Even though we have to wait until 2016 in order to see this frugal 3-wheeler from Elio Motors end up in the hands of its customers, there are a few issues with it we’d like to touch on.
First of all, who’s going to buy it? Yes, 84 mpg (2.8 l/100km) does sound insanely good, but there are plenty of small and most important, conventional cars on the market that aren’t too far from achieving those figures even with regular petrol engines.
And if low fuel consumption is what you’re going for, there are always electric cars or if it’s a simple mode of transportation you need, just get a bike or a scooter.
Granted, the $6,800 price tag does sound great and there are genuine benefits of rolling up in a three-wheeler if, again, all you want is a simple mode of transportation and not a car – because calling this a car is a little bit of a stretch.
The shape of the Elio Motors “car” is more aerodynamic that what you normally get in a 4-wheel automobile. It can achieve better fuel economy because of its body shape alone, since they obviously didn’t go out of their way to re-invent the wheel.
It features a 0.9 liter 3-cylinder engine that should be able to get you all the way up to 100 mph, perhaps a bit further.
Looking at the interior, everything is extremely basic. It does however have a multi-functioning steering-wheel (since it has a few buttons for cruise control on it). On the left of the dash there is a metal strip which holds lights and temperature buttons so you can direct the airflow, low-beam/high-beam and so on.
One last bone we’d pick with it is its size. It’s not particularly small and its width at the front (because of the exterior wheels) could prove problematic both for parking and in traffic, at least until you’d get used to it.
How about this: Make the same car, only a bit wider so it can have 4 conventional wheels, but leave the seating arrangement as it is so it can still have an aero advantage over other cars, since it would still be narrower.
At least this way there wouldn’t be a learning curve.
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