VIDEO: Vectrix scooter: 100% Electric, Zero emissions
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When you think “electric” and “scooter” together, you think of something shrink-wrapped, made in China and bought at a toy store. Well, the Vectrix is none of that. It goes 62 mph, has a claimed range of 68 miles and accelerates faster than most of the cars around you at the stoplight. That it is clean is only a bonus.
Plus, you get all the benefits of scooterdom: squirt-and-shoot traffic snaking, park-it-anywhere convenience and a price fit for a college senior majoring in philosophy.
The Vectrix is powered by a low-mounted, 3.7-kW, 125-volt NiMH battery pack that re-charges to 80 or 90 percent of capacity in two hours. Three hours is usually enough for a full charge, four if you start from flat empty. When you twist the throttle forward to brake, the regen slows the bike–you almost never need the brakes. The batteries make it pretty heavy for a scooter, so slow-speed maneuvers require some care, but there’s a reverse gear (if you twist the throttle forward at a stop, it backs up) to help you park it.
Vectrix claims 0 to 50 mph (not 60) in 6.8 seconds, and, using the highly scientific “One Mississippi, two Mississippi” method, we found that about right. With all of its torque available from 0 rpm, it gets off the line faster than most cars.
The electric power cord is built right into the underseat storage and snakes out easily to reach 110- and 220-volt outlets. It draws about 15 amps, so just be sure you’re not plugged into an outlet that is also powering something important, or you’ll blow a fuse. While you can’t fully recharge in the time it takes to order lunch, you can pour in enough electrons that, with similar topping off throughout the day, you can keep enough charge in the batteries so range won’t be a problem. Usually.
Vectrix has been doing research and development for more than a decade on this ride but has been selling the scooter for less than a year.
Specs:
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $11,850
DRIVETRAIN: 20.2-kW peak power (7-kW continuous power), 65 Nm, burshless DC radial air-gap motor; rwd, coaxial integrated rear-wheel-mounted planetary-gear drive
CURB WEIGHT: 462 lb
0-50 MPH: 6.8 sec
FUEL ECONOMY: One penny per mile (mfr)
Source: Vectrix & Autoweek
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