMW i3 94Ah Electric Car

One of the great things about electric cars is their technological development is occurring faster than any other historical automotive improvement. New tech means ever faster electric cars, more efficiency and range.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Volkswagen rocked the car industry with the Dieselgate scandal, but pushed ahead with its electric vehicle ambitions insome style on 24 June 2018 by conquering the fearsome Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

BMW i3S

Having experienced the standard BMW i3 last year, and been impressed with it, Paul Beard finds out whats new in the sportier i3S, now with enlarged battery.

Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Engine

The award winning XC60 T8 offers a lot of cars in one package: family car, sports car, electric car, off-road car, luxury car and more

Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo

Paul Beard drives Porsches performance hybrid Panamera and finds it sets a high precedent for future Porsche electric vehicles.

48 Hours In New York

The vertical skyline that is New York, New York, sets the backdrop for a swift 48-hour American adventure inJaguars exciting, evocative and first electric car, the I-Pace.

university solar challenge!

the biennial world solar challenge (wsc) is a daunting 3,000 kilometre drive across deserted outback australia, from darwin in the northern territories to adelaide in south australia. each participating electric car is powered by nothing more than the sun and a healthy dose of team grit, spirit and determination. autovolt caught up with some of the team at cuer (cambridge university eco racing).

The Most Beautiful Electric Car In The World

It's a crisp winter day in the British countryside and Jimmy Hendrix plays in the background. Beth Lily Georgia is about to experience the swinging sixties as it has never been experiences before.

Hyundai Ioniq Phev

As the third in-line to the throne, does Hyundai’s plug-in hybrid Ioniq make sense over the Hybrid and Electric versions? Jonathan Musk finds out.

Kia Niro Phev

Two years ago, Kia launched the Niro hybrid SUV to the UK and now has added a plug-in hybrid version that gives better electric range and even lower emissions. Paul Beard takes a look at the latest offering.

What Is V2G?

A number of announcements have been made about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) lately – exciting developments that represent the first steps in the deployment of a technology that could have a considerable impact and help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and more broadly a low carbon economy.

Does The Mot Need Its Own Mot?

A little over a year ago, this column discussed the potential of extending the period of the first MOT for cars and motorcycles from three to four years.

Setting The I-Pace

With SUV sales predicted to hit 24.3 million by 2020 and the EV segment the fastest growing in the automotive industry, Jaguar has every confidence that an electric SUV should sell.

Volvo V90 - T8 Twin Engine

Over the years, Volvo has become synonymous with safety and solid build quality. Paul Beard is suitably impressed with their V90 in T8 guise.

Charlie Jardine

Charlie Jardine is the 26-year-old founder of EO Charging, one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle charging manufacturers. Charlie explains why we’ll all benefit from fully embracing the rEVolution.

Smart Forfour

Smart is the first Mercedes-Benz brand to have its cars adorned with the new ‘EQ’ nomenclature and is also one of the only car makers in the world to offer its entire range in electric form. Jonathan Musk drives the current generation to find out what it’s all about.

Robert Llewellyn

Robert Llewellyn is a serial electric car addict and enthusiast. Perhaps best known as Kryten from BBC’s Red Dwarf or for presenting Scrap Heap Challenge for more than a decade, Robert is a talented actor, comedian, author and firm advocate of electric vehicles.

Mark Preston

Mark Preston, Formula E Team Principal and founder of Street Drone, explains how his company, PrestonEV is helping address the growing STEM skills gap.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid

Recent updates for the Yaris family have progressed the regular petrol variants, particularly as the fresh 1.5-litre Toyota is simpler to drive than the withdrawing 1.3-litre.

Tesla Model X

Tesla is a remarkably ambitious company. When they first launched the Roadster, way back in 2010, nothing could have prepared the world for the Model S that came just four years later in 2014. While some say Tesla has only been a success because of the amounts of money being ploughed into it, that’s only half the story. The truth is they’ve rewritten the rule book of what’s possible with a car. It used to be simple. You buy a performance car, and expect some form of compromise, be it poor fuel economy or a lack of gadgetry. Maybe it had a compromised boot, because there was a dirty great big engine in it. With Tesla you can have it all. Want super high-performance and tech like no other? You can have that and throw in seven seats too. That Tesla, a relative start-up, has been able to show up the established motoring elite is impressive.

Rear View

 What is biofuel?

Formula E Season 5

With its first race just four short years ago in 2014, Formula E has become the go-to championship for budding manufacturers to make a name for themselves in the world of electric racing.

An Arctic Adventure

Beth Lily travels from the UK to Nordkapp, the Northern-most point in Europe, and back in four very different electric cars: A Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, BMW i3, and a 30kWh Nissan Leaf.

How Will The Other Half Charge?

Keith Johnston, cofounder of Urban Electric, talks on-street charging, the problems and solutions for the future and why the companys popup plug-in could be the answer to EV adoptionand reducing air pollution.

Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Interested electric car buyers rejoice. Having to choose between the ever-popular Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen e-Golf and others just became more difficult.

Stephen Irish

Stephen Irish is a founding and Managing Director – Commercial, Hyperdrive Innovation, and has substantial experience in technology development and product delivery. His degree thesis was on electric and hybrid vehicle technology almost 20 years ago.

Living With Kia Optima PHEV

In case you’ve not been following our weekly updates on our long term test - I recommend heading to our website (see link on next page) to play catch up. In short, the Optima PHEV, or Optima Prime as we call it, has proved an excellent and capable machine to live with. 

Mercedes-Benz E 350 e Plug-In Hybrid

This is Mercedes-Benz’s attempt to make a petrol plug-in hybrid more economical than its more popular diesels, using the now tried and tested 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine with an electric motor via an automatic gearbox.