Thank you both Peter and Simon, I knew about the Renault Twizy, introduced to the UK in 2012 and I had dismissed it as little more than a failed 'concept car'. However it is still on sale in the UK, priced at £11,540 including the 'flip up' side doors. It is indeed classed as a Quadricycle and so does not qualify for the UK Government 25% discount (up to £3000) 'plug-in electric car' grant. When, at the time of writing, you can still buy a 'proper small car', admittedly a rather basic one, namely a Dacia Sandero, 5 door hatchback (with a 75 bhp, 999cc Renault engine) for as little as £6,995 - not many customers are going to opt for the £11,540 Renault Twizy.


I think this just goes to show that we have to pay a very heavy premium for any conventional 'heavy' battery electric vehicle - presumably due to the costly high technology 'electrics' necessary to realise anything like a practical electric car. Taking the MRRP of two Small 5 door hatchbacks (one ICE and one BEV) with similar engine powers and identical 0 to 60 mph times of around 12 seconds, namely the Renault Clio Play TCe 100 (100 PS) at £15,995 and the Renault Zoe Play Z.E 50/R110 (110 PS) at £26,495 + £3,000 = £29,495 we have a MRRP ratio of BEV/ICE = 1.84. Thus there is an 84% premium to pay for the Zoe.


The Canyon Bikes 'concept pedal car' is very interesting and certainly more likely to attract a more reasonable selling price than the Renault Twizy. Let's be honest, it is not until you 'return to cycling', on a 'push bike' that you appreciate how much you need to use all those gears and how much your average journey speed is governed/limited by the gravitational impact of uphill gradients on your total mass (bike plus rider) and wind resistance increasing as the square of your speed on the level or on down grades. For over a century, we have been 'spoiled rotten' by our lovely fossil fuelled motor cars. Maybe it is now time to take the lead that Covid-19 has shown us and adopt a radical change of direction, if we are to succeed in 'greening' the planet.

 

Thank you both Peter and Simon, I knew about the Renault Twizy, introduced to the UK in 2012 and I had dismissed it as little more than a failed 'concept car'. However it is still on sale in the UK, priced at £11,540 including the 'flip up' side doors. It is indeed classed as a Quadricycle and so does not qualify for the UK Government 25% discount (up to £3000) 'plug-in electric car' grant. When, at the time of writing, you can still buy a 'proper small car', admittedly a rather basic one, namely a Dacia Sandero, 5 door hatchback (with a 75 bhp, 999cc Renault engine) for as little as £6,995 - not many customers are going to opt for the £11,540 Renault Twizy.


I think this just goes to show that we have to pay a very heavy premium for any conventional 'heavy' battery electric vehicle - presumably due to the costly high technology 'electrics' necessary to realise anything like a practical electric car. Taking the MRRP of two Small 5 door hatchbacks (one ICE and one BEV) with similar engine powers and identical 0 to 60 mph times of around 12 seconds, namely the Renault Clio Play TCe 100 (100 PS) at £15,995 and the Renault Zoe Play Z.E 50/R110 (110 PS) at £26,495 + £3,000 = £29,495 we have a MRRP ratio of BEV/ICE = 1.84. Thus there is an 84% premium to pay for the Zoe.


The Canyon Bikes 'concept pedal car' is very interesting and certainly more likely to attract a more reasonable selling price than the Renault Twizy. Let's be honest, it is not until you 'return to cycling', on a 'push bike' that you appreciate how much you need to use all those gears and how much your average journey speed is governed/limited by the gravitational impact of uphill gradients on your total mass (bike plus rider) and wind resistance increasing as the square of your speed on the level or on down grades. For over a century, we have been 'spoiled rotten' by our lovely fossil fuelled motor cars. Maybe it is now time to take the lead that Covid-19 has shown us and adopt a radical change of direction, if we are to succeed in 'greening' the planet.