VAUXHALL'S first-ever plug-in hybrid, the Grandland X Hybrid4, is due to arrive in dealerships in February, spearheading the company's drive to an electric future.

It will be followed soon after by the pure electric new Corsa-e with at least three more electric models set to be launched soon, including a battery-powered version of the replacement for the Mokka.

Prices for the Grandland X Hybrid4 start at £36,790, but that's for what has been dubbed the Business Edition Nav Premium version - a model which Vauxhall says will offer significant cost benefits to company car drivers with best-in-class benefit-in-kind, a high spec as standard and a low P11D price.

Three other trim levels are available - the SRi Nav, priced at £41,500, Elite Nav at £43,400 and the £46,650 Ultimate Nav at the top of the range. A front wheel drive model, with a single electric motor will follow later in the year, with prices from £32,390.

As well as a 200hp, 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder petrol engine, the four wheel drive versions come with electric motors powering both the front and rear wheels, providing on demand all-wheel drive via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Together, the petrol engine and electric motors produce up to 300hp and with a 0-60mph time of 5.9 seconds, the Hybrid4 is - perhaps surprisingly - the quickest car in the current Vauxhall line-up.

And the Hybrid4's not only fast, it's frugal too. with a combined fuel consumption of 204mpg. It produces just 34g/km of CO and Vauxhall claims the car's 13.2kWh lithium-ion battery can provide an electrically-powered, zero-emissions range of 35 miles which can be extended by up to 10 per cent using the car's dual-mode regenerative braking system.

And there's a clever ‘e-Save' function, accessed through the infotainment system, which allows the driver to reserve battery energy to ensure that the vehicle reaches its destination when in a zero-emissions zone. The driver can choose to save six or 12 miles of range, or reserve all of the battery energy.

The Grandland X Hybrid4 comes with a 3.7kW on-board charger, with an optional 7.4kW version also available. Vauxhall is also offering devices for fast charging at public stations, as well as wallboxes at home. With a 7.0kW wallbox, customers can fully charge the battery in less than two hours.