The electric car is no longer just an option for the well-heeled, green-minded motorist. With better batteries, falling purchase prices and low running costs, electric cars are more viable than ever. If you think you might go electric in the next few years, here are ten points to be aware of…

  1. The Government are still offering £5,000 grants to buyers of new electric cars. This means the Nissan Leaf – the cheapest option available in the UK – will cost £21,490, down from £26,490. But you'll need to hurry to take advantage of this subsidy, since the scheme limit of 50,000 vehicles is likely to be reached before the end of the year.

  2. If you have access to off-street parking, an electric car will be a lot easier to recharge overnight. Connecting an on-street car to your household electricity supply presents obvious problems in terms of cabling.

  3. You can apply for an on-street charge point. If you don't have off-street parking, you can apply for an on-street charge point to be installed via your local authority.

  4. Electric cars are ideal if you drive less than 100 miles a day. With shorter ranges than petrol cars, electric cars are better suited to being driven on short, regular commutes.

  5. Because the electricity generated in the UK is not too heavily reliant on CO2-producing coal, electric cars are less damaging to the environment than petrol cars, typically delivering the equivalent of 45-50mpg. However, they are not yet as green to run in Britain as they are in countries with low-carbon electricity supplies such as France and Switzerland.

  6. Driving 100 miles in an electric vehicle costs around £2-£3 (a full charge). This compares to £12-£18 to cover the same distance in a petrol car.

  7. Long distance electric car journeys are getting easier. Ecotricity's UK network means you can undertake trips such as London to Edinburgh with relative ease.

  8. Electric cars may have fewer maintenance issues since they only have around 10% of the moving parts found in a petrol car.

  9. Electric cars are zero-rated for Vehicle Excise Duty and don't pay the £14 London Congestion Charge. However, if electric cars take off as many predict, these perks are likely to be removed.

  10. While Jeremy Clarkson may not be a big fan of the electric car (he called the Nissan Leaf a "donkey"), others are more optimistic. Richard Branson believes “no new road cars will be petrol driven” within 20 years and Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn predicts a global electric car revolution very soon.