and it was better than I feared.

I attended a hybrid / electric car event yesterday. Went with the usual negative thoughts about electric vehicles - hell, I drive a 20mpg 2.5 tonne 4x4 so I'm not what they might consider their target market.

First up was the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. I have to admit that the Outlander wouldn't be my choice of a 4x4 but as an "eco-friendly" family vehicle it's not at all bad. The hybrid side of things was impressive and almost impossible to detect. The way it swapped between petrol, hybrid and electric systems was impressive and pretty much transparent. It has a disappointing towing limit of 1.5 tonnes so not for me as a sole 4x4.

Next I had a drive in the BMW i8 - the same as Clarkson drove in Top Gear recently. What can I say? Well, it's not the easiest thing to get in and out of but the gull wing doors are good theatre. Vision out is not great but good enough to move around in town traffic. The hybrid system is, as you would expect, impressive. The electric-only system is excellent. The petrol engine only kicks in when needed depending on battery state and how you're driving. In Drive you potter around in electric. Kick it down and the engine will start and give you a boost. Stick it in Sport and the engine is on all the time (at least that's how it was set up on the day). Give a good poke on the throttle pedal and it surges forwards with really conviction. The noise is nice too. It's a 3 cylinder engine and sounds quite throaty but, apparently, it's both tuned to sound good but also has speakers to back up the noise you hear inside. Cheating but effective. And somewhat addictive! The interior is very obviously BMW and a nice place to be although in the short time I was in it I never got fully comfortable with the seat. Oh, and the head up display is excellent. Clear and concise and really does make a difference - the sat nav directions are shown in front of you which is a great safety boon. The ride is surprisingly pleasant around town in comfort mode for a sporty car - thanks to the stiff carbon fibre chassis, I'm sure. The car is £100k so probably not on many shopping lists.

Finally I tried the BMW i3. I expected this to feel a bit of a let down after the i8. I was wrong. Sure, it's a small, city car family box but it's really rather good. I tried the range extender version, by the way, and the swap between electric and petrol is all but unnoticeable. The external design is quite strange - it's not your typical design after all. The interior works well - lots of space because the floor is totally flat. The dash is dominated by the huge info/entertainment screen. The hybrid system is as well implemented as it is in the i8. What's surprising is how nippy the car is. It's hot-hatch quick up to 50-60mph. The steering is quick and light and accurate. The biggest surprise is the re-gen braking. It's very effective - you often don't need to use the brakes at all. If you read the road/traffic you can just come off the throttle and let the re-gen slow you down all the way to a stop. You use the throttle pedal in both directions - press it to gain speed, release it to slow down and it's linear in application so you can change the rate you slow by changing the rate you lift the pedal. It's very well done. The basic structure of the car is carbon fibre (just as with the i8 ) so it's very stiff. This is a good thing and allows the suspension to work properly. It's also light hence the decent acceleration. The car is full of nice little features - I like the rear coach doors (BMW don't, for obvious reasons, call them "suicide doors"). They make accessing the rear seats much easier. The rear seats are quite roomy for such a small car - I'm over 6ft and with the driver's seat set for me I could sit behind. The boot is pretty good and the rear seats fold flat to give a decent enough load area.

So, what did I think of the future? I liked it. I liked it a lot. How much? Well, I would seriously consider the BMW i3 at some point in the future. Really, as a second, town car or one for commuting less than 50 miles it makes a lot of sense. It really is that good. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Quiet agree, I went from my RRS to an Outlander PHEV, leased as a company car, very cost effective due to low BIK tax and good for the company due to no congestion charge, no VED and cheap running costs. I must admit, although its not in the same league as an RRS is a great vehicle, very comfortable and good performance. Although its a smaller vehicle it seems larger inside probably due to a lack of centre consul, there's also more legroom in the back. A bit of a tardis. Its an anomaly for a big 4x4 in that it has excellent economy around town if fully charged but on long motorway journeys its down to around 30 mpg, still not bad for a 2.5 tonne petrol 4x4 I'd recommend it without hesitation  2019 BMW X3 2.0i M Sport in metalic black- Brilliant
2014 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Atlantic Grey, replaced with 2018 Frost White Outlander PHEV, can't fault em - now gone
2012 SDV6 HSE in Orkney Grey, Privacy Glass & Side Steps (notice a theme)! - Even better but now gone
2009 TDV6 HSE in Stornoway Grey, 20" alloys, Privacy Glass & Side Steps - Fantastic! but gone

I did like the PHEV but if I was going to have an electric/hybrid, I'd keep the RRS for play and have an i3 for daily use. Small but brilliantly formed. Not sure I could keep the RRS for play and run a PHEV, although the PHEV was, as you say, very good.

I didn't try the Audi A3 or the VW Golf hybrids as they seem a bit of a cop out really - neither fish nor fowl. The Nissan Leaf was also there but didn't appeal. The i3 does though - perhaps it's just my bloody-minded do-it-my-way streak showing!  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

The trouble with the Nissan Leaf is that its electric only, I'm often battling with Leaf owners over the electric charge point at motorway service stations (currently free to charge up) but their need is greater than mine as I have a petrol engine as well, if they don't get a charge they're at the service station for hours  2019 BMW X3 2.0i M Sport in metalic black- Brilliant
2014 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Atlantic Grey, replaced with 2018 Frost White Outlander PHEV, can't fault em - now gone
2012 SDV6 HSE in Orkney Grey, Privacy Glass & Side Steps (notice a theme)! - Even better but now gone
2009 TDV6 HSE in Stornoway Grey, 20" alloys, Privacy Glass & Side Steps - Fantastic! but gone