Jeremy I’m not sure what all the buttons do yet but I’ve had a bonding moment with the RXH today. It wasn’t the lion’s claw daytime running lights that sex up the front end, nor the massaging driver’s seat, or even the bling chrome rear scuff plate. No, it was the fact I could drive home from Waitrose without using a sip of diesel.

Among the myriad of buttons and dials splashed around the cockpit is one that allows you to switch to battery power only – which means I drove the four-mile trip using only the 37bhp electric motor that powers the back wheels. How good did that feel!

Now I first drove a pure electric car back in 2006. It was a hellish trip across London with a grumpy motoring editor from the Sunday Times. The sweltering heat of the day and lack of power and air con didn’t do much to improve his temper, or his bouffant hair style.

So what is remarkable about the latest hybrid technology is just how far we have come in seven years. It’s just very frustrating that we have to pay a premium for it, even now. The RXH is almost double the price of a standard 508 SW estate.

Of course, it will save company car drivers thousands of pounds every year in company car tax compared to other 4×4 estates but realistically, the RXH will be priced out of the market for many people…