Test drive: Liberty Pure Electric E-Range

This luxury, zero-emission 4x4 looks the part and offers plenty of eco-bragging rights but there's little sparkle, writes Richard Cree

Cars are not prone to the same piracy problems as watches and handbags. So if something looks like a Range Rover, and it isn't a toy, it's fair to assume that it is a Range Rover.

The Liberty Pure Electric E-Range proves that assumption wrong. For while it may look like a Range Rover outside and inside, when you start the engine you instantly spot a difference. Instead of the reassuring growl of Range Rover's 4-litre V8, there's a whirr and a hum. The dashboard is also different. Instead of speedometer and rev counter, there's something called a range indicator.

But this isn't the product of some groovy alternative-energy skunkworks for Land Rover. Liberty is instead a small, cleantech, re-engineering firm that wants to produce serious zero-emission cars. Customers order a Range Rover in the normal way and arrange delivery to Liberty, where it is transformed. Having removed the entire drivetrain (engine, transmission and all) from the new Range Rover, four ultra-high energy density motors are fitted-one to each wheel-along with a 75kw battery pack that carries enough charge to take the vehicle about 200 miles. Photovoltaic cells can also provide a trickle charge to run things such as the air conditioning.

The car can be charged via a standard domestic wall socket, which takes about eight hours. But for those with more powerful sockets, it is feasible to fill the battery in as little as 90 minutes. Best of all is the option of wireless charging, where the car is parked over an induction plate in the drive and charged automatically.

This being electric all the power is available from the moment you put your foot down. A quick double tip of the gear stick puts it in drive. Then it's a case of enjoying all that force. Everything worked efficiently enough when I drove the car, but there was something missing. Whirr and hum just can't replace rumble and roar. In the same way that veggie burgers or decaffeinated coffee are worthy, joyless substitutes, the Range Rover's meat and caffeine have been removed and its fun has gone.

The model I drove also had the stiffest steering of anything I've tried in a decade, although this can be easily adjusted. With four independent motors controlled by computer, the car offers immaculate off-road performance. But at twice the price of a standard Range Rover, the E-Range is expensive to throw across fields for fun.

There's no doubting the logic of electric cars and this one offers plenty of eco-bragging rights. While range and charge time are important, the biggest drawback for many electric cars is that they look too worthy. Liberty deserves some praise for creating a zero-emission vehicle with looks to match. Whether your bank manager agrees is another matter.