ELECTRIC CARS: WORK IN PROGRESS

A new MG 4 goes up against two older machines to see how much better (or not) electric cars have become over the past decade

Just how far have things moved on at the affordable end of the electric vehicle (EV(market in the past 10 years? Answering this question should give us a good idea of where we might be in another decade's time, when (as it stands( EVS are likely to account for the vast majority of new cars you'll be able to go out and buy.

To find out, we put together a two-part challenge with three EVs: one car that represents the state of the UK market today, another that was a sound choice from around five years ago, and the third an early electric pioneer from a decade ago.

On day one, we'd head to Brighton for lunch, before driving to Oxford's zero emission zone an example of the restrictions city centres might impose on non-electric cars in the coming years. We'd finish the day at our test track (at Millbrook in Bedfordshire), rounding off a total journey of around 240 miles and one that should paint a realistic picture of everyday electric motoring - including charging.

On the second day, we'd put the trio through a more scientific test to find out how far each can travel on a full charge and how they stack up when it comes to efficiency.

Deputy reviews editor Neil will be driving our oldest contender: a BMW i3. This distinctive machine has just celebrated its 10th birthday and the example here is the fully electric version (a petrol-assisted range extender was also offered). Fresh from the showroom, it had an 18.8kWh (usable capacity) battery and an official range of 118 miles. We say 'had' because, after a decade of use and with 41k miles on the clock, it's almost certain to have experienced some degree of battery degradation. 

When new, the i3 cost £30,680, and back in 2013 the Government paid £5000 of that via a plug-in car grant (PICG(. Our car has a few optional extras fitted, though, the most relevant of which is CCS rapid charging (£560(.