Are electric minicars the future of city driving? We put one to the test

I turn the key. The touch screen on the dashboard flashes to life. Colored disco lights illuminate inside the speakers. As I smash the accelerator to the floor, the electric motor sprints into high gear, about 25 miles per hour.

Squint and you might see a golf cart. There’s a boxy frame with no windows and no doors.

But look closer and you might see that these minicars — alternatively “low-speed vehicles” (LSVs) or, in federal bureaucratic parlance, “neighborhood electric vehicles” (NEVs) — are equipped to fill a missing middle ground in America’s transportation fleet. They boast many of the features and functionality of a full-size car, but at a much lower price, while delivering the environmental benefits of an e-bike.

Although minicars are already a staple in Europe and Asia, most Americans have never heard of them. Safety concerns, inadequate infrastructure and depressingly few choices beyond glorified golf carts have steered people away.

But change is coming. Nearly all 50 states now allow them, said Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis. On a recent trip to Florida, I saw them everywhere, and some cities are passing laws to encourage them. A wave of new designs is about to hit the market on two, three and four wheels — including one from a spin-off of Rivian, the electric truck maker.

Americans may have a tough time ending their love affair (or is it a forced marriage?) with big cars and trucks. But if 80 percent of daily trips in the United States are under 10 miles, can LSVs handle the task? To test the proposition, I revved some up in the Bay Area and tried to reimagine transportation unconstrained by old ideas of what cars are supposed to be.

Are these cars to drop off your kids on the way to the office (me) — or just a toy? Hop in. Let’s go for a spin.

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