Ten best electric cars rated

When the Roadster was first concieved, most people figured it was destined to fail. After all, how could a small startup produce an electric car that was good looking, had a long range and offered better performance than a Ferrari F40? With great difficulty, as it emerged, but Tesla's done it.

Design

The Roadster is a stunning-looking car, but many people can't get over the assumption it's based heavily on the Lotus Elise. According to Tesla, however, less than 7 per cent of the Roadster's parts are shared with the iconic British car. If you were to convert an Elise to a Tesla Roadster and started throwing away parts that aren't shared, you'd end up with a windshield, dashboard and airbags, front wishbones and a removable soft top.

Technology

The Tesla is well-equipped. Its showcase feature is a centrally-mounted touchscreen that provides feedback on a variety of the car's systems and allows changes to various settings. It'll let you specify when the car should begin charging in order to take advantage of cheaper night rates and let you know how much you've saved by driving electric.

There's also a range of the latest safety features including the aforementioned airbags and (slightly lethargic) ABS. It also comes with a stereo that supports CD/MP3 playback with a Bluetooth module that lets you play music wirelessly via your mobile phone.

Performance and batteries

The Tesla is, hands down, the fastest, most brutal electric car money can buy. Its top speed of 125mph isn't impressive in sports car terms, but it'll leap from a standstill to 62mph in a Ferrari-murdering 3.7 seconds.

With that much performance, one would expect the Roadster to have a range of about 100 metres, but that's not the case. Its enormous battery pack, which consists of 6,800 individual cells, gives it a range of around 236 miles. Sadly, as with all electric cars, charging those batteries is a nightmare. Topping up from the Universal Mobile Connector takes 6 hours, though you can cut this to 4 hours if you purchase the optional home connector.

Pricing and availability

The Tesla Roadster doesn't come cheap. The standard car will set you back a whopping £86,950, while the Roadster Sport -- which is slightly quicker, has adjustable suspension and performance tyres -- costs an additional £14,950. All are available to buy now.

Should I buy one?

The Roadster costs an awful lot of money, but petrol sports cars with similar acceleration usually cost a hell of a lot more to buy and run. If you're looking for a high-performance car that's cheaper to maintain and run than a small hatchback, the Tesla Roadster is our pick of the bunch.

EV rating: 5/5