One of the most enticing green appearances at this year’s edition of the Geneva motor show was the Toyota i-Road EV. It’s a tilting three-wheeler, with a tandem seating position like that of the Renault Twizy, a range of around 31 miles / 50 km on a single charge (at a constant speed of 19 mph /30 km/h), and promises to keep the user dry while occupying a footprint similar to that of a large scooter.
The manufacturer has just announced that the i-Road will be going into production, though it will only be destined for the Japanese market, and even there, regular consumers won’t have direct access to it, as it is mainly being built to become part of a growing vehicle sharing network called Ha:Mo. Its creators call it an “optimized urban transport system,” and it’s currently in its trials phase, in Toyota City.
The plan is to have a 100-strong fleet of sharing vehicles by the middle of October, some of which will be i-Roads that will go great against the backdrop of modern and typically busy Japanese city streets, while the tilting mechanics mean you should be able to keep up its speed through corners, even if the tires don’t look like they provide too much in the way of lateral grip. The Twizy pulls off the same trick without having to tilt, though it has the benefit of having one wheel extra.
By Andrei Nedelea
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