Renault has certainly thrown its weight behind electric vehicles, in partnership with Nissan, and is turning out new electric cars slated to hit dealerships over the next 12 months at an impressive (electrifying?) rate. The Zoe, the Twizy, the Kangoo and the Fluence - and there are more in the pipeline.Having just announced that the Fluence ZE, an electric version of the combustion-engined four-door Fluence, will go on sale in the UK next year from a very affordable £17,850, Renault invited us to a brief drive in the heart of the Big Smoke; around Southwark and Bermondsey - the kind of place where EVs will theoretically thrive.First impressions of the Fluence ZE are of a new Renault saloon, perhaps along the lines of the Latitude or Laguna or how a new Megane saloon may look.The Fluence ZE is a four-door that will notionally seat five, but looks much better suited to four adults. Opening the boot will be the first indication, for many, that something is amiss. With a large battery pack to swallow, load space looks very limited in this prototype, though production models will boast more boot space, presumably so golf clubs can be dumped inside.The Fluence ZE we were driving had a recharging socket, courtesy of British Gas in the boot and is indicative of the new partnership between the two companies in bridging the gap between energy generation and energy use that still characterises many of the unanswered questions relating to EVs. Battery leasing and chargingFor around a grand, British Gas will install your charge point at home; whether you have a garage that will house or a way to recharge your electric car without trailing a cable onto the road is your lookout.How energy for EVs is generated, from what power sources and what the cost to the end user is likely to be are all questions not wholly resolved my manufacturers, but Renault has taken the step of removing another unknown from the EV equation.The battery packs that power the Fluence ZE - and the electric version of the Kangoo van - will be available to lease, rather than buy at a cost of £75 per month for 6,000 annual miles. Those figures might raise eyebrows when the cost is weighed against buying a battery outright over three years, but buyers will benefit from economies of scale, with much higher mileages attracting smaller cost increments.Andy Heiron, Renault's head of electric vehicles, suggested that the extra cost for 9,000 miles per annum or 15,000 miles per annum could be as little as £10 and £20 respectively.That means that while the costs of buying and running an EV in the real world are stacking up, buyers won't have to worry about what happens when their battery degrades or loses capacity, potentially leaving them with a car that no-one will buy.That's all very well, but the bizarre styling and irrelevance of EVs to everyday drivers used to their Ford Focuses and Vauxhall Astras - and the prohibitive expense or either buying outright of leasing electric vehicles - has put potential buyers off thus far.The Fluence ZE will cost from £17,850 with a £5,000 government incentive and the battery will cost around £1,000 per annum to lease. Factor in recharge costs - via home charging sockets for around eight hours per full charge or the promised recharging infrastructure - and those figures seem a lot more tempting than the initial high-30Ks or expensive contract hire agreements on cars like the Mitsubishi iMIEV or Peugeot i0n that were bandied around a year ago.Renault has suggested that battery-swapping facilities around the country will enable much faster charging, but it's not yet clear how viable this is and when EV buyers will be able to take advantage of such a service. Fluence ZE size and practicalityIn terms of the second issue - size, practicality and styling - the Fluence ZE is a world apart from the G-Wiz, iMIEV and even Leaf in terms of off-beat design. The Fluence looks like nothing more, or less, than a mid-size family saloon. It's tempting to suggest that Renault have made the Fluence deliberately boring, so everyday are its looks.In the driver's seat, however, it's clear that something is up. The dashboard resembles no other dash you're likely to have seen, with small battery and kilowatt-per-hour displays that reminded us more of a mobile phone interface than a car dashboard.The rest of the interior is straight out of the Renault Book of Volume Car Interiors, which is to say that it looks and feels comfortable enough. The Fluence ZE prototype I drove may not represent the finished article, though, so it's probably unfair to judge them on this basis.For the record, Renault says that the Fluence ZE will be available with a single specification featuring 16' alloy wheels, climate control, cruise control and Carminat TomTom satnav. Driving the Fluence ZEDriving the Fluence ZE is similarly mundane. Apart from the novelty of silently moving off from stationary there's little to suggest you're not behind the wheel of a petrol or diesel car. Even the wonder of noiseless driving is swiftly forgotten, as road noise intrusion quickly dissipates the silence.What you're left with is a car that drives - in the city at any rate - exactly as a car powered by a combustion engine would drive but with the undeniable thrill - and satisfaction - of sitting noiselessly, powerlessly in stationary traffic while everyone else burns fuel and money. Step on the gas and there's an electric whine which is noticeable, but not loud.Steering is quite light, response is not dissimilar to a small turbocharged petrol or diesel engine. The torque figure is an impressive 226Nm and that torque should be available instantly and progress in a linear fashion, though I felt there was a slight delay in the response.The final weight of the production Renault Fluence ZE seems likely to be around 100-200kg more than a similar size car - a Ford Focus saloon or Skoda Octavia - though quite a bit less than the Toyota Prius hybrid. However, Renault says that weight distribution is pretty much the desirable 50:50 split - which should be good for handling - with more weight over the rear and less over the front than the comparable combustion Fluence.My brief test drive didn't really allow me to gauge handling, but I'd suggest the Fluence ZE is similarly aligned to the Megane or Laguna - an emphasis on a softer ride. The Fluence ZE is certainly comfortable, but it will be interesting to see what it can do B-roads with that extra weight above the rear axle - and whether it feels outpaced on the motorway. What is noticeable is engine braking; remove any pedal input and the car's deceleration is pronounced; foot braking is smooth and predictable.As for range, well my test drive didn't allow me to gauge that either. There was no noticeable change in the charge available - about 100 miles of it according to Renault - during 20 minutes of stop-start London driving.The Fluence ZE provides feedback as to the economy factor of the driver's inputs, so it's easy to judge how you should be driving. Frustratingly, the Fluence doesn't give a range in miles, which seems rather unhelpful.EVs fare better in slower stop-start driving than out on the motorway, in terms of range, regenerating their batteries under braking and deceleration. That's pretty much the opposite of how petrol and diesel cars do in those two environments, so it made the most sense to test the car in an urban environment.Whether EVs suffer from the perception that they will desert drivers in the middle of their commute is hard to gauge. That's certainly an issue in the minds of drivers, but it's unclear whether that's down to hyperbolic test drives and anti-EV propaganda. Whether people should be worried or not about the range of EVs is academic, as long as the perception remains.There are new skills to be learned when it comes to driving an EV. Buyers will have to adapt to driving in a style that benefits their car, rather than the other way round. Should I buy a Fluence ZE?In that sense the kind of people snapping up EVs will be largely self-selecting; people who understand that EVs will benefit from being driven conservatively to get the best out of them and will largely - perhaps even exclusively - use them for urban driving. On those grounds the Fluence ZE may make sense. But why build a four-door, five-seat saloon that's only used for commuting in the city? Perhaps business and fleet drivers will be drawn to a more spacious, traditional saloon rather than an electric hatch or city car but many of the advantages of small, manoeuvrable, nippy city cars are removed from the Fluence ZE.There are other troubling questions. Will EVs still make financial sense if electricity prices rise sharply or if battery lease costs have to be factored in? How does one sell a used Fluence ZE? Will a charging infrastructure keep pace with the development of electric vehicles? Will ultra-efficient petrol and diesel models - or other alternative fuels - render electric cars obsolete? All of these questions would make me think twice about buying a Renault Fluence ZE - and the Fluence has an advantage over the Nissan Leaf in terms of the battery lease proposition.What Renault has made is a car that feels as close to an everyday family car as it's possible for an electric car to be. And that makes sense in a market where buyers are bemused by electric cars - the loveably bonkers Renault Twizy will be along shortly to cater for those who want their EVs crazier.The Fluence ZE is a very impressive effort, but whether it sells seems to me to be down to half a dozen factors that Renault cannot control. On that basis it makes it a difficult sell - and I'd personally find it hard to recommend it to someone as a smart buy. That's a shame because there are lots of things to like about the Fluence ZE - and Renault's EV programme, which is probably the most forward-thinking of all manufacturers' EV plans.Electric-car pioneers will enjoy snapping up these new electric cars, which are fascinating machines in their own right, but for the time being the smart buyer will sit back and watch how these cars fare in their first three years on the market. Only then will it become clear if EVs really stack up as a clever purchase in the these rapidly-changing times. Renault Fluence ZE MILESTONESPrice: £22,850 (£17,850 with government grant) plus £75 per month for battery lease for 6,000 miles per annumOn sale: Q1 2012Powertrain: 48-module Lithium-ion battery and single-speed automatic gearbox; front wheel driveStandard charge time: 6-8 hours (fast charge to 80 per cent in 30 minutes)Range: 100-120 miles (quoted)Power: 95bhpTorque: 226NmTop speed: Limited to 84mphTheoretical CO2: 62g/km on averageDimensions: 4878mm long; estimated c 1,500kg weightFor: Everyday styling and general design; simple, smooth and responsive powertrain; promising running and buying costs; battery lease programmeAgainst: Too many unknowns; boot size compromised; real-world running costs may not match projections; unknown residual values; potential difficulties in recharging in EV infrastructure does not take off
