IT'S just been crowned European Car of the Year and now the Vauxhall Ampera is about to go on sale in Britain.

With its range extender technology it is hailed as a car of the future and this is a model which makes electric vehicles credible.

Along with its sister ship, the Chevrolet Volt, the Ampera is a car like no other, fitted with both an electric motor and petrol engine but driven by electricity at all times.

It delivers a range of around 50 miles of emission free motoring on a fully charged battery before the engine cuts in to generate more power for a further 310 miles.

Get low on fuel and there is no need to worry about recharging the battery - just find a filling station and carry on running on electricity generated by the engine.

As eco-friendly compromises go it ticks all the right boxes overcoming the range limitations of pure battery powered cars where you can travel for about 60 miles before you need to recharge.

If your daily commute is around 40 miles or so it is possible to drive the Ampera through the week without using any petrol - hooking the car up overnight to your household electrical supply.

A full charge from a 240 volt socket takes around six hours and should cost in the region of £1.10. That works out at five days of travel for the cost of less than a gallon.

Vauxhall has just teamed up with energy supplier British Gas to fit home charge points which shorten recharge times to around four hours. The equipment costs from £799 but discounts can be had if you live in a so-called Plugged In city such as Newcastle, Glasgow or Birmingham.

The technology used in the Ampera is highly sophisticated and the car is not cheap.

Even after the Government's £5,000 grant for electric vehicles the basic model costs £32,250.

Higher grade versions with Bose sound systems, sat nav and DVD players will be £33,995 although an entry level Ampera will be along later in the year at £29,995.

The outlay has to be weighed up against vastly reduced running costs and Vauxhall says that on average the Ampera should shave around £1,000 a year off fuel bills.

The savings are greater for business users with reduced taxation of five per cent.

Over three years Vauxhall calculates that fleet operators will save some £8,800 compared to the cost of running an Insignia as a company car.

Service intervals are 12 months or 20,000 miles and Vauxhall has set up a network of 24 specialist dealers to handle the Ampera, each offering a collection and delivery service plus the use of a courtesy car.

Maintenance costs should be some 25 per cent cheaper as electric vehicles have fewer moving parts.

On paper that stacks up and on the road driving the Ampera is something special.

Under the bonnet is a 1.4-litre petrol engine delivering 86ps which sits next to an electric motor delivering the equivalent of a further 150ps. Under the car is a T-shaped lithium-on battery pack which Vauxhall guarantees for eight years.

The petrol engine has a 35 litre tank and in isolation it is claimed to be good enough for 56.6mpg.

But that is not the way to think about statistics with the Ampera.

Overall it has a CO2 emissions rating of just 27g/km - the lowest in the world for any vehicle fitted with a combustion engine - and an official fuel consumption figure of an incredible 235.4mpg since both power systems work together.

In the real world that's pie in the sky but on an 84 mile run we clocked up 84.2mpg with the car's lifetime consumption figure showing 173mpg.

Actual fuel consumption depends on many variables including weather, hills, use of air conditioning and other electrical systems.

The Ampera is smart enough to try to get the best results and on our drive we managed 40.1 miles on battery power before using less than a gallon of fuel to complete the journey.

Gear selection is automatic - realistically it is either forward or backwards - and the car has a multi-mode drive system to give added oomph in Sport mode and extra power to deal with steep hills in what Vauxhall calls Mountain mode.

There is also a clever setting to conserve battery power allowing the Ampera to be a zero emission vehicle at any time. That setting is primarily designed for commuting into a congestion charge zone and sees the car using the petrol engine to generate electricity en route allowing the battery pack to be switched back in later on.

The change from battery to petrol power is unnoticeable with the exception of a different display on the high tech instrument panel which shows which fuel source is active.

On the road the ride is almost of limousine quality such is the quietness inside the car. At all times the Ampera moves away silently and even under stiff acceleration there is only a faint hum from the engine.

Because it is almost silent when running Vauxhall has fitted a 'chirper' device to warn pedestrians. It's in addition to the horn and is operated by pushing a button on the end of the indicator stalk.

There is plenty of power if needed and 0 to 60 can be achieved in a respectable 8.7 seconds with a top speed limited to 100mph.

However, heavy use of the throttle damages economy and a gentle approach gets the best results.

Progress and eco performance can be monitored from the many displays available on the dashboard and there is even a facility for the car to point out bad driving habits and to offer advice about how to improve efficiency.

On the top grade Electron models we drove the trim and specification is as advanced as the technology and while the Ampera is a roomy four seater with a boot that offers anything between 300 and 1,005 litres of space, the fabric luggage blind does look a little low rent for a car in the executive price bracket.

For low and medium mileage purposes the Ampera rewrites the rule book, slashing everyday running costs while being very eco friendly.

At the moment it is the only form of electric motoring which is genuinely user friendly and practical for all purposes. Until alternative forms of propulsion such as hydrogen fuel cell cars become a reality, this is about as good as it gets.