Smart Fortwo review

It's not cheap, ranging from £16-£23k after the current government grant. That money would instead get you a supermini that'd comfortably carry four people across the country.

And you'll want the £349 winter pack, which adds thermal insulation in the doors and floor (really) and heated seats. Because cabin air heating eats range. The Cabrio is a £2,420 step up from the hatch.

But running it is buttons. The energy cost is tiny. At home electricity prices, you're looking at about 4p a mile. You can get into the London Congestion zone for nowt too. Interestingly there's no DC rapid-charge socket. But the battery is so small it hardly matters. A home or street-side 7.4kW AC post will get it to full in around four hours. Smart will sell and install you a Chargemaster home box for £399, a good price.

And unusually for a UK-sold EV it'll also take three-phase AC at 22kW. Most DC rapid-chargers also have an AC outlet that'll suit this. Use on with the Smart and it's 45 minutes for 10-80 per cent.

Plus it's such a small battery that even a normal three-pin home socket can get it pretty full on an overnight charge.