Monday 2 December 2013

Gidd-e-up! Volkswagen’s electric car goes on sale in UK

German carmaker Volkswagen’s fully electric vehicle the e-up! goes on sale in the UK today.

From today customers can order one from 24 electric vehicle retailers across the country, with first deliveries expected at the end of January.

The five-door car has a price tag of £24,250 or £19,250 including a £5,000 government grant.

With a range of up to 93 miles it can hit a top speed of 81 mph when conditions permit according to the manufacturer. A standard full charge takes less than nine hours from a standard 230-Volt, 2.3 kW household socket.

Three driving settings include standard mode and two others, called ‘Eco’ and ‘Eco+’. The first eco mode cuts the car’s peak power to 50 kW which lowers the air-con output and modifies the throttle response, while the second totally cuts the air-con, limits maximum power to 40 kW and further modifies the throttle.