The biggest problem with most electric cars is that they are adapted from conventional cars and you end up with something less than you started with. For example, you take a VW Golf, strip out the internals, add batteries and make it slower and heavier, with less range and fewer safety features.

The nice thing about the Google car, or Aptera as it’s correctly known, is that it is a purpose-built electric car and looks great. That’s important. When the ’64 Ford Mustang came out it was really just a Ford Falcon but it was the greatest-looking Falcon in the world. The fact that it didn’t have independent rear suspension and so on didn’t matter because it looked so stunning.

It was the same thing that saved the Cord 810 and 812 in the 1930s. They were unreliable but they were so beautiful, people saved them. That’s why so many remain.

Beauty can cover a lot of sins. It’s like dating a beautiful woman — you are willing to put the problems aside. That’s not to say the Aptera has problems but it has solved the biggest one: making a good-looking electric car. You have something that looks like it could fly, it could float, it could go underwater. It’s the kind of car that James Bond would drive. However, it is extremely eco-friendly and is extremely advanced. The drag coefficient is 0.15, which is almost unheard of. It cuts through the air. That’s what makes it so exciting.

The car I drove was a prototype, so inevitably there were a couple of clunks and things that are not production standard yet. But that’s okay. As I said, it’s such a good-looking car you are willing to put that aside. I would say that almost every driver I passed on the freeway had their cellphone cameras out. People were looking and pointing. It makes a statement. Kids think it’s cool. Women find it attractive. It looks like the Jetsons’ car: something you would pull out of a garage in the year 2060. It is eco chic. Not many cars look good in white but this one does.

Trying to sell ugly but efficient vehicles is like trying to sell women sensible shoes. Buying a car is a rational decision made irrationally. People will fall in love with the shape.

The Mini E is great because it still looks like a Mini. It’s fun to drive and with all that torque it is faster than the regular Mini. The downside is that because of the batteries it’s only a two-seater. It doesn’t have range and doesn’t hold four people. It’s the veggie burger effect. When it first came out they made it look like a hamburger. Then you bit into it and went — yuk, it’s not a hamburger.

The Tesla is quite nice but it’s expensive. The Aptera is between a third and half of the price of the Tesla. That’s a huge factor. You’d buy this as a second vehicle, a commuting vehicle. In America the price break is $30,000 (£18,000). Above that it’s a luxury. Extroverts initially will buy this. I can see Ed Begley Jr, the actor and environmentalist, driving around in this waving at people.

I think it’s a fabulous car. It drove nicely. If you didn’t know it had three wheels you’d have thought it had four. Steering is maybe a little heavy but the car’s pretty fast. That’s the fun thing about electric: you get all your torque at zero. They say the range is a dead honest 100 miles, no matter how hard you drive. We were on it pretty hard for about 20 miles and I did not see one bar drop on the screen. So that was pretty good.

It handled pretty well and braked well. I’ve driven a lot of three-wheeled vehicles and I did not find this one unsafe or unstable. Certainly it’s not like a three-wheeled Morgan. You don’t get beat up driving it.

Inside it’s bigger than you think it is and that’s part of the cool factor, too. I thought it had a nice airy greenhouse feel. You could see out easily. There is a lot of glass but you have air-conditioning and all that. Basically you are driving a teardrop.

It’s a car you’d have to sell to enthusiasts first. Someone willing to live with the little quirks. What you are selling is a sense of style, a sense of cool. It’s the ultimate commuter car — you are not going to take a holiday in it.

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