Whenever there is a standard car review one of the most important aspects is its miles per gallon figure, but this works differently for the EV. Consumers still want to know what the MPGe (e meaning equivalent) is between the Edison2 eVLC and the Nissan Leaf. Well put it this way, you will be shocked.

The Leaf has a 99 MPGe, which is compared to 245 MPGe for the Edison2. However, we would like to point out that we were promised 315, but this never translated under EPA tests. That being said, it’s still very impressive. Just to give you an idea of this achievement, the Tesla Roadster has an MPGe of 135 – not too shabby but still below the eVLC.

Autoblog Green says that this four-seater EV has a range of 115 mile, so still not practical for most people, but ideal if you only have to travel local. We could see these vehicles taking off in California – well they did fall in live with the Prius, and this has a much larger carbon footprint. However, we still have to worry how the electricity is generated to power these EVs, the next big step is fuel cell technology, but we are still a long way off.

Taking into account the upfront purchase price and running costs like fuel and insurance, the cost of owning one can be up to £5,000 more than conventional fueled versions. According to Guardian.co.uk these figures were discovered by a study by the Element Energy that was commissioned by the Low Carbon vehicle partnership.

Climate advisers to the British government wants to see a total of eleven million electric or hybrid vehicles on UK roads by 2030. This is to meet the country’s carbon targets, but the trouble is the authors of the study have said that even if fuel prices double from current levels the cost of electric cars will still be higher.

Currently electric cars cost consumers around £30,000, without including the British government’s grant of £5,000. This equates to about double of want the standard version would cost customers. They are cheaper to run though with a Nissan Leaf costing about 2p a mile, compared to a Ford Focus that costs around 14p.

LCVP’s managing director, Greg Archer, said electric cars costs will be helped in the next 15 to 20 years by the falling prices of batteries. He added that “After 2020 the range of new technology will be more commercially available”. Archer also said that the estimates of battery costs are based on probability, and had a small chance of electric cars being competitive as early as 2020.

Provided that the electric vehicles are powered by renewable energy they can produce lower emissions over the lifetime of the car. Besides the high initial high purchase price of electric cars, another sticking point for consumers has been the availability of charging points for them.

It’s no good having an electric car if you can’t drive a reasonable distance without worrying where you are going to charge it up. The length of time it takes to recharge the vehicle can also be a problem, but as the technology improves as well as the infrastructure electric cars will be an option to consider.

Will you ever purchase an electric car?

A few years ago the thought of an EV as they are now known was considered a future car or concept. There were one or two available, but not production models or those with a practical use. Having said that, the likes of the Nissan Leaf is only practical in certain circumstances, such as those who wish to commute to and from work or only have to do local driving.

The electric vehicle is still has a way to go if they have any hope of replacing the gasoline-powered engine, but we all have to start somewhere. We know that what we have as an alternative is a start and a good start at that, but what do we have for the future; here we will look at a few models that are coming in 2012 and 2013.

The model that we are most excited about is the 2012 Audi e-tron, and is an EV with a difference, as it is not afraid to go bold with the design. Like the R8, this Audi will not be cheap, but let’s face it you are not talking about your average electric vehicle here. The technology that the German automaker will use is not only going to be state-of-the-art, but also super green as well.

We expect Europe to see the car in late 2012 and early 2013 in the US. There is one issue that we do have though; we cannot expect it to have the same design as the one that we see below.

The Chevy Volt is not what you would call a fully-fledged EV, but it still has a lot of the same technology. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt MPV5 will be a different version of GM’s popular sedan, but will be one that driver’s want. Currently most EVs coming to market are either sedans or hatchbacks, so is a welcome change to have something a little different.

Now although we said that the technology is improving to make the electric vehicle more practical we do love the fact that having a crossover is yet another step towards that goal. We cannot say for certain when the car will be released, but we do know that it will make a showing at the 2012 North American International Auto Show.

The final electric vehicle that we thought needed a mention is the 2012 Tesla Model S. Unlike the e-tron that we mentioned above this model is not a concept. The company has already run a number of tests of this car, and early reviews seem to be very promising. This is what the Nissan Leaf hopes that it could be, not only does it have the performance, it also has the range to match. However, it will also have the price tag as well when it gets released to the public in second part of 2012.

These are just three EVs that we can look forward to next year, but how will they prove in this upcoming market?

Development on the NISMO RC version of the Nissan Leaf has seemingly gone on off the radar, but a new video released this week has thrusted it back in to the limelight. For the first time, we can now show you the NISMO RC in action on a race track at the Sodegaura forest raceway in Japan.

You can clearly see that the vehicle is still in early development stages by it’s Mork and Mindy dashboard interface, but there’s no denying that the car definitely can handle well in a variety of weather conditions. It will be very interesting to see what the final model looks like, and how it fairs on the track against some of the top racing cars.

After testing the NISMO for the first time, Nissan now states that their aim is to improve on reducing costs for the next model. When we’ll see it though is a different matter. Check out the video below, courtesy of MotorAuthority and let us know what you think of it.

Do you wish your Nissan Leaf was like this?

We already know that Nissan is prepared to tow your Leaf if you have run out of charge for free. However, Autoblog has found a video on YouTube that offers you a solution. It seems that if you have your car towed the batteries will recharge themselves, which is a direct result of regenerative braking.

Nissan warns from the start that this should not be done, as it could cause damage to the powertrain. They do say that you should only do so if it is an emergency and there is no other way to get you and your Leaf home. It seems that there was an issue with the computer on the vehicle after being towed in this way, which could potentially lead to issues with the cars warranty.

We have to agree with Autoblog’s warning when they say that this is a fun video to watch. We know that there are other ways to charge your leaf when the batteries run down, please do not try getting a friend to tow your Nissan Leaf home, you might find that you will void the warranty.

Would you risk having your Nissan Leaf towed in a way that could charge the batteries but void the warranty?

In recent tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found the Nissan Leaf and other electric cars, got good results in crash testing according to an article on Autoblog by Jeremy Korzeniewski.

The electric cars which also included the Chevrolet Volt had “Good” results in crash tests for front, rear, side, and rollover crash protection. The testing was carried out in exactly the same way as any other vehicle is tested.

They also got good marks for their standard electronic stability control, and joined other economical cars such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight by earning the Top Safety Pick title. This news is added to the Nissan Leaf recently winning the Car of the Year award.

There have been questions raised before about the safety of electric cars and their high voltage systems, and whether they posed an electric shock hazard for occupants or rescue workers. Below you can see some electric cars as they are put through some crash tests.

The little Nissan was awarded the prize at the New York International Auto Show according to an article at Mashable by Charlie White. It beat off the other finalists the Audi A8 and the BMW 5 series, making the Leaf the first electric car to win the award.

The jurors sang the Leaf’s praises and liked its zero emissions, and that it “feels just like a normal car, only quieter.” They also said the Leaf deserved the win “because of its Carwings system that leverages crowdsourcing to enhance its fuel economy.”

The Chevy Volt despite costing $8,200 more than the Nissan Leaf still managed to win Green Car of the Year award at the same New York show. Whereas the Chevy Volt also drives like a normal car, but when its batteries are spent the gas engine takes over allowing you to drive as many miles as normal vehicles.

What do you think of the Nissan Leaf?

Jonathan Welsh of The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nissan plan to start a service action involving 5,300 Nissan Leaf’s. The vehicles are located in the US, European and Japanese markets and require a fix to a possible software flaw which could be causing the problems.

The problem is that owners have been experiencing issues when trying to restart the Leaf after they were switched off. According to Nissan the problem has only been affecting a small amount of owners, and engineers have reprogrammed the cars to correct the problem.

Nissan have chosen to perform a service campaign which is below a full recall because there is no threat to safety. The electric cars will not just shut down when being driven, but may not restart after being shut off.

About 500 owners are in the US, and Nissan will send them a message via the on-board telematics systems asking them to contact a Nissan dealer to arrange a visit to correct the problem. Owners will also be contacted through the more usual methods as well.

Alan Ohnsman from Automotive is reporting in an article that the electric Mitsubishi is almost $5,000 cheaper than the Nissan Leaf. The basic price for the electric car will be $27,990, but after the US tax credit the cost to customers will come in at $20,490. This will make the ‘I’ the cheapest electric vehicle in the country.

While the Nissan Leaf starts at $32,780 before the tax credit comes into effect. Mitsubishi’s North American chief executive Yoichi Yokozawa, said to reporters that the company wants to sell 2,000 vehicles to start with, and eventually achieve 20,000 or 30,000 per year.

Nissan have started deliveries of their Leafs back in December, and is also looking to increase shipments from a few hundred per month to a thousand units per month. They are hoping to achieve 500,000 Leafs worldwide eventually.

From Friday consumers in the US can begin pre-ordering the battery powered ‘I’, and depending on driving conditions it will manage around 85 miles on a single charge. The market for electric cars will probably grow as more vehicles become available and more charging stations are built.

Will you ever consider an electric car?

So we already know the main three, but there are still plenty of other green vehicles to choose from, but what are they? The Daily Green has compiled a list of what they believe to be the most fuel-efficient cars of 2011, and do not think that they are all electric either – not that there is many.

The Nissan leaf has to be on the list, but we just hope that poor sales in December were just a glitch with supply, and that the car begins to take off. The Chevy Volt got off to a much better start, but the gas/electric hybrid has yet to go national or even international. The Prius, is still the king when it comes to sales, but we have been told on a number of occasions that there are some clean diesels that outperform it in fuel-efficiency – but only when drove at higher speeds.

There is an electric car that needs a mention, and that is the 2011 Tesla Roadster. This sports car produces 0 Tons of CO2, but it does come at a price – $109,000 to be exact. We were shocked to see the 2011 Lexus CT 200h make it to the list, but when you see the 42MPG rating then you will understand just why it is on that list.

For the complete list visit The Daily Green website.

One car that we cannot wait to see on that list next year is the 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid, as it will look a lot like the new Vertrek. The Detroit based company will no doubt use their popular Kinetic Design. For more details on this visit GreenCarReports.