G-WIZ! LORELY TEST-DRIVES ELECTRIC CAR

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 19th Jul 2006

Lorely Burt and Chris Huhne put the G-wiz through its paces

Solihull MP Lorely Burt today gave a test drive to the new environmentally friendly G-Wiz electric city car yesterday in Westminster to mark its appearance at the British motor show at the Excel centre in London.

Lorely Burt was accompanied by Lib Dem shadow environment secretary Chris Huhne. They both drove the car round Westminster and said that they were impressed with its nippiness and convenience.

The G-Wiz costs £7,000 and has running costs just a fraction of normal petrol cars: around 1 penny per mile if the battery is recharged over six hours at night at a cost of about 40 pence.

This compares with a cost of some 6 pence or more for petrol cars. The range for the G-Wiz on one charge is about 48 miles.

Lorely Burt said: "I took it for a spin around Westminster, and it is very nippy for diving in and out of city traffic. It is definitely the smallest thing on the road, and you get some very interested looks!

"The sooner Birmingham gets into the market for green cars the better. There are already about 500 of the G-wiz cars on the roads in London in part because of strong incentives like free parking on metre and pay-and-display spaces in the City of London and in Westminster. It is small and convenient to use".

"The traditional drawback for electric cars has been the short range and the difficulty of charging, but those problems are improving".