The news that fuel is on the increase yet again is everywhere. It's not so long ago that there were strikes and shortages in a bid to shake the government into reducing the tax on oil products and yet here we are, just a few short years later, looking at over-inflated prices for our petrol and diesel. Car insurance is on the increase to cover the amount that companies pay out for when immigrants flout the insurance laws and do damage to other peoples vehicles. With these two facts coming together it's a wonder anyone can afford to keep a car anymore.



But all is not lost. Car manufacturers are constantly working on electric vehicles to replace the petrol ones but it's been slow coming. The problem has been that consumers are disappointed with the performance of electric cars but one company at least are overcoming this.

With a top speed of 125mph and doing 0 - 60mph in 3.9 seconds, the Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car to be proud of. Faster than a Lotus and as sleek as a Ferrari, this car should leave the competition standing. It is fast becoming the must have in Hollywood for those who are eco conscious, including George Clooney and Matt Damon, and is about to be released to the UK public who want to either reduce their carbon footprint or reduce their vehicle expenses.

Electric cars have always been much cheaper to run and car insurance companies favour them but, at best, they have so far managed a 48 mile range. That's easy mileage to do just poodling around town, let alone on a long journey. They also need lead-acid batteries which have their own implications for the environment and need replacing every three years at a cost of 1,300 pounds each! Needing eight hours to fully charge, the whole idea that an electric car would be feasible has much with a good deal of opposition.

For some reason, manufacturers have struggled to make an electric car look anything other than silly. In fact, most of them look like the type your children pull back and then watch whiz across the floor. The hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of petrol and battery have been the better looking option that are still cheaper to run than a complete petrol engine.

However, if you are concerned about the environment and you want to do your bit, if you're interested in keeping down running costs and car insurance and if you are in the market for an electric car that costs almost 80,000 pounds you should at least be able to command that your car look more like a serious statement rather than a toy.

British engineering has come together with entrepreneurs from the US and PayPal founder Elon Musk, all with further investments from the founders of Google to bring the sleekest, sportiest, highest performance electric sports car invented to date. Battery recharging takes a mere three hours but will now last a much more impressive 220 miles.

So, how have they done this? To keep it simple they've used a different type of battery to the norm. Essentially, it is a much bigger version of a mobile phone battery and produces a stunning performance with a lifespan of 100,000 miles. Current orders of the Tesla have outstripped demand until 2009 in the US so let's hope all the hype is justified, but more than that, let's hope it brings an end to fuel tax keeping us over a barrel and car insurance forever rising.