After the recent petrol shortages and energy hikes, the benefit of electric cars has never been clearer – plus, by 2030, no new petrol or diesel cars can be sold in the UK. But are they affordable? “Our bestselling car is the Nissan Leaf. It’s around £20,000 for a used one and it does about 150 miles per charge,” says Martin Miller from EV Experts, a used electric car dealer in Surrey. “At entry level, we have an older Leaf for £8,500 that does 70 miles.”

But, what other costs does the consumer need to factor in?

“You’ve got to think about where you can charge your vehicle,” says Miller, “but over 60 per cent of houses in the UK have a driveway or garage, so that makes it easier. For a small car, you can charge off a three-pin plug and it would take about 12 hours – and that charger would cost £200 to buy. Or you could install a charging unit at home, and they are £1,200 fully fitted. Then it would take four hours at night, when it’s the greenest and cheapest time to charge.”

So while the upfront cost of the charging unit is certainly a sting (“the government grants and subsidies have all finished on that front,” says Miller), couple it with less expensive services, brilliant MOT pass rates, cheap warranties (“there are fewer components, so less can go wrong”) and eight-year warranties on the batteries, and it adds up to cheap(er) driving. Monthly finance packages are readily available too, just in case you haven’t got £22,000, along with that other £30,000 for your house, in your back pocket.