On the road: BMW i3 – car review

'The steering is so responsive, it made me want to zigzag down the road for a laugh'

All the problems you might encounter with a BMW i3 will be because you have not planned your life around having one. You can't charge it with an extension cable, so even if you have a plug installed in your forecourt (who has a forecourt?), parking must reach it. I was charging up with a cord 30m down my road, hopping in and out of the house to apologise to passersby.

The mileometer is maddening: a promised 16 miles morphs mysteriously into 10 after you've gone down two streets. The company claims a range of 100 miles, thanks to its incredible battery: on the controls, it goes up to 80. But that comes with more riders than a presidential entourage: it depends on climate, driving style, weight of driver, weight of passenger, weight of handbag.