RENAULT'S all-electric Zoe supermini has whirred its way to overall victory in a set of awards for cars that mix modest thirst with the ability to entertain their drivers.

The Green Apple Awards are organised by the Midlands-based The Green Organisation and were judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

Runner-up was the small car category winner the Suzuki Swift while other winners were the Mazda6 (larger family car), Range Rover Evoque (smaller SUV/4x4), Audi TT (coupe/cabriolet) and Mercedes-Benz E-Class 300 BlueTEC Hybrid (luxury car).

Group chairman Ian Donaldson said: "When The Green Organisation asked us for our current green champions we wanted to go further than some other awards and look beyond the official figures and rank our favourites in the real world, taking into account how they performed in our hands."

And one judge said of the Zoe: "Affordable, good-looking, being launched into the UK's largest new car sector at a price comparable to a diesel, it could well prove to be the EV that switches people on to the idea of zero-emissions driving."

Another added: "Cute to look at inside and out, it drives nicely and comes at an affordable price for an all-electric car."

With an official range of 130 miles, the longest of any mass-market EV, and with a real-world range on a full charge of around 92 miles in temperate conditions or 64 in cold weather, Zoe has been designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle.

It comes with a free domestic 32amp ZE ready Single Wall-box, and is priced deliberately to lure buyers out of conventionally-engined superminis, at £13,995 after the UK Plug-In Car Grant. Battery hire is from £70 per month.