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From Renault, at £8500 including the battery rental and replacement whenever it reaches end-of-life and stops holding enough charge to get you round town. 60 miles per charge, 50 mph, stick inside the city boundaries.

Essentially it's a souped up mobility scooter. Not a bad bit of kit really. I mean, mobility scooters really do cost at least half the price, and why would anyone settle for one of those when they could have one of these to perform the same function?

Renault readies sub-£7000 e-car for Blighty

I'm sure I've seen the prototype :-

Attached files

I'm sure I read somewhere that a car with a separate electric mptor and combustion engine (as opposed to a hybrid) is planned by one of the chinese manufaturers. That appeals to me, the electric motor for most of my jourmeys and the petrol for longer trips.

Never seen one of those anywhere except on the golf course around here. I say go for it, anything to get us off the oil. I really don't think it's that bad of an idea but safety is a big factor. I can see the Smart Cars and the like catching on here and some fool in a '70s era muscle car taking out 5 or 10 people at a light. I would even be worried as my Toyota would roll over any number of them. It's the American version of the Toyota Hilux.

Scrat;1359600 wrote: I can see the Smart Cars and the like catching on here and some fool in a '70s era muscle car taking out 5 or 10 people at a light. I would even be worried as my Toyota would roll over any number of them.Their passenger and driver are no more vulnerable than pedestrians crossing at marked junctions.

I can see Americans bursting out laughing at the antiquated notion of pedestrians crossing, but that's the principle. If you're allowed to be there, on foot or on bike or in a pedalo like those, drivers are meant to give way to you.

There are better small cars than around than the smart car. I wouldn't underestimate the safety of a car that size.

How would you fancy doing this in your hilux?

YouTube - smart car safety crash test

I did put this forward as an up-market mobility scooter you know. No mobility scooter would do well in the test you just outlined.

I wouldn't want to be in a Smart and hit anything although it appears to be designed well. Driving one for me would be a nerve wracking experience at first but I'd be willing to give it a try. I do think that in an argument between my Hilux and a concrete barrier I would fare far better in my Hilux.

I did like the roll cage though and I have faith in the science of automotive safety. Take a look at this, the man actually survived a 270 mph crash into the rail. Astounding.

Here's another.

YouTube - Worst Drag race Crash EVER!!! (MUST WATCH!!!)

Actually the cornering ability is supposed to be abysmal and going round roundabouts in one must be terrifying. I've had enough mear misses with SUV's coming towards drifting across the road on bends not to want one. Accidents with them rolling over are faiy=rly common as well. As it seems ti be in the states.

YouTube - SUV Roll Over Auto Accident Attorneys - Personal Injury Lawyer Huntington Beach, CA

Very odd. Over here if you roll your car because you lost control through bad driving you tend not to claim against the manufacturer.

A Renault???

I think I will pass thanks..

mikeinie;1359661 wrote: A Renault???

I think I will pass thanks..


You've owned one as well have you?

Ya, a Laguna and a Scenic.. I liked the cars, but the after service is terrible and costs a fortune for repairs, and the stupidist of stuff breaks down.. like you would think it is state of the art technology to get an electric window to actuall work on a Renault..

mikeinie;1359853 wrote: Ya, a Laguna and a Scenic.. I liked the cars, but the after service is terrible and costs a fortune for repairs, and the stupidist of stuff breaks down.. like you would think it is state of the art technology to get an electric window to actuall work on a Renault..


I've owned eight, I liked the cars but like you I got totally fed up with the after sales service. The last straw was replacing the front suspension on a clio for the second time and finding out it was a common problem with the diesel because they didn't upgrade the suspension from the petrol version despite the heavier engine. Last car a nissan, 134,000 miles nothing went wrong out of the ordinary until the cross member rusted away and it would cost more to fix than the car was worth. Still on the original clutch exhausr lasted 100,00 miles. Drive a toyota now.

I drove a stretched Austin Princess with the six-in-line engine. Great car, a pig to change lanes at 70mph though, that car just wanted to steer the way it was going once it got past its optimum design speed of 20mph.

spot;1359894 wrote: I drove a stretched Austin Princess with the six-in-line engine. Great car, a pig to change lanes at 70mph though, that car just wanted to steer the way it was going once it got past its optimum design speed of 20mph.


Is it a hearse or ex funeral car or something?

gmc;1359910 wrote: Is it a hearse or ex funeral car or something?


It was black and had a glass divide between the driver and the two rows of passenger seats behind, if that's what you mean. It was second hand because its shape was getting old-fashioned, and it was cheap because nobody wanted to buy it.

I've owned a 2001 Subaru Outback LLBean for the past 10+ years, it has 140,000 miles on it and I've spent no more than $2,000.00 on it maintenance-wise (other than fuel, oil changes and car wash). Subaru is the best car on the road as far as I'm concerned. I'd be willing to try a Smart though.

Ahso!;1359926 wrote: I've owned a 2001 Subaru Outback LLBean for the past 10+ years, it has 140,000 miles on it and I've spent no more than $2,000.00 on it maintenance-wise (other than fuel, oil changes and car wash). Subaru is the best car on the road as far as I'm concerned. I'd be willing to try a Smart though.


My nissan was a 2002 model. It was rust that did it in, enginewise it was fine, didn't even use any oil between services, it would cost more to fix than it was worth. We don't get the extremes of cold and snow but black ice is common and a lot of salt gets used on the roads. Cars get to the point it's just not worth spending the money on, not as bad as it used to be but even the best of cars get to the point they're uneconomic to do major repairs on. I usually keep cars till they are almost falling apart before trading in - I slipped up and had to sell it for scrap.