The Murray T27 is the more recently produced battery-electric version of the Murray T25 built in concert with electric hardware maker Zytek.
Like its fossil-fuel twin, the compact and lightweight T27 electric city vehicle is designed to demonstrate Murray’s ingenuity in packaging and to lead the way in a new and extremely efficient method of car manufacture, called iStream.
The T27 is even more simple still than the uncomplicated Murray T25; switch it on with the key, twist a round dashboard knob to get either forward or backward motion (with neutral in the middle) and release the parking brake with a ‘touch’ button on the dash.
Afterwards, simply press the accelerator, gingerly at first because initial acceleration is brisk. Eventually you’ll discover a detent roughly halfway through its travel to show when you’re being especially wasteful with battery energy.
The T27 is a shade faster off the mark than the petrol-powered T25 thanks to the ‘max torque from zero’ characteristic of its 34bhp electric motor, but top speed is governed at 65mph. Be sensible and its surprisingly compact lithium ion battery will take you 100 miles before it demands a four-hour ‘fill’ through a domestic power socket.
Like the T25, the Murray T27 seems ideal for low-speed city running. Despite its short wheelbase and narrow track, The T27 does not prove fallible in its ride and handling characteristics at higher speeds. Fact is, the T27 and Murray T25 simply feel ‘planted’ at all times, the T27 slightly more so because its centre of gravity is a little lower, courtesy of the low-mounted battery’s mass.