Some families in Victoria may soon have the chance to test electric vehicles in their daily lives.

Motoring organization RACV will soon make applications via ballot system available for 180 households to secure a place on what they term the biggest real-world test of the cars., that will be funded by the state and take place over five years. The project will cost $5 million.

The trial will involve Mitsubishi i-MiEV battery-powered cars, which are just arriving in Australia. Mitsubishi Australia plans for 110 of the cars to be in use in Australia by the end of 2010. The cars can recharge at a home and provide 120 kilometers of drive time before the need for a recharge.

Each family in the trial will have access to one of the vehicles for three months and will be tasked to provide feedback about their daily usage. Victoria will soon install 180 charge points for trial vehicles.

John Brumby, Victorian Premier, said that "This will be a big step forward for our state...This trial will expand as we move through the year and it will be, in many ways, the most comprehensive trial of electric vehicles in any city, anywhere in the world."