The first thing I noticed after recently sliding into a single-seat electric SOLO car is that the tiny vehicle doesn’t seem so small once you’re inside.
From the outside I decided the SOLO looked a little like a car that had been cut in half, but from the interior my perception changed completely. It was last week when I was at on West First Avenue in Olympic Village eyeing the three-wheeled car with more than a little curiosity.
I was also a little concerned because a strong wind had begun to blow, which buffeted my small car on the drive over. What that wind could do to this micro car was front and centre on my mind as I pulled out onto a very busy Quebec Street behind Mark West, vice president of sales and dealerships at ElectraMeccanica Vehicle Corp., who was leading my test drive. But as I discovered, there was no need to worry and as much as the wind was blowing, the SOLO held steady to the road.
The steering wheel of the SOLO I drove is in the middle of the dashboard surrounded by very basic controls. This being a prototype vehicle, it also had standard steering and brakes — the new version has power steering and brakes. The fact that I was actually behind the wheel of a prototype vehicle was also front-and-centre on my mind as we maneuvered off of Quebec onto Terminal Avenue and a woman driving a blue Mercedes almost ran into me. But my personal car is also very small, so I’m used to Mercedes drivers almost smashing into me daily on my commute back and forth to work so I wasn’t fazed.
We cruised Terminal Avenue until the turnoff near Home Depot, turned left and found a back road where we had some space and I managed to hit speeds up to 70 kilometres with no problem. The SOLO has a top speed of 130 kilometres. Back on Terminal Avenue, we headed back to ElectraMeccanica and too quickly my test drive was over.
ElectraMeccanica will have the SOLO on display at the , which runs at the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Trade and Convention Centre from noon on March 28 through to Sunday, April 1. The company also plans to unveil the two-seater Tofino later this year. You can book your own test drive at .
SOLO specifications
- 2018 MSRP: $19,888 CAD
- Powertrain: 17.3 kWh Lithium ion battery
- Rear wheel drive
- 54 horsepower DC PM electric motor
- 105 feet per pounds of torque
- Battery: 220 volt
- Charging time: three hours
- Range: up to 160 kilometres
- Top speed: estimated 130 kilometres per hour
- Remote keyless entry
- Power windows
- AM/FM stereo with Bluetooth/CD/USB
- Adjustable Heated Seat with Integral Head Rest
- Heating, defogger and air conditioning
- Rear view backup camera
- Carpeted trunk
- Heated exterior mirrors
@sthomas10
