Featured The World's Cheapest New Car

If you watch the drive video, it's clear the vehicle is woefully under powered to be safe in anything but the tamest suburban environments.
I would picture it's use in a closed community type of environment, maybe solely as a vehicle to use to get from your garage, to the community rec center and back.
As impressed as Torchinsky continues to be with it, I wouldn't feel safe in it, in ANY environment really. Even in a suburban side street scenario, if you got hit by a real car, going nearly any speed 25 20 mph, maybe even less, you'd be toast in that vehicle. When he let's his son ride around with him? While it's raining out and visibility is hindered, I'm legitimately scared for them all.
It's not sold as a golf cart, but a golf course might be the only environment I would feel comfortable using it.
It may be impressive to Torchinsky in terms of what he received for cost, but I don't even think's it's fair to label it a real street legal, safe vehicle. IMO it's not.

 

I'd buy it simply because it's a new car that comes with a spare tire! Or wonder how much extra the spare was.

that said.....Im still waiting for the PHEV Elio

 

Has anyone actually labeled it such?

In basic function, it is a, likely underpowered, golf cart. I haven't seen it portrayed as anything but that. There are plenty of communities with low posted speed limits in the US where it is legal to drive a golf cart. In terms of legality, this cart has a leg up over a basic golf cart in already having signals and other lights.

Torchinsky and other's high impression of it comes from the design and materials. They were expecting something plastic, but it is all metal. Instead of being 1WD, it has an actual differential in the rear. The suspension is more high tech than what golf carts have, and is something seen on real cars. It even has actual carpeting.

 

Jalopnik basically did by calling it the lowest cost Electric Vehicle. Golf carts are not referred to as EVs.

 

Yeah, I agree with Prodigyplace. Jalopnik and Torchinsky are calling it "The Worlds Cheapest Electric Car". I don't know how much clearer you could be that you have labeled it a "car" than calling it a car. His demonstration drive is on side streets NOT at a golf course.
Plus in none of his videos have I heard him say anything about the safety of driving it on the street, nor anything about legally licencing and titling it.
I think his enthusiasm, and his positive impressions about the product sincere. But really I would step back, and at least communicate that it's really NOT a street legal vehicle. Which I do not hear him doing.
Unless he can get it legally licenced and titled as a street legal vehicle, but I HIGHLY doubt it.

I watched the video where he reveals the inside of the vehicle. So yeah, I get that he's impressed with the level of sophistication of some of the components and the quality overall. THAT still doesn't make it a street legal car.

"There are plenty of communities with low posted speed limits in the US where it is legal to drive a golf cart"

But did you read my post?

" I would picture it's use in a closed community type of environment, maybe solely as a vehicle to use to get from your garage, to the community rec center and back."

"It's not sold as a golf cart, but a golf course might be the only environment I would feel comfortable using it."

So yeah, again, that's what I said. But my point is Torchinsky is NOT presenting it as a golf cart, nor really speaking much at all to where you could safely and legally use it.
He's just calling it the worlds cheapest new car, and as what Ali Baba-the seller- defines as a "Elderly Leisure Vehicle" , it's really a bit of stretch to present it as comparable to "cars".

 

Thanks for that! At 25 or 35 mpg in a head on collision (50-70 mph delta) that will give you 0.1* seconds longer to live.

* just a rough estimate

Can't you get free samples that size from a carpet store?

Mike

 

In some jurisdiction they are called a NEV, Neighborhood electric vehicle.
Neighborhood Electric Vehicle - Wikipedia
They come in versions beyond golf carts. A past member here had a Zap! Xebra, and Toyota even makes a couple. They unveiled their Ultra Compact Ev last year, and had the COMS available in some test markets before that.
Toyota to Show Production-Ready Ultra-Compact BEV at 2019 Tokyo Motor Show "FUTURE EXPO" | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
Toyota COMS - Urban Runabout – WHEELS.ca

This cheap EV probably can't get up to the top speed of the NEV group, and riding lawn mowers can be dangerous to use. A driver of a real car likely has a better chance of spotting this than a person on a bicycle, even someone walking along the side of the road.

As for Jalopnik and Torchinsky, it doesn't seem like many are very familiar with their work. Last year he bought a 1976 postal Jeep that was in really horrible shape, drove it from Michigan to Utah, went off roading in Moab, and drove back. They cover the LeMons 24hr car race every year. This isn't the publication you should go to for reviews of car safety.

 

True enough, but Jalopnik.com has some interesting takes on automobile culture, car reviews, and news. They've lost some good writers recently who moved on to Business Insider and The Drive, but the site mainly focuses on some diehard wrenching. Like PriusChat, they have a somewhat rabid fan base, and I enjoy reading it for what it is.

 

You really don't have to worry about that happening. You bring one of those things home, your wife will kill you.