As the second decade of the 21st century dawned, we all thought we understood hybrid power, Prius people’s idea of a combustion engine occasionally backed up by electrical assistance.

General Motors though, saw the concept rather differently.

Shouldn’t the battery be the main power source, with an engine there only to recharge it and extend the range when necessary? 

That’d create an all-electric car you wouldn’t have to keep re-charging, an all-electric car almost anyone could consider owning.

It’d be a game-changer.

The Vauxhall Ampera, like its rarer cousin the Chevrolet Volt, represented that vision made in metal, but its spell on the market between 2012 and 2015 was relatively brief.

Does it make a good used buy? 

The Ampera is a strikingly modern looking thing, with a front end that’s a good deal more assertive than that of its sister car, the Chevrolet Volt.

Although this is a fairly big car - at 4.5-metres from stem to stern, some 140mm longer than a Ford Focus - one major disappointment for family folk was that it’s a strict four-seater, with a high divider between both the rear berths that incorporates a couple of cupholders but is really there to house that bulky 198kg battery pack.

Still, the seats you do get - supportive bucket affairs - are comfortable enough in a cabin marginally more spacious than you’d get in a compact executive saloon like a BMW 3 Series or an Audi A4.

The accepted wisdom with Amperas is to buy as late a car as you can.

The running gear is actually extremely reliable, but there were a few niggling issues early in the build run with transmission solenoids, and there have also been reports of the central screen failing and rear shocks that suffer prematurely wear.

Other than that, this Vauxhall fares very well and boasts the highest customer satisfaction score of any car according to some surveys.

This may not be hybrid technology as we know it, but it’s certainly hybrid technology in a more sensible form.

And for families, this was arguably the first electric car that didn’t have to be a second car.

True, it could be more involving to drive.

But ultimately, this car was a benchmark, a signpost to the future of environmentally friendly motoring.

It’s worth checking out.