Kudos to Fully Charged Show for reviewing small EVs like this. Most EV news outlets report on the luxury/performance class that only affluent buyers can afford. But EVs are going mainstream now and the pent-up demand for affordable EVs is growing rapidly.
Nice vehicle. There should be all kinds of options in the ev world. There was a ev version of the Chevrolet Spark. Why didn't Chevrolet keep that version as a lower end version of the Chevy Bolt? So it might have gotten 80 miles range on a single charge, I would take that if I am just commuting to work.
@@Jonathon1Syes, but I doubt there are many people that use a car just for commuting to work. I think that this is only practical to be a second vehicle, for one person, or a third car for a couple.
I believe they have 2 doors to get out from either side just like a motorcycle. Imagine parking on a side of a wall or some obstacle and couldn't get out with only 1 door.
I drove one, it has a cockpit feel, and the door on each side seems to matter (I really liked having the option). The test trip was nice, puts a whole new spin on personal time. Whe I goosed the accelerator the back end does a satisfying dip in the rear. This car felt like the answer for the "would be" motorcycle rider who never got the chance or the x-rider that can't ride anymore. I would pick this over modern silverwing type or scooter. In phx, the AC worked well with no noticeable draw to the cars function. I liked it.
Slight correction - the Aptera is required to have a single headlight, as well. It has to be 18" wide *or less*. The marker lights go across the width of the nose,
The beauty of the 1 seat driver is that it is equally left and right-hand drive. It is a totally global car. That's also why they probably went for the two doors. No reason at all for not exporting it everywhere. I'm half thinking of asking if they want to open a dealership in the UK .....🤔
Well past time someone gave it a go making single seat commuting cars. Make it a tad sportier and they’d sell like hotcakes. Sad thing as usual is it’ll probably cost double by the time it arrives here, kill it before it gets off the ground.
Single seat is a deal breaker for me. Even Arcimoto with smaller 3-wheel form-factor as 2 adult seats. A solo commute car is nice, but I will often need to use it for school pick-up and drop offs. Anything less than 2 seats is not practical.
Given it's already not getting through anything narrower than the front, it looks like it could be a two seater with the slightly offset seats like a Smart. More room for batteries and cargo. It would cost more and be a little less efficient but far more practical.
You can get a fairly big ebike with shocks and enough room to attach a leather seat behind you (and even tow a kiddy trailer if you have little ones), 100+km range for around 2k at Costco and have good return policy. Best part, no insurance and registration.
This is EV is designed for the guy who already commutes to work on a motorcycle and would like to upgrade to something more safe and comfortable. I fit that profile and would love one of these. But since I have an Aptera pre-ordered, I will have to pass on this one.
It would be the perfect excuse for when the girlfriend is pushing you to get married and start a family. "You know, I'd love to dear... but the car, you know, has only one seat." 😅🤣😂
I replaced my 2004 Mustang with a red Solo in October, just hit 1700 miles coming home today. It's my daily driver, commuting about 21 miles/day and also going shopping and to restaurants around town. It is a blast to drive, and I get thumbs up, photos and videos everywhere, folks always saying they like it. The styling is very eye-catching. My biggest complaint is also the loud and enthusiastic fan. The first increment should be half or a third what it is. As to the range, I get somewhere near 1 mile/% commuting by keeping my maximum speed down to 45-50 for about half my route where I could go faster. I'm not in a big hurry, just going to work! Keep in mind that aerodynamic drag goes by the square of the speed; 60 mph has nearly twice the drag as 45. You spend any time at 80 and the range will go down significantly. This car is intended as a city commuter and not optimized for a lot of high speed travel. Of course, if you charge it every night back up to nearly full it won't matter that much anyhow. As a single person, this is ideal for me. Plenty of room for me and my groceries (if you need more space, you have a family and another larger vehicle anyway). Plenty of performance to get the job done. Inexpensive to charge. Appealing and easy to live with.
It's so utterly useless how expensive these are. For that amount of money you can buy an actual car... There really is no reason for these to exist if they're not gonna be cheap.
it not for long distance travel it is for local city use not everybody drives out of town everyday or once a week I have not been out of my small city in three years
I'm generally one who considers it silly for every family to have 2-3 cars. But this one might be the exception. It is laser-focused on a use case where traditional cars are at their most wasteful. With this, the breadwinner can commute solo, and the family's "real car" can be used for tasks that actually make use of multiple seats and large trunks, such as taking the kids places and going shopping. All the while being significantly cheaper than purchasing and maintaining two full-size cars. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this vehicle sees the success it deserves, even if we can't get it here in Europe.
It's good to have a spare anyhow, even as a single, and 2 adults often need independent transportation. I have an old Lincoln for longer trips out of town that I intend to keep.
So a 2+ person is home. Each person gets one of these. Then they decide to go out to an event/dinner together. That’s 2+ vehicles that need parking instead of one. How is this logical?
@@khurtwilliams I think they mean you'd have one normal 4+ passenger vehicle and then instead of having a second 4 passenger that almost exclusively carries 1 person to work... Something like this would be fine for the second vehicle.
Aptera does have it. (Center light) It’s directly in the front center. Chris Antony said they had to put it there because of its classification as a motorcycle/auto cycle
They change their mind all the time. And when gas is the price it is in Europe, they'll catch up. Unless corruption gets them first. SUVs and trucks just aren't necessary for anyone, just a marketing scheme.
Yeah In America, most of our states are bigger than most countries around Europe and such. It is easy to live a life style in this country that requires bigger forms of transportation than little mini Coopers and cars alike.
There is a market for this. Especially in New York where at the streets or crowded and no parking site If I still remember people still buying the bmw for your slingshot
Ebike is a 1/10th the price, can be parked anywhere and brought inside, can put it on the front of busses or bring into trains, and doesn't require licence, registration, insurance, making the total cost even cheaper than 1/10th the price. There are lots of options to add a second passenger on an ebike or cargo holding containers. There are even ways to stay dry and warm. Plus you'd have the option of taking trails to work that cars don't fit on.
I would like to see it when there has been a snowfall and you're trying to stay in the tracks of a four wheeled car. I used to have a three wheeler back in the day and it was no joke.
Actually the Aptera is required by law to have the center headlight. It doesn't matter how wide it is, all motorcycles and autocycles require a center headlight. That's why the Aptera has one. It was pretty obvious in the image you showed.
They were right in foregoing the DC Fast charge port to keep costs down, but the level-2 charger is capped at about 1/3 of the typical level-2 charge rate of 6.7kw. No doubt this is to protect the battery (which is liquid cooled, by the way). Otherwise it may have been able to charge to full in an hour or so. The original base price was just over $18,000 but it had an 82hp motor. I guess they went with a slightly weaker motor to cut costs even more. If I were single I would consider this car, though the base Aptera is not _that_ much more expensive and offers a lot more room, power, range and storage space (and DC Fast charging!)
I get initial charge at around 6 kW, then it drops just below 4 at about 75%, then steps down to about half a kW at 85%. The apps estimate a Solo will charge typically at 34 miles per hour, although I usually get more like 30. Still plenty for a reasonable charge at work a couple times a week, keeps me going.
@@mikejankowski6321 That's interesting about the charge rate because the specs say that the A/C charge rate on level-2 is 1.44 kW, which is pretty low. But I imagine that they're going out of their way to protect the battery since the smaller the initial capacity, the faster it will lose capacity generally speaking. Maybe they've done a firmware update to allow 4-6kw for a short time?
@@mikejankowski6321 It's all good though, because the people who buy this car are not really interested in going on long trips I would imagine, so charging at home or occasionally topping up at the shopping center for an hour or so is perfectly fine. For going back and forth to work this is perfect, even with lower charging rate: charge at home when you're home; charge at work/store/et when you're there.
I test drove this in LA last year. It was a fun ride! Got a lot of looks and people recording on their phones. At the time the price was 19,000. I’m glad they lowered it, $15,000 seems much more appropriate.
I bought mine last year for 18,500, plus all the rest of the purchase expenses. No regrets, I got a new "car" that is ideally suited to the majority of my driving. Everybody is going to have a different balancing point for value.
Regen goes through the rear wheel as well. So that’s why it’s set pretty mild. FWIW I made something like this with belt drive rear wheel nearly 20 years ago! There’s a ancient video on my page..
My next door neighbor had one. Had, because he was hit by another car on the freeway while going 65+ mph. His Solo flipped over on to the roof then eventually came to a stop on it's side. The car was totaled but the neighbor was uninjured. Passenger compartment was intact. Looks like Electra-mechanica did their due diligence on the safety engineering.
I used to commute to work in small low Fiero. You have to be careful driving next to other cars because you might not be seen. If you are next to their rear wheel you are in their blind spot. Some people don't use the mirrors anyway. You have to be ready to get on your horn or your brakes. This is for any car but worse if you are smaller and low.
After seeing that, I want to know two things: 1. How does it feel getting passed by a semi or other big air movers when going at speed on the highway? (Does it shimmy, pop up off the road, etc.) And 2. I think I saw a rearview camera on the back. Does it have a backup cam? I see no rearview mirror. Do the big wing mirrors completely replace that, or would this benefit from an always-on rearview video? I second a comment I saw below that a 2nd seat is really needed. Sometimes you really need to take someone somewhere -- if they don't have some 2nd seat method, people will sit on top. (Think Grandma in Beverley Hillbillies pilot/credits)
I have been passed by large/fast traffic and it is not pushed around inordinately. It has.a backup camera that is only on in reverse. The mirrors do just fine, I can see traffic right behind me. Granny's rocker would be too big for the roof, but I like your thinking!
If they ever get around to releasing it in the UK I’ll get one for commuting in London for certain, as long as I can get my camping kit in the boot for the weekends. Electric motorbikes are non existent for a decent price with decent mileage and after 7 years I’m done with the winter commute.
There are no decent ebikes in the UK for cheaper than this 15k vehicle + insurance + registration? I find that hard to believe because the ebike market in Canada is totally different. If you want something this big you can get a cargo trike with 100+km range from Costco for $3k and have the ability to return it for a year.
Sad news. The "SOLO" is being subjected to a 'buy-back' recall. Check their web site for the specifics but the release suggests the vehicle is subject to random instances where it looses all motive power and essentially slows to stop as if you removed your foot from the accelerator. They were not able to determine the exact cause of the fault and have chosen to re-purchase the vehicles under provisions to allow them to duck the liability if users continue to use the vehicles. The company did say that other essential safety systems - lights, steering, brakes - would continue to operate normally during the random failures of motive power.
Interesting novelty vehicle that also has a practical application as a commuter vehicle. Maybe the 2.0 edition will have a larger battery and better regs for improved range and faster charging, but as a low price initial offering it could gain traction with the relevant market. Most other small EVs, such as the Smart EQ 4 or Renault Twizzy are way too expensive to be viable.
Ricky... you didn't tell us much about "the elephant in the room"... the handling! Not that I think it would be too bad, just different. For my pennys worth, stretching it enough to fit a second person in tandem would increase the usefulness without altering its character. It is always going to be a second vehicle, but I think there is a place for it. Good fun!
This would be a really great 2nd car for someone who wants to have an inefficient "Fun" car/truck for the weekends but needs something economical to get to and from work on the daily, OR for working couples' to be able to have independent transportation for the cost of a single crossover/suv.
@@SELongB indeed! I was also thinking of those high-end RV's with motorcycle "garages" (compartments) or even subcompact super-cars in them. An intrepid designer could work 1 or 2 of these into a compartment at the rear of an RV to save aerodynamics and security!
I live in Portland, Oregon and am an apartment dweller. This is almost perfect if I had some sort of access to level 2 charging in my neighborhood. It's enough range to get me around town and even out to the forest or the coast I'd definitely consider it for sure. I had a smart car for awhile and I didn't ever feel unsafe in it despite the monstrous size of most cars on the roads here but that also went through a bunch of crash testing and normal safety standards. I'm a bit concerned about safety with this but it seems good for it's main purpose which is commuting and getting around town. Cool to see cheaper cars like this coming around now.
A quick check of Google Maps shows the Level 2's running mostly west from the center of town, and spread a little north of that line. You can ask your employer or apartment complex to put in a charger and hope for the best.
I like it. My 40 mile round trip commute carrying just me and my lunchbag would be a breeze for me. And mainly 40mph limit roads so it wouldn't struggle. The tiny problem. I live a few thousand miles away from America. Maybe it'll come to the UK.
Years ago I was interested in importing a VW Polo into Canada but before you can bring in a car that is not on the market all ready there has to be certain safety standards and crash test performed before it is allowed to import. Do your do diligence before going that way.
@@neilwelch7273 How long is a piece of string? A lot depends on where you are importing from. The last car I personally imported was a classic K20 pick up truck. It ws purchased from a private seller in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I used a specialist import company to arrange a driver to drive it from there to Baltimore and subsequently drive it onto the ship and off at this end in Southampton. I collected it from there and drove it on red plates to my local garage where conversion work was undertaken to make it pass UK MoT. After that I filled in the DVLA forms and after a couple of trials and errors a V5 was issued. This was a combination of doing it myself and using third parties to ease the way. Of course you can also go to either extreme - sort out everything yourself from beginning to end or get a third party to do everything for you and even deliver the car to your doorstep. Up to you. Modern cars have different paperwork but it is not impossible. How much? I’d guess, depending on all the above, that you’re looking at something over £2k at one end and maybe £8k at the other end . But as I said there are one heck of a lot of variables. Do some homework and see what comes out. Of course there are also some UK car dealers who specialise in imports and take all the hassle out of the equation. For example Greystoke, David Boatwright and Luna Customs have some interesting cars and you can talk to them about sourcing specific models in the US. You may wish to steer clear of others such as Clive Sutton who charge silly amounts for the cars they import. Hope that all helps.
The Razer managed two seats in that space and it’s more fun. I love the speed it can do but no second seat is a deal breaker for me. Great first outing though.
Reminds me a lot of the failed Elio Motors three wheeler. I remember being really excited about that car, but wishing it was electric. Apparently the ElectraMeccanica folks had the same idea.
I love these little one and two seat electric cars/motorcycles and have been watching Aptera and Sondors development for years hoping they both finally get vehicles to market one day..
Looks fun, I would choose a high visibility color, at least white! Most in US are insecure about vehicles, they usually want something boring and would be embarrassed by a car that doesn't fit their image.
As someone who is not shy about driving a car whose primary colors are Rust and Bond-o, image is a bit less of a concern. (Been there, had one, had people honk at me when parts fell off! 🤣)
Enclosed microvehicle, international friendly design with the two doors, safety and most importantly grocery shopping space. Lots of big ticks there so looking good! I’m thinking the fans might sound louder because of the small space perhaps? Maybe some future fan designs will be more enclosed micro vehicle friendly, especially if things go mainstream. As for cup holders being ‘essential’ hopefully they remembered to include plug in ports as well. XD
I loved all my Robins, set up 'just right' (slickish rears), far more fun than folk assume, if you *never* waver, but zero crash protection, from one experience being t-boned by a big old Nissan saloon.
@@JanDeeKat He did if you read his article. He had a Robin mk1 as a company vehicle. I'm pretty sure the episode was made to make people scared to buy 3 wheelers.
not quick but id be supirsed if it wasnt hydrallic or manual steering , maybe wont feel as gooda as a lotus elise or emira final edition but lost closer than even a porsche for everyday normal peope driving
It feels plenty quick (more so than it actually is but then I like to drive sedately anyhow) and is fun to drive. It does have regen, just not a whole lot. Awwki went on a 300 mile road trip in his and got 9% from a long downhill run in AZ, video on YT. It has A/C and heat and a bluetooth radio as well as the heated seat he mentioned.
Thanks Rikki, I think this is a brilliant effort to give many of the advantages of driving a motorbike without having to be exposed to the weather or the risk of careless/dangerous drivers. Let's see how it is received, Eamon
Not, It having three wheels and one drive wheel means you are asking for an accident in the winter, I have a lot of winter driving experience. Its a 3 season vehicle, like your motorcylce or boat, Thats good enough.
Lovely car !! I would buy one if I didn’t had to take my kid to school and of course if it came to your neighbors on the other side of the ocean in Europe. It’s a great idea, it’s what we need for simple mobility and maybe only maybe if they could fit two people on that, it would have a much higher rate of desirability. Again: love the concept, the price and the vision of making a cheap EV because I’m (and many people are) getting fed up about those huge expensive and luxury electric SUVs and high performance vehicles : that is NOT what the world needs to reduce emissions!!
I have to say I really do love the charging on 110. I currently do that with my older 2017 Kia Soul EV. We had a garage built.. nothing fancy... save for a prep pipe for eventually more power out there when my wife gets an ev... but I've been driving it for about two years now and charging in the garage on a regular plug, its really perfect. Maybe one of the best things about having the EV is not having to go to a station to fill up.. though I don't buy lottery tickets anymore.. hmm need to figure that out still.
@@chrispekel5709 If you ever have the opportunity to never have to go to a gas station ever again.. you might just appreciate that. But maybe some people like that.. to each their own I suppose.
I don’t think you want to go more than 10-15 miles one way on something like that. I commute on American highways in the San Francisco Bay Area, about 12 miles, and I don’t quite feel safe in Honda Covic…
@@pascalbruyere7108 I drive a 2008 Honda civic hybrid and know what you mean, it's like the pick ups and SUV s can't get around you and show their frustration by zooming back over in front of you fast enough🤣
Nice review! For me it's a shame it's not more efficient - a 5-seater with 300 miles of range is 2/3 as efficient. If it had 150 miles of range it could be a good option for multi-car families. I hope they sell well and that there is a V2
Well maybe not running it at max speed (80 mph) will make it more efficient. Most car reviewers sucks at doing efficiency test. They all have lead foot and for them, 0-60 miles is more important than mpg.
@@jamesengland7461 closer to 1/2 the price with more affordable evs such as the Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV and the Nissan Leaf, also the face you can get a used Model 3 for around the price of the Leaf and Bolt as well
I preordered one years ago, I’m in Canada. Sadly they had to refund my deposit because they can’t sell it in Canada due to no air bags. I really hope their next model has air bags. If I get another wish, I would gladly pay extra for a all wheel drive option.
@@Hundseier Nice looking, 160 mile range and two seater… but $40 grand, no thank you. I actually have a 600 mile range Aptera on order for less then this car. Also, they are not selling it in Canada. The website did not say anything about having air bags, so they probably can’t sell it here.
Yeah the $40k is steep, but otherwise... BTW I too have an Aptera on order but they are not for everyone (no car is) and the Nobe will have its appeal too - the retro styling, high quality interior and all wheel drive will win hearts and like the Aptera, they don’t need to sell millions to turn a profit. I had a chance to talk to the designer and inspect a Nobe up close. There is a lot to recommend it ad mostly the silly price tag to recommend against.
1:45 Aptera is required to have a center light. They previously planned on having 2 lights, as one can see with some of the prototypes but the production version will have 1.
Good video. I like it and it looks good but it should have solar in the roof, especially if they are going to make it in Arizona. I absolutely would want it to be a two seater!
@@MrAdopado The base model Aptera is advertised at $25,900. Acceleration is 0-60 mph in 6 seconds and 16 miles of daily solar charging. 250 miles of battery range. It's also a 2 seater with 32.5 cubic feet rear cargo space.
@@davisbradford7438 Website says $33,200 for launch edition ... with "price subject to change" ... for a 2 seat car ... and they're not even being delivered yet ... rather you than me!
A senior that is divorced or widowed on a fixed income would find this to be the perfect vehicle for groceries, doctors visits and going to library or other basic commuting. Perfect for the price and utilitarian purpose it seems built for. Older people generally don't want bugs in their face or being hit by rocks and debris like can be experienced on a motorcycle or trike. Luv it!
No neural link implant is a deal breaker for me :) Great concept if the $15K price is true. I agree with other reviewers that an optional second seat would be sweet.
@john smith too expensive compared to what? You can't even buy a proper new bike for this much. And it will be even cheaper once it's on the second hand market.
@@weird-guy that's absolutely true. And it's true for any new motor vehicles. You can't really buy anything new for that much. Edited: so well I mentioned the second-hand market to john, nothing will get used to being sold new first. And hundreds of thousands of people can afford well-overpriced SUVs and trucks every year, sorry for all with less $1000 in savings.
There's your commuter vehicle. Keep a second vehicle like a truck, SUV or crossover for occasionally towing, hauling, or longer trips if you want to. I hope there will be tax credits and other incentives for vehicles like these.
Also you can get out either side, depending on which direction you were facing when you parked on a street. Or what's parked either side of you in a car park.
@@davidlazarus67 also a good one. The Renault Twizy suffered a bit because it didn't have proper doors at all. Great for the south of France, less good for the north of France or the UK. To me, this is a step up from that. Assuming you can ever buy them of course.
@@davidlazarus67 me too - more likely to come to the UK as well I imagine. Of course, I won't believe any of these cars are really available until they're actually in stock and available to buy. Worth knowing about though, so you know what your options might be in the future.
For the price, i think i would go with a microlino. This reminds be of the Sondors Car, that was proposed at 10000 USD, sadly it has not come. It was a two or 3 seater. I think this is too wide for a single seated car, but good to have options in this space. 🙂 Nice review 👍
Awesome! Thanks for the review. Are they available immediately? Or wait list? I'd also like to know if you can add a battery or two to extend your distance between charges?
Great review, IMO. You seemed to cover all the bases (other than if it comes with a/c). I DESPERATELY want to ditch my IC car for a cheap EV. I hope this is the one. Thank you for this review. ☮
@@TwoBitDaVinci If they can actually get to market it would be interesting to see this compared with the nimbus one or one s. Same basic idea; tiny solo 3 wheel EV but nimbus plans to release the cheap NEV version for $10k which is amazing if they can hit it. Like many in your comments, I'm waiting for my Aptera but I can definitely see the appeal of these even smaller vehicles for those living in big cities.
I have a Chevy Bolt and I drive 21 iles each way to and from work. The good thing is there are level 2 chargers here so by the time I go home my car is fully charged. Now this would be good for me as i usually drive to work alone. Good video!
Too bad that 2 days BEFORE this review was posted, ElectraMeccanica posted (on March 14, 2023) that "We do not believe a three-wheeled autocycle can capture those opportunities, given challenges ranging from its exclusion from government rebates; to the difficulty for consumers of insuring, financing and servicing a three-wheeled vehicle; to consistent customer requests for more functionality." Translation: this vehicle is already discontinued.
If you squint, the cyclops headlight looks like a supercharger hat😇 I dig the looks, hopefully a full range of interior and exterior trinkets will be on the option list.
LOL!!!. That is what I was thinking when he first showed the front view of the vehicle. I said, Wow, a dragster vehicle. Maybe it can beat the Tesla Plaid until he said the vehicle can go 80 mph.
I test drove one and was surprised how fun it was. At 6’2” it was not so easy getting in and out, but once I was in I was ok. For the right Use case it’s a incredible bargain. I could see this being the perfect city car in more Northern European cities where a scooter or motorcycle is only a six month vehicle.
My brother owns a white one when they did their 'first run' or whatever several years ago. Still has it, still runs great, ton of fun to drive. I think the range on his is only around 60 miles though, but I could be wrong. It looks insane, like it shouldn't even be possible when you see it go by. lol I love it. I do really like the Aptera and think it has a great future - but these guys have it nailed down. $15k even $16 or 17k for a new electric one seater. Cheap, solid, and fun for a one seater run-around and errand car. He lets my Nephew use it for Door Dash deliveries on the weekends too. Nice little rig. I'll buy one if they start cranking them out.
Hehehe now I need someone to stick a big fake shark fin on the rooftop of one of these, then drive it in rush hour traffic while blasting the Jaws theme full volume
Thank you so much, Ricky, for this enlightening tour of the Solo! I'm in the beginning stages of my shopping for a 3-wheeled, enclosed electric vehicle, and your video of the car was truly helpful! Would have loved a bit of info regarding insurance & licensing, which I'm sure is different in each state. Again, thanks.
You missed the mark with Aptera and the third headlight. While early revisions didn't include it the most current and road ready prototypes have as it is required on all vehicles of that class regardless of size.
Good point about the headlights. I had a close call once, one night I almost pulled out on a "car" some distance away, only to see at the last second it was a motorbike with low mounted twin headlights!😮
Nty. The most sold vehicle in the USA is the F150. Imagine this in an accident vs an F150. Not to mention we have things like the Hummer EV. Even our semi trucks are larger (we dont really use cab overs anymore) due to us having much wider roads in general.
It reminds me of the old Corbin Motors/ Myer Motors 3 wheelers. It's really a clever idea, and maybe the much lower price will make it more palatable but having a car that potentially can do most of what you regularly need it to do is not too practical. You can commute, and run errands, but you can't drop off the kids, or go on a date. Even as a second car for a family, simply having one passenger seat would really help. Then again, if the family can't afford a $30k car, but can afford a $15k car, this could be an option, but a used car could probably be much more practical.
My guess is that it has 2 doors because that gives you two escape routes; if a small car makes you feel claustrophobic, having only (potentially) one escape route wouldn't help. Also, wherever you park you can exit the vehicle onto the pavement and not into traffic.
This is a very big footprint to carry just 1 person. The disadvantages of a car (width) with the disadvantes of a 2 wheeler. I don't see how this can compete with small electric cars (Dacia spring for instance here in Europe)
"here in Europe" says it all. We have scads of commuters driving alone in big pickup trucks and SUVs with very big footprints and low gas mileage in the States. We don't have many options for small electric cars here. Lots of commenters here are asking for a 2-seater for the occasional need, some even suggesting a side-by-side configuration. It is not currently wide enough to be really comfortable that way, so the footprint (width) would get larger. Hard to get a smaller footprint too, other commenters are hesitant because of crashworthiness and at present it does have crumple zones. I think it is right in the sweet spot. Also, it doesn't have all the disadvantages of a 2-wheeler. It is fully enclosed with environmental control and radio that you don't have to blast to hear, and it won't tip over.
