The Tiny Cheap Electric Car We’ve Been Waiting For?

Our US correspondent, Ricky Roy takes a spin in the ElectraMeccanica Solo: a one seater, three wheel EV designed for urban commuting. With a unique design and tantalising price tag, is this the best microcar we've covered on the channel yet?

00:00 3 wheels, 2 doors, 15k price!
00:51 insane exterior
2:40 Driving impressions
4:05 Range, efficiency, charging
6:11 Fighter pilot feel
6:40 Safety?
7:17 Some areas for improvement
8:18 Interior review
9:56 That rear wheel
10:16 Boot space?
10:32 The bottom line

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#ElectraMeccanica #EV #Microcar #microlino #electriccar #twizy #evs

[richpate]

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.

[jasongooden]

They went with 2 doors so that the same model can be sold in any country. It's actually cheaper than making 2 different cars

[Maxxmentum]

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.

[ADudesRotary]

Being able to drive on the left or right hand side of the road without major mods, offers a lot more take up options.

[didzisstalidzans]

Rooting for these kind of projects to succeed.

[malph]

No worries about left or right hand drive for different markets, which should help with keeping costs down and spares back up simple.

[RahulMulchandanirmm]

I really hope they start shipping these to the UK.
Would be so cool as a commuter car.

[NeilBlanchard]

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,

[ChronotriggerJM]

We need more mini vehicles on the road :)

[sebarr]

Ricki, you knocked it out of the park with this episode! Your personality came shining through ✨

[truenorthjess]

I've been waiting for this episode! I can definitely see these being used for carshare and food delivery vehicles in smaller cities.

[streetwind.]

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.

[mikejankowski]

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.

[auxpowerunit]

They should have made it a little longer, to add a second seat. In-line tandem seating would nicely accent the fighter plane feel.

[em_tion]

First micro car that actually deserves some more attention! 👌👍

[JC-tdgg]

Just saw where there was a recall on some models of this car and the company was buying back all of those recalled cars!

[mydutube]

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.

[stuarttaylor]

Early on he says one door would save money. But not only is two doors convenient, it is much safer if you end up in an accident.

[ronibee]

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.

[g.pattonhughes]

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.