With electric motors front and back the Budd-e is effectively a four-wheel drive and so pretty nippy; 0-60 in just under seven seconds and 112mph top speed is more than fast enough for any hippy-in-a-hurry.

It’s the Budd-e’s looks that will win it most friends however. It’s not quite retro - maybe a little retro-futuristic perhaps - and has only the smallest squeak of Microbus to it (not that you would mistake that V-neck graphic for anything else). It’s also nothing like as big, at 4.6-metres long it’s a good deal shorter than the VW minivan that takes you to the airport, albeit a lot taller. So although you will be able to get a decent sized surfboard on the roof, you are not going to be doing a lot of living inside, unless VW decides to do a longer-wheelbase version which, by the way, is easier to do with this kind of architecture than it is with a conventional petrol or (whisper it) diesel architecture.

Inside, accessed via a sliding door that opens via gesture-command, there’s a lounge feel to the interior with swivelling chairs in the front and a rear seat that can be similarly manipulated to form a bench-with-a-view. The floor is recycled wood, by the way. All the usual controls and such are incorporated into the large panel in front of the driver and authentically body-coloured “smart” steering wheel. There are some fun ideas there, like the car’s ability to play pre-selected tunes when you hit a certain spot on your route.