Mahindra launches electric city car
If you've meandered around Central London for more than five minutes, the chances are you've seen the super-puny G-Wiz plugged into a charging post at some point.
However, despite still being a firm favourite among the capital's dwellers today, the dinky electric vehicle has been out of production since 2012.
But now there's a replacement. It's called the Mahindra e2o, but it's not as cheap as you might have expected.
The odd looking G-Wiz has been available in the UK since the turn of the century and is a fairly common sight in the nation's capital
Indian manufacturer Mahindra, which is also known for producing low-powered motorcycles, unveiled the all-new model on Friday morning.
On sale in the UK now, it's diminutive scale isn't matched by an equally small price tag.
Available from NZ$26,715 - even after factoring in the British plug-in car grant subsidy - it's more expensive than many conventional-powered city cars rivals, though it does work out cheaper than rival electric compact vehicles like the Renault Zoe and VW e-Up.
The e2o has been on sale in India for two years but the model that will come to the UK is another improvement, the brand claims.
Using a 31kW electric motor, the e2o produces a fairly uninspiring 42bhp and 91Nm of torque.
The Renault Twizy
But due to the light weight it has a fairly impressive top speed of 63mph, which is 10mph faster than the all-electric Renault Twizy, which some might consider as the e2o's nearest rival.
The 14kWh lithium-ion battery pack is said to be good for 79 miles of range, though this can be upgraded to 88 miles if you spec the 'Revive' mode feature, which also comes with remote emergency charging.
A full charge from a home plug socket takes nine hours, though the range topping model can be fully reboosted in 90 minutes on a fast charge.
This higher spec model is called the e20 Tech X, which will cost an additional $NZ6,100 over the standard e2o City model that comes with fabric seats, electric windows, power steering, heating and an LCD digital instrument display.
Stump up the $NZ32,855 for the Tech X version and you get air-con, a Blaupunkt touchscreen sat-nav system and a smartphone app that allows you to pre-heat and cool the car from an iPhone or compatible device.
Upgrades have also been made in terms of safety, which admittedly was a big concern with the flimsy original G-Wiz.
The e2o instead has two airbags, ABS brakes and stability control as standard, and there are even ISOFIX mounts for child car seats in the rear - not that we imagine many will be using them.
Like the G-Wiz, the e2o is expected to resonate well with inner-city workers looking to reduce their commuting costs into the capital, but unlike the model it replaces it will have to endure Euro NCAPs crash test programme, which could have a serious impact on how well it sells in the UK.
-Daily Mail