A London council is introducing electric buggies to cut emissions on its roads, but are they a practical solution?

“Is that thing road legal?” scoffs the driver of a white van as I complete a careful loop of Hammersmith roundabout, to the sound of loud guffaws from his front-seat passenger.

I assure him it is, though honestly, you can see his point. The Yo-Go – a bright yellow electric buggy with two seats, one gear and no side panels – does not look entirely at home on one of the capital’s most notoriously congested junctions, squeezed between buses, delivery vans and construction lorries many times its size.