Top Gear Goes Green

The petrol heads at Top Gear are finally taking green cars seriously. James May positively drooled over the striking goods looks of the Tesla, the first electric car that looks properly desirable, even though it proved less than reliable on the track. It left the Elise for dead in a drag race and delivered a creditable lap time with the Stig, but broke down twice. And the 16 hour charging time is bound to be an inconvenience on a long journey.

The Honda Clarity, on the other hand, is a genuine breakthrough in automotive engineering. Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell it is effectively its own generator, and takes no longer to refuel - with compressed hydrogen - than a regular petrol car. And it looks - well, just like a normal saloon car, really. It may not be as fast or as sexy as the Tesla, but that's not the point. It actually looks like Honda might just have designed a regular car neither kills the planet nor requires us to make compromises.