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Th!nk City

If you commute into work every day, you don't need us to tell you how expensive it's becoming. Parking spaces in cities now earn more per hour than staff in fast food restaurants, fuel economy goes out the window when you are in a jam, while all that clutch pumping takes its toll on the car itself. And that's before you count the cost of all those inevitable parking dings and scratches.

March 2002

If you commute into work every day, you don't need us to tell you how expensive it's becoming. Parking spaces in cities now earn more per hour than staff in fast food restaurants, fuel economy goes out the window when you are in a jam, while all that clutch pumping takes its toll on the car itself. And that's before you count the cost of all those inevitable parking dings and scratches.

But there is a way to get free fuel, park for nothing and be guaranteed protection against attack from careless drivers: you can become a cabinet minister. If you don't fancy that, there will soon be another alternative - the TH!NK City. Looking like a cross between a church-hall plastic chair and an early Smart prototype, the tiny two-seater is powered solely by electricity. Before you start to recall the notorious Sinclair C5, though, it's worth bearing in mind that TH!NK is owned by Ford, and technology has progressed far since the days of Sir Clive's trike.

These days electric power has enough pace to keep up with any traffic within the city limits. Off the mark it's quick enough to worry a motorbike, and it will then hum almost silently up to dual carriageway speeds with no problem. The real joy is parking, though. At 2,990mm long, the TH!NK squeezes into spaces easily, helped by the huge rear window, which allows you to park right up against obstacles. Even if you get it wrong, the fully recyclable body panels shrug off scrapes and bangs. Then, when you get home, just plug the TH!NK into any household domestic socket, and after an overnight charge costing a maximum of 38p, the car will take you an average of 60 miles, at speeds up to 56mph. That's not as far or fast as a petrol supermini, but more than enough for urban commuting or popping down to the shops.

But the real attraction of the TH!NK is the series of concessions designed to encourage usage in town. Ford is constantly pushing local authorities and companies to offer incentives, and for London commuters at least, it's now possible to run the TH!NK for nothing.

The Government has already dropped the road fund licence charge for electric cars, and gives a rebate on every one sold. Certain councils across the country now have - or are planning - free city centre parking spots, including recharging points. We left our test car in a Westminster Council-run car park and topped up the batteries for nothing, while conventional cars had to pay

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