Absolutely better than a cybertruck, but 17990 eur (19,500 usd) is still a pretty serious chunk of change. You could land a leaf or a prius with that. Does look fun though.
I was genuinely shocked to hear that they are not native to the USA, I've seen one snuffling in the garden (UK) and it's the cutest thing ever.. right up there with puppies and kittens.
"And in national news, there was a rather severe traffic jam on the E42 as a visiting American filmmaker mistakenly drove a Microlino onto the highway. No one was injured, though the driver was taken to get a brandy for his nerves after he successfully navigated the vehicle off the highway."
My first thought as a Swiss: Oh shit, he doesn't have a "Vignette", this will cost a lot of money now! Context: Swiss highways are all toll roads. The toll is payed by purchasing a "Vignette" (a sticker that you stick on your windshield) for a year for 40 CHF. But if you enter the highway and you don't have one, that's gonna be 200 CHF + the 40 CHF for a "Vignette".
@@Quintinohthree I assume you're talking kilometers per hour. How do your trucks get anywhere in a reasonable time if they can only go 80KPH? That's not just slow, it's dangerous because of the speed differential.
@@bwofficial1776 well for one, driving from one end of texas to the other, is the equivalent of driving through a DOZEN different countries in europe so is a non issue, and they have competent trains, so most truck shipping is just in city anyways, and again a non issue.
The rollercoaster I had when I heard the price. "it cost the owner 23,000" *eyes open in shock "swiss francs" *relief* "which is 25,000 dollars" *eyes open in shock*
It's made in Switzerland, what did you expect. I thought it'd be more in the 30~35k ballpark😐 I'd just buy a Citoen Ami (or even several) for that kind of price, especially the Lite version which does have the same speed limit.
Honestly that's very reasonable IMHO. Remember that's including sales tax as well. And a less specced one is noticeably cheaper. Edit: Also it seems to be 21 370 swiss francs now and not 23k.
@@catfish552 I wish we could have Europe's weird little cool economy cars with the USA's car modifications and gun culture. Wait... Two of those three things are just Switzerland. Shame they can't do a whole lot of car modification over there.
@@lsswappedcessna Swiss/European gun culture is different than american. We don't hold competitions at elections, shopping centres and schools. Only courtrooms and angry parents are accepted. Add.: /s
@lsswappedcessna I am pretty sure that you can do car modifications it might just be more expensive because you have to get safety reports for the modifications to be legal. That is how it Works in Germany and I am pretty sure a lot of other European countries as well. And the Swiss gun culture is not like the American gun culture at all.
@@astorjupit6932 Makes sense. Also yeah I know swiss gun culture is overall different but it is still interesting. Europe overall has some damned good marksmen.
Glad you like the Microlino, already shared the video with one of the two founders and got great feedback you might like as well: They are planing to launch it in the USA as well. 😇
Fingers crossed for Ontario too. We have a similar category to France though it's 40 km/h instead of 45 km/h (which is kind of awkward on 50 km/h roads)
I was assuming that it would have to meet the safety standards in the US... and I don't see how it would pass the crash tests. If it was classed as a motorcycle, then it wouldn't have to meet the standards, but I had the impression that a "motorcycle" couldn't have more than 3 wheels. OTOH, how did the Smart Car pass the tests? What's the secret to getting these tiny cars to be street legal in the US?
Good to hear it may be coming to the states. At an age where my clutch knee complains on chilly mornings, I’ve been idly looking at electric city cars, and this strikes me as the perfect vehicle to get me to doctor appointments with a smile but no fuss
I absolutely love this little thing. Imagine every family adopting one of these as their 2nd car for the city and work commutes. Most traffic consists of car with just one occupant anyway. Could double the amount of on street parking as well. I really want one.
A place like Switzerland it's perfect. Switzerland has an amazing train network (unlike some places in the world lol), so you only need something like this for short trips, and you have the train for everything else.
I saw one at a BMW dealership here in the US a few years ago. It was fully restored, all shined up and had a place of honor right in the middle of the showroom floor.
Reminds me of when I worked at a center for pre delivery inspections. We handled everything from cheap inline 3s to expensive v12 luxury cars, but then one of the employees show up in an old Audi 80 CC, which is as basic as you can get. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to take a look. No one looked at the RS6 standing right next to it.
It should qualify as an NEV (with speed limiting), so there shouldn't really be any restrictions about bringing it in to the US. NEVs were never a big seller, but gave us cars like the Wheego and Zenn and Twizy.
They also sell things like the Polaris Ranger in the US, but people keep importing kei trucks. Some people don't want to exposed to the elements, some people want better build quality, and in the case of the Microlino I really doubt there's much of an overlap between people that'd drive either it or the Slingshot. They're different beasts.
I live in a city the allows golf carts and all manner of other quirky vehicles on the road, so long as they go less than 35 mph. It's common in many cities. There's definitely a market for this type of car here.
That's like a pet that you can drive. Part of the family. I can imagine a tiny personalised dog bowl type thing in the garage where it parks with its name on it.
Watched this morning. 9hrs later on my way home I passed a pale green one! Sat on display looking for a new home :) Hopefully they will catch on. It would be great to se them buzzing around. (UK South of Manchester)
This thing gives you a vibe to hug it and take it with you before anyone else does... Maybe sleep with it at night having it making that beautiful motor noise and blinking its mirrors/lights.. Extremely cute! Cheers from Greece!
Hey! Welcome to Switzerland! I'm glad you like it here. I do own a Tazzari Zero, which from what I understand is was built by the same factory as the microlino, and I still can recognize several features they share albeit the Tazzari was built in 2009.
Pretty funny, I drove by a dealer (Ebert Weinheim, Germany) yesterday that had a whole bunch sitting in the lot. I immediately thought of sending you a mail to get hold of one and making a video about it. You beat me to it. According to their website the cost would be €17000
Great little thing! We have one as well! One thing that didn't get mentioned in the Video is the 12V battery. Apparently, you have to drive this car at least once every few weeks. We only drive ours occasionally and when I wanted to hop in the other day the 12V system was completely dead. You can charge the battery in the trunk of the car... which helpfully does not open without power. There is also a battery disconnect switch that Microlino recommends turning off when you don't use the vehicle for more than two weeks... that's also conveniently in the most hard to reach place behind the seat. Not to hate on the car. None of this is a dealbreaker, but questionable design decisions nonetheless 😅
James May had the same issue with his Tesla 3, after Covid lockdown ... despite i being plugged in the whole time ! The propulsion battery was full, so the charge stopped, but the 12v lead acid battery drained itself and was completely flat. And a nightmare to get access to. So even big manufacturers have the same questionnable design decisions (and the M3 is not even their first model, they had years to fix it).
Worth seeing if you can use a smart trickle charger with it. You can get adapters with a couple of ring-crimps that attach permanently to the battery terminals that lead to a little plug/socket that you position somewhere easy to access so that you can just plug the charger into it without opening the bonnet or boot. CTek seem to be the most well known manufacturer. I think James May has a video about installing the adaptors on his car collection. They're good for keeping batteries warm in the winter too.
That is the coolest little electric car I've ever seen I have two electric e-bikes that do 50 mph and have dual batteries and I can't tell you how much fun they actually are. That car looks like a ton of fun
When I saw the microlino I wanted you to review it but figured it would take years and a weird story to get one to you, so I’m so happy you got to drive it
I almost bought a fully restored Isetta once, that was for sale near me. I've regretted not buying it ever since, but now, I can sort of get my dream fulfilled. I think I might look into getting one of these. I have not seen these yet, but I live in Europe and expect to see many of them pretty soon XD
I still have DEEP pangs of regret about not buying a Honda 400 Four, that was for sale at a great price from a guy who lived in the same town as myself, it's one of those thoughts that haunts my shower times and when I lay in bed waiting for sleep to claim me.
If I keep seeing you in the comments sections of all my favorite RU-vid channels, I’ll be forced to call you a man of impeccable taste. Also, if you haven’t seen it, there’s a video that’s gained lots of traction from the IFJ (Institute for Justice). It’s drawing attention to a new “tactic” increasingly being used by the DEA. But get this. They’re going after ppl & searching their carry on bags after TSA has already cleared them. It involves luggage, cops, civil rights violations (but I repeat myself), and air travel: the literal intersection of DeviantOllam, DeviantOllam, & DeviantOllam! So, basically the DEA is now monitoring ticket purchases. If you buy a last minute ticket, & that ticket is inbound to any “high drug activity destination” read: any major city, odds are pretty good DEA is gonna be at your gate to meet you. To do what, you ask? Search your shit without probable cause, of course! And if you don’t consent to this flagrant violation of your 4th amendment rights? They’ll just steal your bag and tell you, you’re free to go. Don’t want to leave without your bag? Just let them search it! Otherwise, you’re going to miss your flight as you wait for them to apply for a warrant they definitely shouldn’t get, but ,depending on the judge’s politics, they definitely might get. Once that happens, anything valuable such as jewelry, cash, etc DEA finds in your carry-on is theirs now. Because, obviously your grandmother’s engagement ring is being used to facilitate trade of illegal drugs. If you weren’t a drug kingpin or at least working for one, why did you buy a last minute plane ticket? And it’s not like any serious criminal organization would’ve heard about this new tactic almost as soon as DEA began using it! Even if they had, what do you expect them to do? Just NOT buy tickets last minute? Preposterous! Criminals aren’t that organized! Criminals can’t be organized! Are you high on your own supply there, Scarface? Anyway, seemed like a topic right down your alley. Keep fighting the good fight.
wow i didn't expect you to basically hang around in my backyard but me seeing the microlinos in zurich made me think of your channel a lot! really nice that you did that :)
This is top quality production. Clear editing, perfect sound from host, ambient and background, non-intrusive. The script keeps the audience stimulated with info or entertaining bits. Camera work is clean, working like a proper take without any shacking or weird movements. The host shows his face enough for us to know him, but he puts the product under the spotlight, not him. And you watch seven hundred sixty nine seconds and you think it was way shorter than it was. Please never change, keep up the excellent work. Congratulations to your Aging Wheels team.
I saw one of these little fellas in town the other day and read a little bit about it. Delighted to hear it's good, and fun. And damn it, yes, I want one!
You get the Money back rather quickly. Not only because of Fuel Savings but its also classified as a "Motorcycle" here in Switzerland which means you can park it on Motorcycle Parking Spaces which are free.
I remember, when I was a kid, reading the specs on the Isetta in an old Motor's Manual. I was struck by the firing order of 1-1-1-1-1 and the bigger (?) version had a firing order of 1-2-1-2-1-2-
Robert, if you are still here in Switzerland: Come visit my place and review my Renault Twizy. Fun fact, Microlino made me buy the Twizy 3 years ago. I saw the Microlino 1.0 on display in a mall and immediately fell in love. Unfortunately soon after I learned about the manufacturer screwing the Microlino crew over, basically stealing the design and the lawsuit following. So the 1.0 never made it into production and the only viable alternative was a 10 year old Renault Twizy for me.
Oh I am so glad you got to video one of these - they caught my eye a while back, but living in the US as well, I wrote it off in my mind. Excited to live vicariously in this one!
If you want to hear loud contactors on a car that's actually available in the US, you should check out the 1st gen Fiat 500e. Its how I know when the car is actually turned on, because not only does the power-on chime not always play (more like never actually play) when you turn the key, but sometimes the car doesn't actually turn on entirely when you turn the key. Also, every 500e has the brake lights wired up backwards, so when it says the left brake lamp is out, it's actually the right one (and vice-versa)
Love driving my microcar (Renault Twizy EV) had it 11 years used to drive it on the highway every day it's fun, only problem on the twizy was no heating or vents fixed with a heated seat from a smart four two, it's the city driving and parking that makes microcars such a good idea
You had me laughing with your comments. Getting on the highway was hilarious. I've driven in Switzerland and, I kid you not, their OCD speed limits have stressed me out. You did well!
I love the afterburner cutting in for added power, wish that it was available in the USA. IN 1958 a junior high school teacher got a BMW Isetta , 4 of us kids lifted the car and put it in between two trees length wise. Good times! 😎
It has a top speed of 90 km/h which is just under 56 mph. It would work as a city/commuter car, but wouldn't want to see one on any 65 mph highway as that's too slow.
i literally have no interest in cars but i was drawn in by how cute this looks-- but what really sold me to watch to the end was your infectious joy. you really are such a sweetiepie and i cant wait to watch everything else you do ^^ instantly subbed i realise its dankpods who recommended this video; subbed to him, hes watched it, it ends up on my feed-- but you know who else reminds me of this content? technology connections. you and him share the same sort of childish glee when it comes to fun little things like this :))
I live about four kilometres from there! I had to check my photo of the Microlino down the road to make sure you weren't driving that one. And I did laugh when you accidentally got sucked into one of the many tunnels in the area. It happens a lot. Also, that's not a rocket ship on the Turbo button. It's a Bullet Bill.
I am very fond of this little car-like object. But I like oddballs. But: full disclosure: I did about 40 years in the car business, so, considering the truly whacky stuff we worked on....Peugeot, anyone? Citroen? Bricklin? Simca? 2 stroke Saabs? Renault? Been there, got the t shirts..... But this little sucker is really cool, in an astonishingly uncool fashion....