GOOD news for those looking into the possibility of joining the range-extender club.

Vauxhall has dropped the price of its excellent Ampera by £3,500.

It now starts at £28,750 on the road, inclusive of the Government’s £5,000 grant.

That is a tantalising prospect, bringing it much more in line with traditionally-powered cars of similar size.

The base Ampera Positiv features on-board computer, electronic climate control and rear view camera.

The range-topping Electron model also sees a £3,500 reduction and is available from £30,495 on-the-road.

Specification above the Postiv includes Bose Energy Efficient Series sound system, hard drive with 30GB music file capacity and satellite navigation system.

Duncan Aldred, Vauxhall’s chairman and managing director, said: “Ampera’s new price position brings the cost of electric motoring much nearer to that of a conventional vehicle.”

Ampera works by always driving the wheels electrically, while the 1.4 litre petrol engine works as a generator to keep the batteries topped up – the result is 235mpg and just 27g/km of CO2.