I have had solar panels on my home for a while now and they seem to work well but I felt they could do more. Not produce more, as I am no electrician or solar expert, but work to increase efficiency and lower costs.

Only time will tell if the choice I have made was worth it.

I have taken the step of going electric in my choice of car and the one I opted for was the Nissan Ariya E-4orce Dual Motor AWD in a dark blue colour.

It is a massive leap for me and a very different drive to the Mercedes C300d Cabriolet and I was very nervous about the change.

Yes it was an expensive purchase but then again most cars are nowadays and some of the second hand cars have gone insanely high. However, I was pleased with the deal I brokered and the service I received so I went for it.

I am into my second week of owning a purely electric car and I must say there have been no issues apart from a software conflict between the remote control cabin climate control and the car alarm when it is set to warm the car up before one gets in. This I am assured will be sorted.

I had to wait for a week to have a PodPoint charger installed (cost included in purchase price of car) but it does charge from a three pin plug but be prepared for long wait if that is your only option. From 50% to full on three pin is around 14 hours but through wall charger it around 3 hours.

The car itself drives similarly to a normal automatic car but the response is instant and can be quite fun along with the fact that its quiet so one can hear their sound system better. The technology on this car is staggering. but the few things I love are the Heads-Up Display, the E-Pedal (allowing the motor to brake and regenerate the battery) which cuts down on braking and the ability to warm up and defrost the car from inside the home. Oh and to set the sat-nav remotely from a mobile phone. The voice control is a bit flakey but that might just be this users fault as he may not quite understand it yet.

Like any fuel powered vehicle one must keep an eye on how much there is in the tank but charging is a doddle, the AP shows where the nearest public chargers are (and what type of charger they are. Slow being the cheaper and super fast being eye-wateringly expensive) and for most use one has to charge up once a week. If you have solar panels then choose a sunnier day and its free.

First impressions are very good. Lower brake wear, no emissions, quieter ride, smooth acceleration, lower running costs, AW drive and great technology are certainly great factors to go electric. However, for those doing frequent, long-range journeys, have no off-road parking, maybe have yet to invest in solar panels and prefer the roar of a V8 then electric is not quite there yet.

I shall endeavor to continue my experiment and evaluation and report back my findings.