[andymc]

I wouldn't say it'll take 7-8 years. 200-250 miles of realistic range is increasingly becoming the new normal for many of today's brand-new EVs, but prices are generally still higher than the equivalent ICE (in some cases, substantially so), and recharging times are still a multiple of refuelling times.

But the gap is definitely closing, and in some cases there are simply too many advantages to EV over ICE already. Looking at cars like the VW ID3, it's nearly £3k cheaper than a diesel Golf 8 GTD, and more spacious inside. With 100kW charging available as a norm (125kW available as an option), recharging to 80% in under half an hour is perfectly feasible. That's still not the 5-7 minutes it takes to fill a tank and pay for it, but a 20-25 minute recharge in the middle of a 400 mile trip probably isn't outside the norm of what the vast majority would take - I certainly like to stop for at least 15 minutes when taking a refuelling and comfort break on the 270+ mile journeys I used to take regularly before the pandemic struck. Top spec versions of this car will have a range closer to 290-320 miles on a single charge, but that comes at a price of over £39k. This same platform and range of batteries is or soon will be available across other VW/VAG models (ID4 SUV, Seat El-Born, Skoda Enyaq etc).

Going down a size, the Peugeot e208 seems to be very well thought of. It starts at a similar price point to the ID3, but the top spec version is several thousand cheaper. A drawback for me would be a maximum 50kW charging speed, meaning a bit more than 30 minutes for a rapid recharge. But it still can cover some 180 miles of realistic range. Its twin-under-the-skin, the Vauxhall Corsa-e, is a couple of grand cheaper and looks more user-friendly to me.

Going up a size and a half, the MG5 EV is an estate roughly between the size of a Golf and a Passat, has a 200 mile range and starts just above £24k, but only "rapid" recharges to 80% in 40 minutes.

There are plenty of other currently available examples which you can research at your leisure and more soon to come to market this year. But if I was in the market for a new car, considering the total cost of ownership and the high spec of these cars, they would certainly be near the top of my shortlist.