Thank you for a great ride-along! This has been the best “review” I’ve seen on the FUV (and from a trusted source!). I was really interested in the highway performance as my work commute is a mix of city and highway speeds. Now I will just need to be patient and wait for It to come down to the target price!
Don't forget the felimoto. Some cats are up for a field trip😸. But broadly, I think it's a good idea for the back seat to be easily convertable into extra cargo. Probably, not simple engineering to do it safely and flexibly
I didn't even notice the side of the road at first, I was thinking, huh they have the same road signs as the UK it's almost like a little bit of home over there 😄.
It all just looks wrong to be driving on the right hand side.. I can't get over that.. So everything else is just lost in that background minor panic of 'She's on the wrong side of the road!'
Yeah, this is my biggest hang up with the vehicle. I know going at speed will prevent a lot of the water from hitting the occupants, at least the driver, but side winds or being stopped at traffic lights would suck. I guess getting full motorcycle rain gear would be another option, but doors would be more welcome!
@@haraldriegler6000 Great! Hopefully there are photos of the solution because I’m unlikely to drop $18,000 without being fully informed of what I would be getting. I’ve seen other vehicles that had doors that only went half way up etc.
@@mrdsn189 you can find them online (e.g. on the arcimoto site in their "all-weather" promo video, but you can also see them in their configurator. Currently they only go half way so there are no windows. Personally I own a Renault Twizy, and that's got similar half-height open doors as the Arcimoto . It works well, you don't get wet even in heavy rain. But for the Twizy, the aftermarket soon came up with mountable windows, and I got those immediately, and these plastic windows were what finally turned the little thing from a nice-weather car into an all-year car. I'm in Europe, so in the winter with Snow and all, you really want those windows. If Arcimoto doesn't offer any, my guess is that if the vehicle is successful (which I think it will be, because it's great in many ways), aftermarket suppliers will definitely end up offering some. Unfortunately there's no way to buy an Arcimoto out of Europe yet, but I'd get one if it was possible.
Doors would absolutely improve highway efficiency. If you think about the fact that it is less than half the weight, roughly half the frontal area, and has almost the same size battery as something like an early Leaf or i3 with similar ranges, cleaning up the aerodynamics should boost highway range beyond those cars.
Like the on the road impressions as they were happening. Grew up on snowmobiles and this reminds me riding those but for year round use. Waiting for the price to come down a bit.
Can confirm - top speed is "over 80." :-P (Although range drops like a stone when going that fast. The battery percent-meter (about 1% per mile in the city) starts counting down so quickly, you'd think a SpaceX Falcon 9 was about to launch!)
As an aerodynamicist I can say that if the Arcimoto had side doors/curtains that fully enclosed the cabin, the freeway range would increase substantially, and I think it can be done without screwing up the wide open feeling of riding on the outside of the vehicle that makes the Arcimoto such a gas to ride. The key in my opinion would be a modified version of the California doors. The California half doors would help clean up the aerodynamics a bit by themselves (besides keeping splashes from soaking your shoes). My modification would be to add an empty frame to the doors around the top that lays against the roll bars. Done right I don't think the top from would even be noticeable when the doors are closed, and wouldn't interfere with the wide open feeling The top frame would have a zipper track that a heavy gauge vinyl panel could zip into to fully enclose the vehicle. Around town and in clear weather the curtains would be completely removed, rolled up and store inside the rear storage box. When you know you are going to be going on the freeway or on cold/rainy/snowy/all-of-the-above days, it would only take a few minutes to zip the curtains in. Since the curtains are attached to the doors, they wouldn't interfere with getting in and out of the vehicle. If with the curtains in more ventilation is needed I have an idea how that could be done with just a couple of plastic cylinders that slide in and out through ports in the side windscreen, but this post is already long enough. What do you think about this idea?
Owners do not report any difference in range with doors. In this weight class, the weight of doors matters too. I gained 2mph on my top end which is now 84mph since I removed the 65 pounds of weight of the rear seat, harness and foot mats. This was confirmed by two Arcimoto technicians who noticed the difference in pep. I closed in the rear with HD cargo nets.
Probably the best edited, best sounding, most comprehensive review I've seen from this channel! And, obviously, your driving skills, Nikki, are impeccable. Thank you for this content. I need to test drive an Arcimoto.
If you used it in the summer when you dont really need the house battery and parked it up in the winter when you do. A very cool addition to the house.
I tend to switch off most videos as grossly overpriced EVs with earth-shattering 0 - 60 times have lost my attention due to being unattainable for me at the moment. Your 3 wheeler videos. Have been interesting, fun, and more daily drive-oriented. A WWII Leather flying helmet with ear flaps would be trendy and stylish. If they would like to ship one to Maidstone UK I could put an old gits review up for them. Can you fit an ISO Fix seat in the back and Do they make a Right Hand Drive version? 🤡🤣
LOL to the Twizzy footage @17:32 ... I was trying to figure out where there was left-lane driving in the Portland area until I realized you weren’t in the Arcimoto 🤣
I wish she had included more forward facing footage from the Arcimoto. I'm always happy to see Nicki's face, but the view out the windscreen would give a better sense of the vehicle.
Thanks for a great review as always! Like in Oregon, our Michigan spring tends to be a bit nippy yet. My family is taking the EV cars today leaving me with my Zero, and I have errands to run. With a temp below freezing and potential black ice, I'm not looking forward to that trip. This could extend that season as well as be a vehicle you just jump into to get some groceries without having to fully gear up. It's quite compelling. From the specs, it looks like the onboard L2 charger is about 3KW. Perhaps that's my biggest issue. Put a 6 KW in there on par with public L2 charging, and it could even go on some minor roads trip.
This whole area looks uncannily like many regions in southern Germany that I travelled through, in terms of topography and vegetation. I hope we see FUVs in Europe soon.
Here in San Diego I’d love to see the lifeguards using an FUV on the beach rather than a tinted windowed, air conditioned pickup which insulated the guard from the people they are protecting!
This is the motorcycle that you'll be happy to have your grandmother riding, when she begrudgingly has to let go of the Indian. And she'll be more than happy to have it as an option, over getting a regular car. I feel that this vehicle has a great future with the rebels that occasionally have to pause.
@@AnonymousFreakYT The minute I saw this thing it took me back to my classic Vespa I rebuild when I was 17, all around fun, I very jealous of your purchase.
Awesome review! Thanks. Love your channel. I'm about to lease a Tesla Model 3, but I still want an FUV as well, having sold my motorcycle. Motorcycles are more dangerous, lack storage and passenger comfort, and also lack protection from wind and rain. The FUV takes care of all these issues. That's why I'm also an FUV investor. 👍
There are a number of small, quirky commuter / run abouts that should take the motoring world by storm. The FUV looks by far the most finished and well thought out one, and by EV standards not that expensive. Looking forward to them on the UK roads
I believe the heated seats and grips are standard. If you buy one in Oregon today without half doors or trunk, it is $17,900. With Oregon Clean Energy rebate, it comes down to $15,400. If you are low/moderate income and live in Oregon, we are now talking $12,900 - which is within $1000 of the original target price of $11,900. Just incredible!
"One of the supporters of Transport Evolved actually has one of the very first FUVs to be made..." - Hey, that's me! :-D This is my usual winter riding outfit: i.imgur.com/MIYr8Zo.jpg (With whatever pants I'm wearing to work.) I stay dry enough that even in moderate rain, I get more wet walking 100 feet from FUV to office building than I do riding 10 miles in the FUV. The seat heaters and grip heaters keep me warm enough (although I do wear gloves to keep the backs of my hands warm, and the index finger that I use to activate regenerative braking - that lever gets surprisingly cold!)
An outstanding review! Most informative of the Arcimoto but also much better than many other in-depth EV reviews I've seen. She's answered most of my questions, as someone who's considering the FUV, if the company survives to sell to my very not "green" fly-over state and if the price comes down. Extensively covered the fun factor, practicality, safely
Bullseye! Your review was spot on. Arcimoto has a winner and seeing all the FUN you seem to be having with it, I'd dare say that it's appropriately named.
We rented these in the rain and the front seat didn't get too wet but the passenger did get pretty wet and cold. The heated handlebars and seat make it very rideable during the winter as a commuter. I want one with doors for sure soon.
If I had one of these it would be as a secondary vehicle to a car which is how I believe most people would buy them. The FUV for fun, fair weather, urban use. The car for long distance, multiple passengers, cargo, inclement weather.
I’ve been bugging Arcimoto to get it into Canada myself. However they are still ramping up production, and seeing as the border is still closed to non essential, I’m being patient. However I have managed to get my wife accepting to go for a test drive when we can get there. So I’ll play that long game. They were also the first share I ever bought, looking to the future.
Like the ‘Roadster’. More like a motorcycle, yet 3 wheel stability and electric responsiveness! Maybe lower frontal area gets some high speed range back too. Thanks!!
18K + gear = looks like a whole lot of FUN ! ~ realistic no. You can buy a used chevy bolt for this much money. But 12k I would be ALL IN- think they will take my 06' Suzui Boluevard as a trade ? Thanks for the GREAT review.
People spend up to $50k on Harleys. This isn't meant to price compare with a 4 door car, and right now, there's really no other option that's undercutting its price.
The starting price of a can am spyder is $18499 without any extra features. It use gas and requires oil and transmission fluid change for maintenance. It is a three wheeler made in Canada. It sells pretty well. At $17900, fuv is a steal 🤷♂️
It is great to see a variety of electric vehicles reviewed. It increases the inclusive nature of EV transport. I'm too old to tackle a vehicle like this but I hope lots of young people enjoy this type of transport. Not so sure about the effect of the double seat belt arrangement!!!
Excellent, detailed review. I love the honest impressions and the comparison to the Twizy. Being in the States, we can't get the Twizy, so it's awesome to have something similar available. I'm frankly waiting on a single-seater version. I"d like to see this model combined with the Roadster... sportier with an extra measure of weather and impact protection.
Yeah, originally they didn't have headlights there (you can see higher-up, wider-spaced orange reflectors, on early prototypes, those were the headlights) - but because it is registered as a motorcycle, they had to put the headlights in a "motorcycle" placement. I agree, it would be nicer if they had been able to do something nicer looking; but they had to make a few engineering changes last-minute to comply with regulations, so just made the changes "quick and dirty". You can see some of the b-roll showing the older prototypes at 1:07 and again at 1:50 showing the original headlight design. There's a black access hatch with the Arcimoto logo on it to get to vehicle systems where they later had to put the headlights. The other major one is the front turn signals. On the production vehicles, they sticking out the sides on little stalks. I like this look, makes it look like an old roadster. But originally they were going to be flush-mounted (you can see the rectangular holes the stalks go in to,) but again, final compliance testing had the turn signals fail a few times, so they went with the "on the stalks" as a quick and dirty fix.
And "Thanks!" to RU-vid for leading this video with an advertisement for becoming an "Energy Citizen!" Good to be reminded of the kind of propaganda we should all be aware of and voting against. Like the ads from any group that places $$$ above our dear Mother Earth or the habitants thereof, I always let the ads run fully so the RU-vidrs are supported and the money wasted on people like me who know better than to buy-in to their b.s.!
Nikki: Nice review. I agree with your eval. I'm interested if they can bring the price down. Yahoo finance documents class action suit on false claims about preorders a while back. Got any figures on how effective regenerative braking is? I think key improvements would be: 1) price reduction to $12k 2) removable side panels/doors for poor weather riding 3) solar panels for a removable top panel 4) needs bungy cord hooks on rear seat for groceries. 5) I would prefer light brown seats/interior for lower heat absorption in hot weather - Jim
1. They're working on it. Not sure if they'll hit it (as Tesla's "$35k Model 3" wasn't a real thing either, just a "sold enough of them to claim we did.") but they're working on it. 2. They have half-doors now, and are working on full doors. The half doors are good at least in Oregon winters. 3. Only really useful when they have full doors to keep the ventilation running when parked. Won't really add any significant range, simply because the roof is so small 4. One early buyer would fill the back seat with packages before trading up to a "Deliverator" version with the rear seat completely replaced with a larger cargo area. 5. They offer brown! And if you are willing to throw enough money at them, you could probably get any color you want. :-D
I would like to have a Twizy just because it's bonkers. But maybe the sensible thing would be to just get an electric assisted bicycle. Decisions, decisions...
Great job, Nikki! I have a small investment in FUV. I have to admit to having some doubts lately as the price has fallen back and stayed flat. Watching you really went a long way to renewing my excitement about the prospects for sales in the future. You showcased it's acceleration and I could tell you were having fun. Your future seems bright also. Well done!
Great review. Look forward to the Roadster. I do wish it had more range. Especially at higher speeds. While aerodynamics likely is a major contributor to the large efficiency hit at higher speeds I suspect something else is going on as well. It sounds like the EV powertrain or motor electronics is not well optimized at higher motor RPM's / power output. I would also hope for with newer battery chemistries capacities closer to 30KWh's at a good price might be possible. DC fast charging would also be very nice. With NCMA battery chemistries charging at 50KW on a 30KWh battery pack should be possible. Example just 4 modules with 24 cells each of GM's Ulitum system would yield 35KWh's and would be a 96S configuration with a 360VDC nominal pack voltage.
I saw one in a parking lot here in South Florida. My first impression is that it is a pretty simple vehicle and quite expensive for the level of complexity and amount of materials in the vehicle. Before any incentives it is the same price as a used Chevrolet bolt with about 30,000 miles on the clock. I find it hard to justify the purchase unless you really do want to have fun with it and factor in the value of that fun.
@@transportevolved That seems a lot better - in line with a smaller Harley. The only other thing I see Nikki is the need to have that rear sit kitted out for carrying things without being gouged another grand or two. Some kind of storage system that can take your weekly shop without strapping backpacks in there ( which is what I would end up doing ). There will be as much stuff carrying as passenger carrying and they should take care of that at list IMO.
I will encourage you to check out the can am spyder. It starts at $18499 without any extra features. Its engine is gas powered. It requires oil and transmission fluid change for maintenance. It does not offer an enclosure for safety like the fuv. It’s a three wheels made in Canada. It sells pretty well. At $17900, a fuv is a bargain 🤷♂️
I have health and mobility issues, and stopped driving due to the pollution factor around eighteen years ago. I have had friends say, "you should get a mobility scooter", to which I usually respond with a word that often preceeds "off". The Arkimoto however, is something I could actually see myself getting. Should it ever get to Aotearoa-New Zealand. Great video guys.
If I understood the information in the Arcimoto website correctly, its not yet offered in Texas. Might want to check the TXDot /Dol. When I left 20 years ago, they'd just went to helmet optional.
Since neither the FUV or Solo qualify for the Federal tax rebate, both are much too expensive. Any number of late model used four-wheeled EVs would actually be cheaper. A new base Mini Cooper EV would only be slightly more after rebates. As you stated in the video, realistically the price needs to be in the $12K range for the FUV to sell well in the US.
It varies from state to state. In Oregon, it isn’t required, but in Washington it is. Nikki answered in the video that she wore it to keep her head warm, and for better audio quality since the microphone is inside the helmet, less wind and road noise.
I was very impressed with the helmet. I think this vehicle would appeal to more customers if it had a steering wheel, I think the original one did. I have issue with the look. Colored panels within colored panels, odd stripes, huge logos everywhere, it looks to have the bravado of a fairground ride or Vegas slot machine. I would like to see something more refined like the Carver, which is also enclosed, leans, has a steering wheel and it less than half the price. Doesn't go highway speeds but I'm really comparing the aesthetics. Great review!
Great video and driving on a vehicle I'm interested in. I wish you would have told us how many miles you drove and how much battery you used. My commute is mostly highway and 30 miles round trip with no place to charge.
Just had a thought. Rather than an E-Brake lever, maybe have a two directional throttle? Twist one way to accelerate. Let go and it goes to “neutral”. Then twist throttle the other direction for fine tuned regenerative braking.
I want one too and I live in WA state but the price is too high for me.. I rather buy a smart for two electric and a used one with low miles will cost me around $12k
I have one with "half doors", no upper parts/windows. Even in Oregon rain, unless it's an extreme side-wind, I stay dry. The half doors are enough to keep most traffic road spray off you.
You can tell you ride bikes, you look totally comfortable and know what to look for on the road. It would be nice to see the price closer to the 12k mark. It would also be nice to see a bigger range. 100 miles isn't much range, if you want to go for a ride in the country
I was a _bicycle_ rider, but never a *motor* cycle rider before getting my FUV. It took a couple weeks to get "really comfortable" with it, and another month before I felt comfortable riding it on the freeway. But after that, and it's all second-nature.
