No congestion charge, no road tax, no Benefit in Kind cost for business drivers and half the price to charge compared with fuelling at the pumps. All of which means this car will save you money in the long term, but you still have to stump up a hefty price up front. The basic version, '1' starts at £24,400 after the Government grant, while the '2' starts at £26,400 after the grant. the top-spec '3' will set you back £30,400 after the grant.

None of which looks so bad when you realise that it is in keeping with the price of a Vauxhall Corsa-e or a Peugeot e-208; translate all three of those models to their petrol counterparts, and the Mini would cost you more to begin with. Spin the money wheel again, however, to break it down into a monthly finance agreement, and the extra monthly cost to the household budget can look better again, depending on your deposit and annual mileage. Plus, residuals should be pretty strong.