Originally revealed in 2016 by Micro, the same company behind the Micro kickscooter, is the Microlino, existing as a fully-electric and modernised spiritual successor to microcars of the 20th century such as the BMW Isetta and Peel P50. Our guest editor Ben Macdonald already tested out the hardtop variant last year, but with Micro now launching a sunny weather-focussed fabric top Microlino ‘Spaiggina’, what better place to test it than on London’s crowded inner streets – and surprisingly, for an English summer, the rain held off for long enough to not get drenched.
UK pricing for the Spiaggina starts at around £21,000, compared to the standard Microlino’s £17,990 starting price. Falling under the L7e quadricycle classification, the Microlino is not classified as a car – and can be driven on a less stringent category B1 license. The standard Microlino is also offered in ‘Lite’ form, with a capped top speed of 28mph. In the UK, this model allows you to get behind the wheel from 16 years old – and in countries such as France, allows you to drive the Microlino from as young as 14.
Here, the Microlino is sold by Krazy Horse, which originally started out as an old-school motorbike dealer – but now offers a range of motorbikes, electric motorbikes, and ebikes – and will even sell you an American import RAM pickup truck (a complete polar opposite to the Microlino).
An antidote to the Chelsea tractor trend
Since the turn of the 21st century, we’ve seen many SUVs morph from their original purpose as go-anywhere, practical vehicles into a status symbol. Taking up more space on crowded streets and outsizing vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians, they’re increasingly being seen as unsuitable in cities, as highlighted by recent campaigns such as the SUV Alliance and laws such as France’s SUV tax.
At the press event, I spoke to Microlino’s UK Sales & Dealer Development Manager Lee Frankish, and he raised an interesting point. Looking out the dealership window, we see countless SUVs – a lot of them being ICE vehicles with fumes coming out of the exhaust. An ever-increasing proportion of these vehicles are becoming fully-electric thanks to the ZEV mandate, which is great. But, can we really call it progress if in ten or twenty years time, we still see large SUVs crowding London’s unsuitable streets – albeit without emissions at the tailpipe?
The Microlino is arguably just as stylish and attention grabbing as any SUV, and for those that have little need to carry large amounts of cargo or passengers, this EV could be a key replacement, or be used as a second car to reduce use of larger vehicles. Parking the Microlino next to your typical London SUV highlights this size difference.
Driving in London
Drive the Microlino around the busy streets in London, and you quickly realise why the EV is starting to take off elsewhere in Europe – in Switzerland, Europcar has added the standard Microlino to its rental fleet in central Zurich and Bern. It’s the perfect size for towns and cities where streets were laid out before the automobile was even a thought in Karl Benz’s head. Despite its diminutive size, the roof height is about the same as your average hatchback, meaning you never feel like other, larger vehicles will struggle to see you.
Save for cars like the Smart ForTwo, cars such as the Microlino remain an unfamiliar sight on British roads, and the Spiaggina was drawing attention from all angles – but all of it positive. This is a vehicle that makes people smile.
Much like the Smart, the Microlino also has the party trick of being able to park sideways into a bay, making finding a parking spot even easier.
Both the standard Microlino and the Spiaggina pack an electric motor delivering just over 16 horsepower. That might not sound like much on paper compared to your average electric car, but with the instant torque of an electric motor and a kerb weight of just 496 kilograms, it’s more than plenty – enough for a 0-31mph time of 5 seconds. Taking off from traffic lights or emerging into traffic is just as easy as in any other EV. A top speed of 55mph also means the Spiaggina can tackle journeys out the city too – aided by a claimed range of 109 miles.
Onboard technology is kept to a minimum. You get a digital dashboard which gives you information on speed, range, and the current regenerative braking status, and a smaller screen to the centre that controls a few vehicle settings. Need navigation? There’s a built in phone mount for that.
The keen eyed amongst you might also realise that the Microlino is left-hand-drive, with your optional passenger sitting to the right – and there are no plans to create a right-hand-drive variant for countries such as the UK. This was a point of contention before the Microlino was launched here, but with the cars narrow width, it’s something you’re unlikely to even realise – and other people who have tested out the Microlino here, and current UK customers, are coming to the same conclusion.
Switching to the original Microlino
Whilst the Spiaggina does have an easily retractable fabric roof to keep you dry in light drizzle, the sides and rear of the car remain exposed. Realistically, owners (in the UK at least) will want to keep the Spiaggina stored in a sheltered parking space – and leaving valuables on-show when parked up on the street is an obvious no-no.
That problem is easily solved with the more affordable standard hardtop Microlino, however, with windows all round. After my Spiaggina test drive, I got the opportunity to try out the more affordable Microlino hardtop.
Whilst it doesn’t have the full open-air feeling of the Spiaggina, you can still get your vitamin D fix through a retractable sunroof. Come winter, and the hardtop’s on-board heater and demister functions also seem like a big convenience. Air conditioning is also an optional extra. This is the optimal model for a country with as unpredictable weather as the UK.
Conclusion
The Spiaggina adds yet more variety to the range of Microlinos available, even if the standard Microlino might still be the best choice for a country like the UK. Whilst its considerably more expensive than quadricycle rivals like the Citroen Ami, the more sure-footed driving feel, higher top speed, and further range make it a much more capable all-rounder, and help justify its premium.
