Electric Solo is as fun to drive as it is to see
VANCOUVER You know you’re onto something good when a train of preschoolers stops midway across a street and bursts into laughs and smiles. Such scenes of jubilation are certainly the norm when you’re riding solo in Electra Meccanica’s latest offering -the Solo.
I found that out when I had the chance to give the all-electric single-seater a test drive, the first for a journalist. The vehicle I drove around the Olympic Village neighbourhood along False Creek is the Vancouver-based company’s first pre-production model, meaning some of the finer trim details and noise-dampening materials were not included. The exterior, however, was pretty much identical to the ones that will be delivered to customers later this year.
The Solo’s all-electric power comes from a 16.1 kWh lithiumion battery pack designed specifically for the single-seater. Full-charge range, according to Electra Meccanica, is 160 kilometres, and charge times from depleted to full are between three hours (220 volt) and six (110V).
The battery pack comes with a five-year warranty and powers an 82-horsepower AC synchronous electric motor that propels the 450-kilogram vehicle from a standstill to 100 km/h in about eight seconds. Top speed is governed at 130 km/h.
Yes, the space-age look of the three-wheeled Solo is head turning, but the ditches of automotive history are littered with greatlooking failures (Fisker Karma a recent example). As with all new models, the Solo’s success will come not from its looks, but from its performance and appeal.
So, how does it drive? Not surprisingly, like an electric vehicle.
The windshield is huge, with the top of it ending behind your head, it gives a jet-fighter perspective to the driver. Acceleration is quick and even, and on some of the tighter, short streets that typify the Olympic Village, almost a little too fast. This thing moves. Fortunately, it stops well, too, thanks to disc brakes on all three wheels.
Surprisingly its handling and performance belie its small stature. There is little to no compromise in the driving experience over a regular car, yet it has the kind of nimbleness only motorcyclists enjoy.
Toward the end of my time in the Solo seat, I was reminded of something Electra Meccanica’s Jerry Kroll told me a year or so ago when I drove the company’s Sparrow, the Solo test-bed vehicle based on the Corbin Sparrow.
“You don’t drive it, you wear it,” the enthusiastic chief executive officer told me.
Its lower centre of gravity provides no noticeable body roll, even in tight corners. The ergonomics of the Solo ideally suited my 5-foot-11-inch frame, and the interaction with the sport steering wheel was more like a video game than any vehicle I’ve piloted. At lower speeds the steering was a little heavy, but lightened around the 15 km/h mark.
The centre digital display was easy to read and no scrolling through different screens was required to see relevant information on the speed, remaining charge and operation. The simple toggle controls were easy to reach and simple to operate.
The only flaw I see in the Solo is that this all-electric single-seater is priced at $19,888. It has to compete with a Smart EV that sells for just over $26,000, but which qualifies for a $5,000 government rebate. So, essentially, that second seat in the Smart costs just $2,000.