This joy is electric: the new EVs stylish enough to convert a lapsed driver

The commonly used phrase ‘the devil’s in the details’ doesn’t always hold true. When it comes to the latest fully electric cars, it’s the hidden details that make all the difference

It’s approaching 10 public-transport-reliant years since I last got behind the wheel of a car. Maybe it was because it took three attempts – and a heated exchange with a driving examiner – for me to finally clutch my driver’s licence that my ambition to actually use it withered. Instead, I crossed oceans to experience life on foreign soil, followed by exploring new countries, landing in new continents to then settle in London five years ago, a city where you can get by without a car.

But here’s the thing: I feel like I’ve missed out on an adventure. Yes, I’ve done the coming-of-age backpacking trips – I did the Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam-Laos route before it became cliche, OK? Yes, I’ve left my hometown of Glasgow to climb the career ladder in one of the biggest, most bustling cities in the world. But what about the freedom that comes from driving a car of one’s own for the first time? I felt a turning point not so long ago when Geri Horner (AKA Ginger Spice and my fave band member) spoke in the BBC documentary My Drive to Freedom about the open-top 1967 car she bought with her first Spice Girl pay cheque. What did I do with my first proper pay cheque? Squirrelled it away as a means to leave my hometown behind on a plane – not behind the wheel of a car.

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The car made pedestrians second-class citizens. Don’t let driverless vehicles push us off the road altogether | Adam Tranter

If we want autonomous tech to succeed it must be designed to share space with us, rather than forcing us to adapt to it Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking commissioner under mayor Andy Street This week, the UK government announced its plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the key companies involved noted that London presents a significant challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” There’s more than one problem with that statement – and it encapsulates so much of what’s already going wrong in the adoption of driverless cars. For a start, “jaywalking” isn’t even a thing in the UK. We thankfully have no such concept or offence. Unlike in many US cities, pedestrians here are free to cross the road wherever they see fit. And thank goodness for that. Adam Tranter is the co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. He was formerly West Midlands cycling and walking co...

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