Most of our annual breakdown cover customers drive petrol engines, but few won’t have noticed the emerging range of electric and electric hybrid vehicles that are making their presences known to the British motoring public.

And Renault’s Twizy certainly has presence. The trouble is, motoring journalists appear to be of the opinion that it has little else.

The Twizy was built for urban dwellers, a compact little machine that should be able to zip through city traffic with ease. However, most of those who’ve tried one out say that it has nowhere near the traffic-beating manoeuvres of a bicycle.

But in terms of weather-proofing qualities, the Twizy has a lot in common with the bicycle. What are essentially ‘gaps’ have been favoured by Renault instead of doors. This is annoying enough when the rain is coming down, but even more challenging if you’re tempted to slip your parking permit in the windscreen whilst simultaneously expecting it to be present on your return.

In addition to this, charging the thing up will prove tricky for those who live in anything higher than a bungalow – unless you have an extra-long power cord and very forgiving neighbours. The alternative, which may involve a trip to a distant charge point and coming back in three and a half hours, is also not ideal. In addition, buyers have to lease a battery from Renault at a cost of £48 a month.

According to most reviews, the Twizy has a crowd-pulling look to it, but offers few benefits that aren’t matched by your rusting old racer bike in the garage – and costs a good deal more.