That said, as the Outlander PHEV disappears with a whine of an electric motor or two, I’ve been impressed. It’s very well thought out and user friendly so it’s simple to get the best out of the car with minimal petrol use, if you drive mostly short distances.

Charging takes a few hours from discharged and you need to remember to plug in whenever possible. It’s the best plug-in hybrid yet, but more competition is on the way…

I say that for a variety of reasons including range, rapid charging capability, ease of use and the fact that it looks like any other Outlander, apart from the badges and extra fuel filler flap.

Ease of driving is one of the key attractions of an electric car – no gearbox, regenerative braking to reduce conventional brake wear and less noise, which all add to the ease and comfort. That said, to get the best from any electric car I've driven needs frequent driver intervention and the Outlander has been designed to make these easy. For instance, one of the big advantages of a plug-in hybrid is the ability to choose where you drive under electric power alone. The obvious place is in urban traffic, where the regenerative braking can be used to advantage and for the eco conscious, it's also where you can do your bit to improve air quality.

Mitsubishi has thought about this and made it simple to switch between battery and engine power by using the large “SAVE” button on the centre console. “SAVE” mode kicks in the 2.0-litre petrol engine to generate the electricity and feed it direct to the drive motors. Then a prod of the button takes you back to electric only drive for emission free driving. It couldn’t be simpler. You can do that in the Ampera, but it takes a bit of scrolling through menus to do it.

The Outlander’s steering wheel paddles enable the driver to select one of five regenerative braking levels, adjusting it according to conditions – another indication of the level of thought that has gone into the car.