Microlino, the new Isetta

homer911

I'd buy one..

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1118287_microlino-modern-isetta-already-has-7200-orders#image=7

unkel

Yep very cool.

We talked about it recently here:

Linky


The article mentions a Europe price of USD13.6k which is EUR11.9k. If we got the full Irish EUR5k subsidy off that, it would be great value for money

Round Cable

unkel wrote: »

Yep very cool.

We talked about it recently here:

Linky


The article mentions a Europe price of USD13.6k which is EUR11.9k. If we got the full Irish EUR5k subsidy off that, it would be great value for money

I'm afraid EVs with a list price under €14k are not entitled to the SEAI plug-in grant.

http://www.seai.ie/grants/electric-vehicle-grants/grant-amounts/

unkel

I had no idea about the staggered subsidy setup, thanks for sharing that!

Round Cable

unkel wrote: »

I had no idea about the staggered subsidy setup, thanks for sharing that!

No worries, until coming across that link, I thought it was a flat 5k discount too. It wouldn't really come up much as there are no approved cars on that list under 20k.

BigAl81

Hum,

Seems these will be about 12k and out next year. They released a funny video...

Would be a great local runabout! I"d be a bit worried about being run over in tho it's so small.

Anyone thinking of getting one of these? Could scratch the EV itch while waiting for better long range / better availability of other EVs etc

BigAl81

Oh dear, this "car" won't be out in Ireland until 2021 unfortunately. I contacted them today and got this back...

"We hope to be ready for Ireland deliveries in 2021. We will start the production in spring 2019, and first deliver swiss clients, later german clients and slowly expand in mid 2020"

Seems very slow to hope to be ready for 2021! I am dissapoint

BigAl81

Not just the Model 3 configurator opening this week...

https://microlino-car.com/en/configurator

Comes in at nearly 20 grand when you tick all the options. At 12k I was considering it, but not a hope at 20k!

unkel

CHF12.5k ex-VAT. For base version with no options ticked.

That's €11.2k plus 23% VAT so €13.8k. No VRT.

Minus the SEAI grant. How much is that again for a car of this value?

BigAl81

Ah, forgot about the EV grants!! That could make it interesting again.

I've a commute of 6kms each way and seriously looking at this when they are released here

unkel

From above link if the price is between €14k-€15k there is a €2k grant. So tick one cheap option to make the car €14k and then you get €2k subsidy, so the Microlino would be €12k

A bit high for my liking, but it would of course cost nothing to run

Very cool yoke all the same :cool:

unkel

And the long range with 14.4kWh is €2.5k more, so that would bring it a bit over €16k, so a bit over €13k net with the higher grant of €3k. Not bad.

I wonder if it can be used as a V2H battery storage? If so I could be tempted

boombang

I saw these at Geneva last year. They were cute. Maybe the models they had on display were preproduction prototypes, but they were pretty shoddily built. Which is a shame as I badly wanted to like it.

Atoms for Peace

boombang wrote: »

I saw these at Geneva last year. They were cute. Maybe the models they had on display were preproduction prototypes, but they were pretty shoddily built. Which is a shame as I badly wanted to like it.

If only BMW would make a licensed copy of it like they did for original.

Joseph SEE

Looks like there may not be a Microlino.

The Italian company who were going to build the cars were bought out by a German company, Artega.

Artega seems to have shafted Microlino and purposefully built substandard cars that Microlino couldn't give to their customers.

Now Artega is launching their own Microlino clone. A disgusting company by all accounts.

https://www.electrive.com/2019/06/04/microlino-opens-order-books/

zg3409

Old thread but a new picture from NI. I am not sure if the 2018 pricing here is accurate.

lau1247

Funky looking but at 24K, it is on the expensive side for a small car.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065356#Comment_122065356

You're definitely paying the novelty tax

To be fair, I was cycling through Dublin yesterday and watching an Aygo zipping through traffic where SUVs couldn't get through, so there's some value in it

Said Aygo also nearly pancaked me in the cycle lane, so I would have appreciated if it was a bit smaller as well

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065356#Comment_122065356

Over double the stated price in 2018… Not a great result

Oscar_Madison

It’s unquestionably good looking but also unquestionably over priced - considering someone got a 2023 VW E Up on another thread for 15k the other day, it’s very hard to justify such a spend - back streets of Rome or Paris yeah lovely -would prefer to see some very practical electric mini vans made by Fiat and Citroen run around our city streets and less of the Ford transits etc

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GNennjZ_HoE

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065884#Comment_122065884

It was never going to hit the market at that price here. Even then, it was dreamer territory. It is a shame though as I think it would sell reasonably well at about 12 to 15k but at 24k and over, forget it.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065356#Comment_122065356

That's the top spec version, you can get a base spec for €18k

Dunno what the story is with L6e vehicles here and road tax. I'm going to guess they're in the same grey area as E-scooters

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122078570#Comment_122078570

I would not risk it without tax & insurance & driving licence. When scooters were legalised this would not be covered.

https://www.cyclingelectric.com/news/ireland-e-scooters-legal-and-rule-out-insurance-on-e-bikes

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080187#Comment_122080187

Yeah it looks like they're licensed as light quad bikes, so you'd need an AM license

Don't think they're liable for VRT but would pay €35 road tax, plus insurance

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080430#Comment_122080430

I do not know where you got the €35 road tax from it's certainly not here in Ireland anyway as the cheapest tax is €120 for any vehicle. Maybe you were thinking of quarterly payments.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081355#Comment_122081355

It would be taxed as a motorbike surely?

I'm talking about the Lite version to be clear, not the higher powered one which is classed as a car

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081355#Comment_122081355

@the_amazing_raisin is right. Microcars like these (and the Ami, Twizzy, etc.) are quadricycles with the same rate of motor tax as motor cycles. For electric ones it is just €35 per year

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081419#Comment_122081419

I doubt a Twizzy or an Ami could be taxed for €35 here in Ireland. That rate is for things like this below and e-scooters,

galvo_clare

https://cartourismo.ie/cars/events/salon-prive-chelsea-2024/

It was at the recent Salon Privé in London.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081489#Comment_122081489

Apparently yes, it can.

As far as the Department of Transport is concerned, such vehicles as the Ami and Twizy fall into the same Category A as motorbikes, and the department further notes that because the Ami has a top speed of 45km/h, you’re not allowed to drive it on motorways

https://www.irishtimes.com/motors/2023/10/25/can-micro-car-micro-rentals-ever-take-off-in-ireland/

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081521#Comment_122081521

Nothing there about reduced tax. The rest of the article is behind a paywall. Could you copy and paste it? Thanks.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081576#Comment_122081576

I did copy and paste it. It's the bit above the link.

Also if you want to get past the paywall, I use this: https://paywallhub.com/ The archive.is option seems to be the most successful.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081489#Comment_122081489

You doubt wrong! Try and find a Twizy for sale on line and put the reg into the motor tax site. You will see it is taxed for €35 per year. I've done it before myself.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081863#Comment_122081863

Try and find a Twizzy for sale in Ireland full stop. I wouod love one but they are as rare as hens teeth.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081912#Comment_122081912

From experience, there are several coming up for sale every year. Always overpriced for what they are though, although I nearly scooped one up a year or two ago for under €3k.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081912#Comment_122081912

Ask and you shall receive 🤣

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-twizy-2016/36844161

Unfortunately it's in NI so no way of checking the road tax.

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122081979#Comment_122081979

£7300 for an 8 year old Twizzy? They're having a laugh right there, regardless of what the motor tax situation on it would be!!

I really like the Microlino, as I have said earlier, but I just don't perceive €18k worth of value in it either (at it's base price). Perhaps I am the completely wrong market and they are chasing the nostalgia folk but I don't count on it selling in huge numbers here at all. It will probably end up like the Twizzy where 2 or 3 a year will pop up for sale for crazy money and then disappear into the ether again for another while. I don't even believe these are investment pieces so I highly doubt they will appreciate or even hold their value into the future either.

Overall, I think this country has gone past the "mass personal mobility" phase as Government policy is to encourage public transport over most other methods (not including e-bikes and e-scooters), so these types of micro vehicles are not even attractive to the majority of people here. They may work well in a Mediterranean country or Paris and the likes but we are the wrong market and vehicles like this will only be adopted here by the very few who have enough disposable income to spend on this as a "cool or hip" accessory.

Perhaps if I win the lottery and dropping €18k on a lifestyle vehicle suddenly means nothing, will I then go and get one.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122082033#Comment_122082033

Yeah, it's nuts money. For a car with seven owners too. There's a niche for cars like the Twizy and the Microlino and all their ilk but I don't think there's much of one in this country. A few cities like Dublin, Cork and Galway maybe.

the_amazing_raisin

I guess for some clarification on the Microlino, there's two versions, Lite and... non Lite I guess

The Lite version is limited to 45km/h and is classed as a light quad bike

The car version can go up to 90km/h, has a bigger battery and is effectively a very small car (they're both the same size)

IMO, the only version worth looking at is the Lite version. Yeah the bigger one goes faster and further, but is anyone really going to want to take this thing from Dublin to Galway?

For buzzing around cities, the Lite version is perfect and cheap to run and tax. Also it can be used by younger drivers because it only requires an AM license

Plus you don't have to experience the wonderful weather and get to sit out of the rain

I assume it can't use bike lanes, and would still need to sit in traffic, although I could see drivers taking the attitude that it goes where it'll fit, which is basically anywhere

Of course it's a pretty narrow customer profile, you could endure the weather and get an E-scooter or ebike which is much easier for getting around the city centre (even if you're boring like me and obey the traffic lights)

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122082052#Comment_122082052

Apparently most of the residents of Dublin prefer their cars bigger than the Twizy given the amount of traffic I was cycling through last week

Micro cars are perfect for cities but you wouldn't want to bring one on a long trip. I nearly got flattened by an Aygo which is probably the smallest car you'd consider useful here

Of course if we had such luxuries as a functional public transport network then you could just have your small car for the city as needed. Or use the park and ride which actually exists

Seriously, I don't understand anyone driving in Dublin city, it's just so frustrating. I'd take the bike in the rain over the car any day if I was doing that every day

rdhma

I got to sit in a Microlino at an EV show in the UK last year. There's plenty of room for one, maybe a little cosy with two.

The Byd Seagull EV will be available in Europe next year, which is a 4 door hatch, costing €9400 in China. Tax will bump that up here, even so, nearly double the price for a Microlino is a tough ask.

zg3409

Review

https://youtu.be/SB_b4HvrJFU?si=tViZfsK4lqQvcF79

zg3409

Up north

the_amazing_raisin

If I was still working in Dublin every day I'd honestly consider one. I've driven in and cycled in, cycling is definitely quicker and less stressful but you're at the mercy of the weather. One of these could zip through the traffic in a degree of comfort

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122783419#Comment_122783419

how would it zip through traffic?

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122783419#Comment_122783419

You would be stuck in the traffic like everyone else. This cannot use cycle or bus lanes legally so you will have to queue like any other car.

The comfort level would be up there for sure though as you will have a roof, windows, a door and a heater 🙂

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122783458#Comment_122783458

Aim for the gaps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122783564#Comment_122783564

See above 🤪

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/110354546#Comment_110354546

Do bmw have any input to this project or is it an independent venture?

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122784485#Comment_122784485

An independent venture I think.

the_amazing_raisin

It's owned by Micro Scooters, the crowd who make the 3 wheelers the kids zip around on

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122786299#Comment_122786299

Ah. So it will be oddly popular, overpriced and the bearings will fail within 3 months.