Blake runs the first audition round
This is how the Microlino 2.0 . drives
Finally you can buy Microlino 2.0. Finally we were able to make our first short test ride at the Dübendorf ZH with a copy of the exclusive First Pioneer Series from skateboard manufacturer Küsnacht.
Maybe I wasn’t crawling so elegantly through the front door into the driver’s seat. Some time he gets used to the front two-seater climb. “But my work is if there are about three microlinos standing side by side in a parking space. It is possible,” says co-general manager Oliver Obuter (27 years old) and smiles. He accompanies me on my first course via Dübendorf ZH.
It’s hot, and there’s no AC at the Microlino, but there is a manually operated retractable roof – and the seats are a bit cramped for two. I don’t want to drive a distance like Ticino like that, I think to myself. But that’s not the idea either. The fully electric Microlino, 2.52 meters long and 1.47 meters wide, is designed for the city with a maximum range of 230 kilometers. There are no airbags, but thanks to the self-supporting steel chassis, it is much safer than the first prototype Microlino 1.0.
There is no comparison to the first model
I’m driving the car. Except for the slight hum of the 17-horsepower electric motor, it’s almost completely silent. “Because the two-seater, which weighs approximately 500 kilograms, is officially a ‘L7e Heavy Quadricyle,’ it can be used like a motorbike and has no artificial noise,” explains Oliver Obuter. The cockpit is primitive, but everything is there: a non-slip steering wheel, indicator and levers of headlights as in a “real” car, as well as an easy-to-read display with digital displays. To my left there is a rotary switch for the “R”, “N” and “D” riding modes and the mechanical handbrake. There is even a “Sports” button. When pressed, the two-seater accelerates a little faster at a traffic light. Small Muzzle: A flame appears on the symbolized car in the display. A maximum speed of 90 – and therefore driving on the highway – is possible.
Thanks to the 50 percent wider track in the rear and independent suspension of the wheels instead of the solid axle, cornering behavior is better in the world than it was in the prototype. You can really rush around corners very quickly, as the zigzag attempt at the abandoned airport in Dübendorf shows. For a more thorough judgment, we will of course have to move the Microlino 2.0 a little longer. Whether it will revolutionize mobility in the city, as its makers hope, remains to be seen. After all, it costs three times as much as a good e-bike (from 14,990 Swiss francs). On the other hand, many of us also have a laptop, an iPad, and a smartphone. And in comparison out of this world, the Microlino is probably compatible with the iPad.
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