I am a regular reader of your excellent columns in the Telegraph, however, the following points do not seem to have been covered. Nothing appears to have been said in the media about the effect of operating the usual electrical services in electric cars, such as heaters and air-conditioning. Indeed, operating these features will probably considerably reduce the operating range of these cars. I think some standard reference data should be provided to show the range of electric cars under ideal constant 30mph level driving (and for the standard 'urban' conditions) with no other electrical services operating, then again with all services operating (i.e. headlights, air-conditioning, heater, radio, satnav) which would show up the range limitations of electric cars.

The approximate lifetime of the batteries, and cost of replacement batteries (inc. fitting) should also be stated. Probably the manufacturers will not like to give these details, but surely these factors are basic info for purchasers for selection purposes, and the different battery types will have quite different capabilities?