ELECTRIC CARS FOR ALL

While there are already lots of great electric cars, most of them are big and expensive. But that could be about to change

- Darren Moss, George Hill & Rahil Hashmi

TESLA MODEL 2

All-new hatchback will make Tesla ownership far more accessible On sale 2025 Price from £25,000 (est)

The 1984 Motorola DynaTac, which is generally recognised as the world's first commercially available mobile phone, cost £9585 in today's money. Yet it's now possible to get a far more compact and powerful mobile for less than £20, and even the fanciest smartphones are available for about a tenth of the price of that pioneering device. In short, technology gets cheaper over time.

And that's great news if you'd like to own a Tesla but think they're currently a bit pricey. After making its name with bigger, more expensive models, the US brand is working on a Tesla Model 2 hatchback that should be one of the cheapest electric cars yet; expect it to cost from about £25,000 to compete in a market currently led by the MG 4.

Early design sketches shown during a recent Tesla investor event revealed the model to have a high bonnet line, a squat roof and wheels pushed out to the corners in a bid to maximise interior space. Indeed, in some respects the Model 2 should be even more practical than today's Model 3 saloon; in place of that model's narrow boot opening, the Model 2 has a hatch, making it easier to load and unload bulky items.

As for the interior, you can expect there to be space for five, and for almost every function to be controlled through the same 15.4in landscape-orientated touchscreen that features in the Model 3 and Model Y. Our experience with this system suggests it will take some getting used to for new Tesla drivers (there's no instrument cluster, so even your speed is shown on the central screen), but it reacts quickly to inputs. It also features apps such as Netflix for entertainment as you charge.