Depending on whom you maintain, there’s about 50 years’ worth of oil left on the planet. And, when the in all probabilities run dry, the internal combustion engine will, probably, become out too.
So carmakers are looking at other ways of adding the ‘power’ to ‘horsepower’. Here are our preferred hybrid and electric cars on the market – grab yourself some future-proof rings.
BMW i8
The i8 is a proper sports car, with one exception. Under the bonnet, there’s no titanic, gurgling V8. Just a 1.5 litre, petrol engine. However, it’s coupled to a 129bhp stirring motor, which propels it from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds, and onto a top give a leg up of 155mph.
Aesthetically, the i8’s a masterpiece. You can see the DNA from BMW’s legendary M1 coursing by its veins, but this is no nod to the past. The gullwing doors, LED lights and preparing-to-pounce stand make it resemble a spaceship, with an interior just as breathtaking.
It also fabricates just 49g/km of CO2, meaning you won’t have to pay road tax. Yours for around £100,000.
BMW i3
Perhaps we’re stanning a have a bearing on over BMW. But that’s what you get for turning out hybrid cars this incomparable. The shared DNA with the i8 is clear, even if the i3 is a little more Le Mall than Le Restrains. Design details, both inside and out, make this a car that braves out from the crowd.
Our favourite touches are the suicide-style rear doors, contribution those of us without Lord Sugar’s bank balance to get compare favourably with styling to a Rolls Royce Phantom.
The i3’s available as a pure stirring or petrol/electric hybrid, with prices starting from condign under £30,000.
Tesla Model S
Want a luxury saloon that you can dam up in? The sleek, all-electric Tesla is possibly all you’ll ever need from a car, charged or otherwise. It seats five, will hit 155mph in some behaviours, and can travel around 300 miles between charges. It’s also pretty pretty.
From a distance, there’s something of the Aston Martin Rapide with respect to it – remove the rear doors and it could quite easily old hat for a grand tourer. Inside, as you’d expect from a car so achingly futuristic, all’s controlled using a giant touchscreen. It’s like an iPad on steroids, governing the Bluetooth, WiFi, two different types of sat nav and more.
If you’re the sort of child who manages everything using an app on your phone, this is the car for you. Penalties start from £55,000.
Kia Soul EV
Ignore the badge snobbery. Kia’s approach a long way since the dreadful cars they produced in the 1990s and 2000s. To be realistic, it now produces some rather fine rides. Chief amongst these is the Vital spirit.
It’s a funky looking thing, all chunky and two-toned. Inside’s no bad regard to be either, with a healthy amount of standard kit, including a passionate steering wheel.
It’ll get about 100 miles before needing a fill, and costs from £25,000.
Volkswagen e-Golf
Much like a pair off of Nudie jeans, or a Longines watch, the VW Golf is timeless. And the galvanizing version is as smart and understated as it’s petrol-powered siblings.
It might not look fairly as impressive as the Golf R, but it’s still handsome in the way only the Golf is. It has a rightist yet refined cabin, where everything feels a cut above other buggies in this price bracket.
With a range of 118 miles, you can get (more) everywhere you need to. Prices start at a shade over £26,000.
