I HAVE just driven the best electric car on the market and would you believe it's a BMW.

The company's new i3 is amazing, with the same acceleration as a MINI Cooper S and running costs of peanuts.

The ride is excellent and the handling, steering and road holding are superb just as they should be with a BMW.

It feels like a petrol BMW to drive, which is a tremendous achievement, and comes in two forms, both of which are very expensive.

There is a pure electric model with a range of up to 123 miles in top eco mode, which will fast charge to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes at a high output charging station.

Then there is the range extender model which has a 650cc petrol engine simply to charge the batteries, but it is £3,000 more expensive, which seems a lot to me.

The dash has so many functions it looks like the cabin of a jet and it's possible to access the car's computer from your smartphone to see how many miles you have left and where the nearest charging point is.

The seats are excellent, and equipment is also very good, with sat nav, climate, DAB stereo, rear parking sensors, stability control and an alarm.

Aftersales extra packages include access to a fleet of conventional BMWs when you need a car for a longer journey.