The new Nissan Leaf has moved from being a head-line grabbing fantasy car to one that you or I can actually drive around, as the model goes on sale in the UK. The electric-powered Leaf has been mentioned before on this blog, but it’s such a huge development in the automotive industry that it deserves another mention. When you look at the car’s capabilities, and the possible problems one might have when it comes to keeping the thing charged up, you might expect to be calling for breakdown recovery assistance on a regular basis. But is this fair?

Well, it can do 100km until it needs to be recharged; not bad. And although it takes eight hours to get fully charged, the car will have enough juice for a decent run in just half an hour. While these statistics are fairly attractive, it is the long range journey that might be this car’s downfall. Nissan, however, tells us that the car has been designed in the main for short range commuter use – and it does seem well suited to this.

While the Leaf’s ability to make our life easier (or occasionally harder when you run out of electricity whilst way from home), is undoubtedly important, perhaps the biggest factor in the car’s future is that of cost. The downside to the financial aspect is that it will cost £23,990 – quite a bit for a little town runabout. But on the upside, Nissan says it will cost just £2 to recharge. Few would not find the prospect of travelling 100km for £2 fairly attractive.

In these early days, the Leaf is likely to be the preserve of ecologically aware – green minded folks who are not short of a bob or two. But as the technology gets more affordable and more charge-points start popping up around the UK, electric cars are likely to become a more attractive proposition for the rest of us.