Range anxiety

Short trip today, to Croydon and back for a magazine feature, total 50 miles. I have an electric car on test, with a a fully charged battery and a supposed 100 miles range. What can possibly go wrong?

Cold weather is the enemy of electric vehicles. Get in, switch on, and the display panel tells me I can do 60 miles. So I drive employing all my best eco techniques, and snatch 20 minutes of plug-in time at the destination. Arrive back home fretting over a shrinking range, with just nine miles to spare. The Nissan Leaf is in many ways an excellent vehicle, but battery technology needs to catch up with the pace of modern life.

Yesterday's' alien perplexed everyone who tried to identify it on here, Facebook and Twitter. This sheds light in what it is.