We plugged into Smart technology to see whether it's really practical to use one of Mercedes' new generation electric models for a day out or weekend away.

The cars will go on sale toward the end of 2010. They do about 112 kilometres on a single charge and can be plugged into the mains.
We took the car for spin around the Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire countryside in Southeast England. We drove along country lanes, motorways (where we hit a top speed of about 104kph) and around busy towns.


To make our charge go further, we plugged into the mains while we had a spot of lunch and a swim at the Best Western Quy Mill Hotel in rural Cambridgeshire. That gave us more than enough juice to pootle around the countryside for the afternoon and still return home with plenty of energy to spare.

Find out how you can test an electric Smart Car next year in the UK by going to smart electric trial.