Within the new Motocompacto, Honda has resurrected an idea as previous as I’m – a compact, folding scooter that matches conveniently into the storage space of your automobile. Within the Eighties, it was known as the Motocompo — a gas-powered scooter that folded away neatly right into a purpose-built storage cubby within the unique Honda Metropolis (as we speak known as the Match). Honda known as it a “trunk bike.” It was meant to be a last-mile mobility gadget lengthy earlier than such issues had been swept up by the rising tide of electrification hype.
The Motocompacto is much less specialised (and also you don’t want to purchase a Match to get one) and consequently a bit extra versatile. It affords simply 12 miles of whole vary from a 6.8Ah battery. That is a far cry from the super-efficient Motocompo’s 90-plus miles of theoretical ICE vary, however at the very least this will’t stink up your inside… until you run over one thing disagreeable, in fact.
Its small battery pays dividends in comfort. The Motocompacto will be charged from lifeless to full in 3.5 hours on an old style 110-volt outlet. It is simply over 38 inches lengthy and 35 inches tall when totally deployed and affords a 24.5-inch seat peak, however compacts to only 3.7 inches vast by 21.1 inches tall and 29.2 inches lengthy when folded. In whole, the bundle weighs 41.3 kilos. That’s significantly lower than most electric-assisted bicycles.
You won’t count on a lot of a driver interface from a machine this small, however consider it or not, the Motocompacto has a full digital management system with a digital display screen interface. It’s a one-button-does-all setup that each prompts/deactivates the scooter and manages its two drive modes. Oh, yeah; it has drive modes.
There aren’t any “off-road” or “sport” settings right here; in truth, the modes are merely labeled “1” and “2.” I suppose you could possibly think about “off” to be a 3rd “mode,” however suffice it to say that it’s a reasonably fundamental interface. Mode 1 caps your velocity at a strolling tempo and requires you to use throttle from a roll. Mode 2 unlocks the Motocompacto’s 15-mph high velocity and means that you can run it vast open it from a standstill when you’re so inclined.
Not that you simply’ll get blistering acceleration both method. The little motor affords simply 490 watts of peak output, delivering 11.8 pound-feet of torque to the entrance wheel (in fact, as a result of Honda). For context, the battery-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV was powered by a 49 kW — or 49,000-watt — motor. By comparability, the Motocompacto would possibly as properly be a set of USB accent wheels mounted to a laptop computer.
I’ve had the pleasure(?) of evaluating Autoblog’s Urb-E scooter in real-world circumstances. That it has sat motionless for almost two years in my basement speaks volumes, however on the planet of dorky electrical mobility, Honda is pushing the Fonz to Urb-E’s Potsie.
Subsequent to the smooth Motocompacto, the Urb-E seems to be like one thing an engineer constructed their child only for giggles. Its easy fold-out deployment is advantageous, however as I found, the comfort of that swinging body comes at a big detriment to the scooter’s journey and dealing with. Hitting a bump sufficiently big to let the Urb-E’s body swing free is a spooky expertise. It additionally doesn’t fold to a very manageable form and until you take away the battery from the chassis solely, carrying it round places the worry of God into drywall panels in all places.
To organize the Motocompacto for a journey, you should mount the seat and deploy each the handlebars and rear wheel. Each are toolless processes, however not almost as fast or intuitive to handle because the Urb-E’s easy unfold-and-go setup. Honda’s execution could also be just a little fussier, however the trade-off is improved portability. The whole thing of the Motocompacto stows away contained in the physique throughout transport (the cavity acts as storage whilst you’re driving) and its battery is integral to the chassis; it can’t be eliminated to cost individually.
A 15-mph high velocity definitely received’t set the world on hearth, however if you’re driving a briefcase on a set of casters, that feels a lot brisk. The velocity cap lets Honda classify the Motocompacto like these little e-scooters scattered round America’s tech cities, conserving it safely out of visitors in most municipalities. That’s a great factor because the mounted wheels received’t give you a lot consolation within the occasion you encounter a pothole.
On clean pavement, it’s straightforward to handle and genuinely enjoyable to toss round. The low-slung physique limits the Motocompacto’s maneuverability to a level, however you’ll run out of “sidewall” on the tires lengthy earlier than you set the Motocompacto’s “body” on pavement. Go away your knee armor at house; your Valentino Rossi impression must wait.
Off clean pavement? Doubtless a really completely different story. We received to mess around with the Motocompacto on the M1 Concourse skidpad in Pontiac, Mich. In contrast to lots of the roads within the surrounding neighborhood, M1’s floor remains to be pristine. This little scooter’s lack of a correct suspension means it’ll be disagreeable on damaged sidewalks or poorly maintained bike lanes (examine your native legal guidelines earlier than driving in a single). And the fold-away configuration will make it further tough to suit aftermarket elements, do you have to be questioning if maybe some bigger pneumatic tires would make for a greater journey.
At $995, the Motocompacto is in “hey, why not?” territory for loads of automobile fanatics, which fits it. It’s extra toy than device (and there are locations the place it’s possible you’ll be labeled the latter if caught driving one), however the great thing about toys is that they want no justification. It’s smooth, fashionable and genuinely enjoyable. And sure, it’ll nonetheless tuck properly into the hatch of your Honda Match.