Zoomi Life

Want a normal-looking car that’s all-electric and can actually do highway speeds and longer ranges? Maybe you also want it to cost less than $35,000 and seat five? All of this assumes you don’t work for the government (Condoleeza Rice) or have your own TV show (Jay Leno) so that you can afford a Tesla Roadster.

Come to think of it, I tell pretty good jokes and know some people in government…hmm…

Oh ya, the rest of you. OK, well, you can probably get your wishes thanks to Miles Electric Vehicles. Yep, move over Chevy Volt, meet the all-electric XS 500!

While not a lot of information is forthcoming on this one, it’s likely to hit the market sometime in late 2009 as federal highway approval and final battery testing, on the six prototypes built so far, are happening as I type.

The car’s projected price tag is in the $30,000-$35,000 range with an 80mph top speed and an average range-per-charge of 120 miles (at 60mph average speed). Full charge time takes about 6-7 hours on a normal 110v outlet.

The car has all the features you’d expect from a full-size automobile, including A/C and heating, power seats, power windows, a sunroof, and an AM/FM CS stereo system. As far as safety is concerned, the XS 500 will fully conform to or exceed U.S. NHTSA standards, and early tests indicate an above average overall N-CAP safety rating.

Excited yet? Me too. Now it’s just a question of when and where it’ll become available. At those numbers, I can actually afford one without selling out to the government or big media. I’ll, uhh, keep my integrity (this means “stay poor”) AND drive electric.

Check out the Miles Electric Vehicles website here.

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