Test Drive: The All-Electric Whip From Wheego

In our quest to drive every plug-in car we can get our hands on, here's a video of our drive with the Whip, the all-electric town car coming from Atlanta area Wheego. 

The two-seater, which resembles a Smart Car, kept up with the flow of traffic along the pancake-flat Embarcadero. When I needed to change lanes, it let me accelerate ahead of other cars. Going up Nob Hill, I managed to accelerate from a standing stop to between 20 to 25 miles an hour on some of the steepest sections and maintain speed. The car I drove is actually the low-speed version (price: around $19,000) that tops out at 25 anyway. The version with lithium-ion batteries comes later.

"Steve McQueen is probably rolling in his grave somewhere," joked CEO Mike McQuary, a former internet exec, after we realized we were driving on some of the same blocks where Bullitt was filmed.

Although those aren't Porsche speeds, I was able to keep an even gap with an Econoline van behind me on one block and catch up to an empty Toyota pickup on another one. I purposely hit a few potholes and only felt a moderate lurch.

Wheego is trying to fit into the budget end of the market, somewhat like Coda Automotive. It won't be easy. Nissan is going after the same market with the Leaf, which comes out next year. Ford also plans to launch an all-electric Focus in 2011. Who will the average consumer turn to: an established car company or one that just started a few years ago. Still, electrics are catching the imagination from consumers so there should be room for some startups.