Autovisie test: This is the best small car!

Is a car too much, a bike not dry enough and public transport not an option? Then one of these vehicles could be your mobility solution. How much do they cost, what can they do and what can you do with them? A test week in and around Amsterdam provides the answers.

The reason for this test is not the traffic frustration of an unnamed editor who, in the eyes of the rest of the editorial team, punishes himself every day by living in the middle of Amsterdam’s traffic chaos. No, it’s the arrival of a small car that’s making even car lovers greedy.

Looking for the best small car

We’re talking about the Microlino, which had been traveling through Europe for a long time but hadn’t yet arrived on our roads. Until now. The charming retro remake of the BMW Isetta from the 1950s is now celebrating its debut on the Dutch market and we were the first to test it. The Microlino clearly shows how the boundaries between different forms of mobility are blurring.

Officially it is not a car, but legally it is more than a small car. The Swiss Egg is a so-called “L7e vehicle”, a vehicle that you can drive with a car driving license and that must not weigh more than 450 kg without a battery. There are two other vehicles for which you need more than a moped license and for which you must therefore be at least 18 years old: the CFMoto Cforce 625 Touring Quad and the Silence S04. You can almost call these subcompacts cars because you can take them on the highway and even on the highway.

Which doesn’t change the fact that you are one of the slowest road users there with a maximum speed of 90 km/h. For the rest of our eight, motorways and country roads are taboo because, by law, these are small cars that are allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 45 km/h. This places greater restrictions on their employability.

Commuting is possible, but only inland on country roads. Advantage: With an AM or moped driving license you can get behind the wheel yourself from the age of 16.

Prices

Surprisingly, the cheapest of our small car test fleet is a sophisticated-looking car from a real car brand: the Opel Rocks-e, which costs 8,699 euros. The most expensive is the newest and also scores with the highest ratings: the Microlino, which should cost just under 18 grand.