Visitors to The Sexy Green Electric Vehicle Showcase will be able to test drive four electric vehicles – the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Peugeot iOn and Smart Fortwo electric drive.
The event, held at the Eden Project, Cornwall, runs until August 28.

A Land Rover electric game viewer concept vehicle will also be present and available for passenger rides. It was produced in response to interest from a South African game park who wanted an ecologically-sensitive vehicle which is also dependable off road. It is near silent which lets visitors to the park get close to the animals and has a range of 80km, equal to an eight-hour game drive.

Another star of the show is the Tesla Roadster electric sports car, on loan from ZeroCarbonWorld from August 22-24.

Janine Kelk, Eden’s Sustainable Transport Co-ordinator, said: “Visitors will be able to come along and see the cars, get an understanding of how they work, how well they perform and how they might benefit their lifestyle.

“There will be plenty of free and impartial information. There’ll be no salesmen involved – just the facts as the drivers and the electric vehicle experts from Ecodrive see them. Plus there will be the fun of a test drive.”

Matthew Trevaskis, Director at Ecodrive, said: "We have found that if we take the cars to people, let them drive them and also pass on the first-hand knowledge that we have built up over years of electric driving, people think more seriously about an EV as an option for them."

The event is a collaboration between Eden and Ecodrive, a Cornwall-based company promoting the use of electric vehicles. Entry is free with the usual admission prices to Eden.

Author: Andrew Brady