Vectrix Electric Scooter

This summer I took a Vectrix electric scooter for a test ride; and I have to say that I was very impressed. With a top speed of 100 km/h and a range of 110 km, this could easily be the first truly usable electric vehicle since the milk float. The acceleration was extremely good; the feel and handling were excellent. With all the weight low down, but with much less weight than the older generation of electric vehicles, it makes for a really useful little machine. I was very impressed with the sales team too. They were both bikers, so they new what they were talking about and understood their customer. They were quite happy to bring a machine with a fully charged battery to my home, follow me on a test ride to work and recover me if the range of the vehicle wasn’t up to it. That may seem rather odd, since my journey to work is only 55 km – half the maximum range of the Vectrix - but apparently the maximum range is not available at the maximum speed. My journey to work looks like this: 5 km town driving (max speed 50); 35 km motorway (max speed 120); 15 km dual carriageway (max speed 80). That middle section of 35 km at what would mostly be flat out for the bike could prove a big drain on the battery and would need to be assessed. In the end I decided not to buy one. Below is my assessment of the pros and cons of this particular vehicle, but my main concern was that the top speed just isn’t high enough. It’s not the time – it would add about 3.6 minutes (or 9%) to my minimum journey time – but the actual usability on a motorway. I watched how I ride on motorways, and came to the conclusion that I do use that top 20 km/h most of the time. Given that more than 60% of my journey is motorway, I just wasn’t happy with having no acceleration above 100 km/h.

Advantages of the Vectrix (over my Honda ST1100):

• Cheap to run – would cost about £1 a week.
• Cheap to service – apparently has only 7 moving parts (brakes and bearings)
• Zero cost to tax

Disadvantages

• Unknown battery life. Ten years is claimed, but warranty only covers two or three
• Unknown resale value – Have to assume that it depreciates fully over the warranty period.
• Lack of top speed for motorway work
• Unknown insurance costs – Vectrix recommended a broker who quoted a crazy price
• Unknown range when the battery gets old. I’d be a bit stuck if the range drops off after a year of use and I can’t get to work.

It’s very difficult to get an accurate picture of the true cost of ownership of the Vectrix. With fuel costs at £50 per year instead of £1500 you’d think it would make sense. One model I built, the whole thing hinged on the tyre life, believe it or not. But any realistic model of cost for any vehicle is based on the depreciation. Buying a brand new scooter for £7000 with an unpredictable resale value, compared with a middle-aged big bike with a strong second-hand market just leaves too many unknowns. So it was with some reluctance that I gave up my hope of going electric for my commuting. But give up I have until there’s a bit more top end, and a bit more history on which to base depreciation estimates.