Yesterday, Rockingham Motor Speedway played host to the 2014 Greenfleet Arrive ‘n’ drive event, designed to allow fleet managers to trial the latest vehicles and technologies on offer.
The event saw a large amount of electric vehicles (EVs) on display, with many of the major manufacturers featuring an EV as the flagship for their stand.
Zap-Map were fortunate enough to get the chance to go along and test some of the EVs available.
The Nissan LEAF is the best-selling electric vehicle worldwide for a reason. Out of all the cars we tested this was certainly our favourite. What’s more with an official range of 126 miles it could go the farthest on electric power alone.
Other stand-outs included the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The sheer size of this plug-in hybrid was immediately apparent and as we cruised around the Rockingham track powered by the 12kWh battery in zero-emissions electric mode, this became even more impressive.
Occasionally, the thrust of the 2 litre petrol engine would engage but only when we really ‘stepped on it’. In electric mode Mitsubishi claims that the Outlander has a range of 32 miles, ideally suited to urban commutes.
In fact all of the electric vehicles we tested (we also drove the Renault Zoe, Vauxhall Ampera, and Nissan e-NV200) were a pleasure to drive. Offering a smooth, quiet driving experience aided by convenient and adjustable features, such as regenerative braking, it left us asking why everyone doesn’t drive an EV?
One of the UK’s leading charge point suppliers, Rolec services were also in attendance at the event. They had several charging points on display including their 22kW Fast pole-mounted chargers that Tesco are currently trialling at their chosen stores.
Rolec were also showing their domestic 7kW wall-mounted charge points, which they announced this week would now available for free through the OLEV EV Homecharge scheme.
