I would love my next car to be electric. My dream car is the Tesla. When I tell people that they often assume I am in the habit of cuddling forestry, but in fact while the environment is of course an important factor, I actually think they are just really cool.

Problem is, everyone I speak to seems to disagree with me. The inevitable reply is "Yeah, but ...". What is stopping the electric from becoming mainstream, when the technology has clearly been available for a while now?

I decided to do an informal poll of my email and Twitter friends to find out.

Here are the main objections I got back, see how many apply to you:

10 Reasons You Wouldn't Buy an Electric Car (Yet)

Economy - Some people expressed the worry that running, insuring and maintaining an electric would be pricey, because these things are so new, the infrastructure isn't there to support it, and repairs might be complicated. Basically, that you would be stung for being an early buyer like with so many other gadgets. The counter-argument is that electric cars have far fewer moving parts, or parts of any kind really, so there is less to go wrong and fewer bits and pieces that wear out. Would insurance be any different to petrol? Distance Per Charge - A lot of people said they worried about how far they could go before running out of juice, and the issue that you can hardly walk to the nearest gas station for a bucket of volts. Most of these cars though can do more than enough for most families daily mileage. The Tesla, they claim, can do between 200 and 244 miles per charge. Obviously this covers the majority of an average persons daily travel, but would leave some people stranded, which leads us to the next "point" ... Availability of Charging Points - Due to the fact almost nobody has an electric car there are no recharging points. Compare that to the number of gas stations and it looks like a problem. While you can use a standard power socket if you are in a fix, the next issue rears its ugly head ... Charging Time - Even the best of these systems takes hours, not minutes to top up. In fact Tesla advise you to think of it as being an overnight habit. Not exactly the kind of marketing that leads you to think you could recharge at the side of the road! Reliability - Watch Top Gears controversial review on YouTube and you would be forgiven for thinking that the Tesla is a super car, but an unreliable one. 20090303-d2tyerbwubtq9wc223qyn18psx.png It turns out that things might not have been presented entirely factually. That said, the impression persists that Electric would not be as reliable as a gas-guzzler, just because they are so new and all the kinks and bugs haven't been ironed out. Stigma - While I have been lusting after an electric car for a while, I know that many people look at these machines very differently. In fact, there are any number of stigma attached, from people who regard eco-fans as "hippies", to others who question the machismo of anyone who would be seen in such a wimpy, "feminine" auto. Perhaps the Tesla counters this somewhat, but the average driver is not going to have the funds to buy one, so the other brands need to work on their image! 20090303-p6261edwysg7wwmh9yue2g4r1n.png Design - Talking of image, the Tesla looks beautiful. 20090303-t213cjq6ga9ira96f9tbk2nba6.png Watch Robert LLewellyn drive and discuss the Tesla here. But it is hardly practical. You are not going to be able to go shopping because every available crevice is crammed with batteries, and any family are going to have to strap down to the roof. This is not going to be an easy sell to your spouse as a family runabout. Taking all the above into account probably means you are going to need a second car, wiping out any "carbon footprint" considerations you had in mind. Speed/Power - The Tesla (as shown above) produces up to 288 horses, but the really impressive statistic is the torque, which is where electric cars really outshine their oil burning cousins. The humbler, more realistic cars do not break any records for power, but nor would you expect them to. Due to better technology, the electric cars crawling at 5mph uphill are hopefully a thing of the past. Eco/Green Credentials - While you would expect eco-credentials to be a factor in favor of the electric, some people were at pains to point out stories they had heard about the batteries, and point out that electricity production was not 100% spotlessly clean. In answer I would say first that technology is improving all the time, both in battery manufacture and energy production. Secondly, I would rather concentrate the pollution in specific, solvable areas, rather than spread the pollution around as we do currently. Disagree? Price -Now the big one, and the reason I have no video to show you of me madly grinning behind the wheel of my own Tesla. The price is just too high for the average family to consider. Until the price comes down, everything else will be moot.

Taking all this into account, I think the big issues are Price, followed by Convenience. The price has to be realistic and you need to know that you are going to be able to get where you need to go and back without having to call roadside assistance. While it is often seen as a "green" issue I think far more important in many people's minds is economics.

What do you think? Have I got it wrong? Have you ever driven an electric car? What did you think? Would you like to try one?

Please share your thoughts in the comments ...