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Some drivers feel anxious about getting to their destination on time; some are nervous about the other drivers on the roads.

A new category for drivers is ‘range anxiety'.

It is what stops a lot of people from committing to an electric car says UWA's Thomas Braunl and his colleague, Dr Jonathan Whale at Murdoch University.

"Even if people are only driving short distances, say 10 or 20 kilometres to work and back, they tend to be anxious that they will run out of power a long way from a charging station," Professor Braunl said.

He and his cross-town colleagues have been road testing the newest - and the first luxury - Electric Vehicle (EV) on the Australian market, the $60,000 Holden Volt.

It is also the first long-range (and hybrid) EV in Australia as it includes a small petrol engine that will seamlessly kick in and take over from the electric motor if it runs out of power mid-journey.

"The Volt can go for 70 kilometres on a fully-charged battery, then the petrol engine can take it for another 400 km, which should ease the driver's anxiety," Professor Braunl said.

He hopes the results of the summer-long road test will help drivers to understand how to maximise their battery efficiency and get the best out of their EVs.

"We have been looking at the effects of road conditions, traffic congestion, driver behaviour, air conditioning, passenger numbers and anything else that might affect the energy consumption," he said.

"Efficiency is of fundamental concern as it directly influences the already limited driving range.  We hope to be able to extend that range with this research, as ‘range anxiety' is seen as a major problem in the widespread acceptance of EVs."

The loan of the luxury Volt by Shacks Holden Fremantle marked the start of the second phase of EV research by Professor Braunl and his team in the School of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering. This phase will concentrate on charging and energy management.

The first phase began in 2008 and staff and students in the Renewable Energy Vehicle (REV) project designed and built road-licensed EVs including an electric Hyundai Getz and an electric Lotus Elise, at a time when there were no commercially-built EVs on the Australian market.