Everything is awesome (in our new electric car)

We’d been waiting to climb inside for days. It had been sitting on our driveway, declared awesome from the moment we saw its shiny – almost golden – silver bodywork. Sooo awesome when we discovered the really nifty door handles that open like no other car we’ve seen. These things matter to children. We ought to have explained them to Daddy, who, after years of having a two-door car, couldn’t work out how to pull the seats forward in order to fit our carseats in the back…

Today we took our first ride in our new Renault Zoe. It was awesome from the moment we knew that it was going to be the car of choice for this morning’s school run. “This car is awesome!” we declared, as we climbed inside. “It smells so new! These seats are awesome!” 

Buckling ourselves in was awesomely easy, because there is so much space across the back seat that my brother and I can buckle simultaneously, instead of bickering over who gets to go first at wedging the seatbelt in between the child seats in our cute, but titchy Mini. “It’s especially awesome because it has Isofix in the back AND front, so you’re extra safe,” contributed Mummy. She is awesomely dull.

“And…” she continued, “it’s going to cost us way less to run than our petrol car. We could get from London to Brighton for £1!” “Great!” I shot back. “A trip to the beach! When are we going?”

Switching on the engine brought a new batch of endorsements: “That screen is awesome! Look it’s got satnav, you can see where we are! Ooh she’s put it into reverse –  that is soooooo awesome! There’s a picture of what’s behind us, with lines telling Mummy what she’s going to hit! How awesome is that?? And listen! She’s driving but there’s no sound – that’s just weird.”

“Mummy, you’re speeding,” came next. “I  know, because the screen is showing the speed limit, and oh, look, it’s flashing now. You definitely need to slow down.” Awesome.

Parking was the most awesome thing ever. The car bleeps if it’s getting close to an object. It bleeps louder, the closer it gets, so you really know when you’re about to crash. Our voices rose in tandem with the car’s digital yells.

As we left our shiny new friend outside the school and walked into the playground we nagged Mummy to lock it. “No need,” she declared, and the Zoe replied with a perky blip and click.

That car is so nice…!” sighed the Bug.

Our electric car is on loan to us for the purposes of review. We’ll be telling you lots more about ultra-low emissions vehicles (ULEV’s) over the next few weeks, as we put it through its paces. As well as the cost benefits of a ULEV, we’ll be taking you through the practicalities of charging, planning a trip, and ease of driving. So far it’s been a dream to drive, and the installation of our home charge point was relatively painless. To find out more in the meantime, visit Go Ultra Low, or follow @GoUltraLow on social media.