Even if you’re into classic cars, the Trabant probably won’t tickle your fancy, at least not if you appreciate cars for their technical achievements. It may have been very popular in East Germany, but that’s only because the alternatives were other Eastern Block cars…
However, as an oddball piece of plastic-reinforced cotton to drive around for a giggle, it does make sense. It’s not fast, it’s not spacious or particularly good looking, but if you drive it someplace where people rarely or never get to see one, you will turn heads (probably mostly because of the noise it makes and the plume of exhaust smoke it leaves in its wake).
Before you set off, though, you must first master the… unusual column shift which will definitely cause problems at first. There is a logic to it once you get it, but as video reviewer Nick Murray discovers.