From some of your responses to my recent article about the Subaru Stella on show in Melbourne, I guessed that you may think I'm the usual middle-aged car-nut. Apparently, I hate the environment, and electric cars. Clearly, these people can't read.

As I said in that article, I love electric cars. Not ones like the Subaru Stella, though. I prefer ones that actually are a significant step toward sustainable and environmentally friendly motoring. Like this Mitsubishi iMiEV. And guess what? It's coming to a showroom near you. This is the good parts you need to know:

The Mitsubishi iMiEV may only have a 47kW motor, but with 180Nm it will have impressive acceleration, and it has a healthy top speed of 130kmh. If you don't believe that those figures are enough to provide "normal" acceleration, you only need to consider that the iMiEV weighs just over a tonne - 1080kg. It's plenty, trust me. Power comes from Lithium-ion batteries, and can give the iMiEV a range of 160km, which is more than enough for most daily commutes, or your lazy Sunday drive. Recharging the batteries at the end of the day takes between 7-14 hours from flat to fully charged, depending on your power source. That may sound like a lot, but most of the time, it won't take that long to fully charge it, because it won't be fully flat to start with, if you know what I mean. Putting it on charge overnight will do just fine.

So what are the downsides, assuming there are any? Yes, there are, but crucially, as I would like to point out, they are not as significant as they are with the Stella. Like the Stella, the iMiEV is expensive. At $30,000, it may be a seriously hefty price premium for a car that is only 3.4 metres long (a whole half a metre shorter than the Colt, which isn't a huge car to start with), but nevertheless, I must commend the iMiEV for putting environmentally friendly motoring within the financial reach of a lot of people. Not everyone, admittedly, and a car this small may not be practical for some people, but the iMiEV is highly space-efficient, since it is an electric adaptation of the hugely successful Mitsubishi i (which sadly isn't sold here).

Yes, it does have some limitations, but the Mitsubishi iMiEV is a huge step in the right direction, and one that is useable for an average Joe like me, everyday. That's a win-win. I can only hope that the Australian public take to it warmly, which will encourage other car makers to bring their new, high-tech electric cars to Australia.

MELBOURNE 2009: Mitsubishi iMiEV is Electrifying