Motoring review: Electric Vauxhall Ampera a gas

You may run out of power, but you won’t run out of steam with the Ampera, although finding the cash to buy it could prove a problem, writes Frederic Manby

VAUXHALL’S Ampera is the bravest move yet in the very gradual transition to modern electric vehicles. Why so brave? Well, the cheapest costs almost £30,000 which is a stack of money for a car which can only seat four people and even on Vauxhall’s figures will manage 50 miles at the most on a battery charge. It then takes four to six hours to recharge, depending on your charger. That will cost hardly anything in juice, to around £1, depending on your power tariff.

The plus side is that you are pollution-free using the battery, escape the annual road tax and various company car taxes, because this is an electric vehicle. Even the Nissan LEAF is cheaper and does twice the mileage per charge, and can be boosted much more quickly when it has gone flat. Renault’s Fluence ZE version of the LEAF is cheaper still because you hire the batteries rather than buy them with the car but sways too much when cornering.

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The LEAF went on sale in the UK a year ago. Even with the coveted COTY accolade of European Car Of The Year, it has sold less than 700.

The Ampera by General Motors but badged here as a Vauxhall (and the very similar Chevrolet Volt) have won this year’s European COTY gong. Vauxhall expects to sell 2,500 to 3,000 Amperas this year, rising to a target of 5,000 next year.

Why Vauxhall’s optimism? Because unlike the LEAF and Fluence ZE and all the other electric cars, the Ampera and Volt are extended-range vehicles. They have a 1.4 petrol engine alongside the double electric motor unit under the bonnet. When the battery goes flat – after just 37 miles on the test route chosen by Vauxhall – the petrol engine fires up and puts enough charge into the battery to keep going until the petrol runs out – say an extra 270 to 300 miles depending on how you drive. The transition is seamless. The only way you can tell is when the battery mileage symbol is replaced by a fuel pump symbol.

So, Ampera and Volt are electric cars with restricted range on pure battery power. Once the petrol engine comes on stream they are no longer zero emission. Our route showed 37 miles on battery and the final 53 miles on petrol. The latter registered 45.4 miles a gallon, less than you’d get from a diesel unit and even some petrol engines. But the total 82-mile trip averaged 71.5 miles a gallon – if you follow the statistical logic, a methodology used by Vauxhall to mitigate the petrol engine’s thirst.

They do make a valid point that for many drivers this will be a more than average daily usage. They also note that with this electric car you can keep going when the battery goes flat – and going and going, from Land End to John o’Groats, by just putting in more petrol.

On the move, the Ampera feels like a normal car. It is quiet and smooth with its automatic gear shifting. On the over-run you can feel a positive braking effect but this is not unpleasant. The handling is better than the Fluence ZE because the centre of gravity is lower. The battery pack weighs 180kg but is fitted along the spine and across under the back seats (that’s why a centre seat is not possible).

There are various driving modes and the usual coloured dashboard diagrams explaining what is happening and how you are doing on economy. They include a yellow circle which rises for thirsty and drops for economical progress. It can be distracting.

Vauxhall expects to sell the Ampera to environmentally aware drivers and to business keen to “green up” their fleet. The proposition is that someone doing 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year could, given a regular average mileage day in, day out, do all or most of this on electric power. A typical cost in electricity would be £305. If all that mileage was on petrol or diesel in a conventional car the oil cost would be £1,300 upwards. Vauxhall says that a company could save £9,000 over three years and 36,000 miles by using the Ampera. Bigger mileages annually? Petrol or diesel becomes cheaper.

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It is a debate and they may well bring this off, but the car’s entry price is unrealistic for all but the committed – and the fully-kitted Electron flagship that we tested, with navigation and a bespoke low energy Bose audio is nudging £34,000. The Postiv is £32,250 and the entry level model, still being finalised, will be £29,995 from September – the price for the sole Chevrolet Volt. These prices are after the UK Government’s £5,000 plug-in grant has been deducted – in other words the taxpayer is subsidising the purchase.

The car comes with Vauxhall’s regular “lifetime” warranty (up to 100,000 miles). The battery life is covered for eight years. GM has no idea how long they will last, but a Vauxhall spokesman was sure they would be good for 10 years minimum. The replacement cost is, however, known at 4,000 euros for a refurbished power pack with reduced capacity.

Verdict: Very clever, very expensive, but if you do the right sort of motoring you will claw back some of the outlay. Engine servicing is cheaper. I remain sceptical

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