I spent a week in a car that can only do 56mph – and loved every second: Microlino full review

I love little, silly cars. My own Peugeot 106 is the size of a shoe, I adore anything made by Abarth, and I’m sure there are very few motoring journalists who’ve covered as much distance in a Citroen Ami as I have. So from the moment I saw the Microlino in person at the Brussels Motor Show a few years ago, I was hooked.

The Microlino is manufactured by Swiss company Micro – better known for building folding scooters. It’s an all-electric microcar that fits into the same ‘quadricycle’ category as a Renault Twizy – that means a maximum speed of 56mph, an unladen weight of less than 450kg and engine power of 20hp or less. There’s also a ‘Lite’ model limited to 28mph that fits into the ‘light quadricycle’ category along with the Citroen Ami, and can be driven by 16-year-olds.

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The eye-catching styling is a modern interpretation of the archetypal ‘bubblecar’ – the original BMW Isetta. Both cars have their sole means of entry via a big hinged door at the very front, and their headlights on little pods out to the sides. Our test model also came in an amazingly eye-catching two-tone white and high-viz yellow, but almost any shade is available if you ask nicely.

The original Isetta is remembered by many as a three-wheeler, but that was largely unique to the UK market – having three instead of four wheels meant they were classed as motorcycles for tax and licencing purposes. The Microlino, like most Isettas, has two wheels at the rear, but more closely spaced than those at the front.

Like the Isetta, the Microlino is truly tiny. It’s only 2.5m long and 1.5m wide – about 20cm larger in both dimensions than the original, but far smaller than even a traditional city car like a Kia Picanto. It’s built like a ‘proper’ car though, with a real monocoque chassis – so it should be safer in a crash than alternatives which just have a tubular frame with some body panels bolted on.

It really doesn’t feel small on the inside. Open up that huge front door via a neatly hidden button and you can literally step inside. I found it a bit awkward threading myself around the steering column – it’s fixed, unlike the original which moved out of the way with the door – but once in place there was genuinely loads of room. I’m 6’2 and didn’t find myself struggling for space.

The interior is thoughtfully yet minimally designed. There’s a small display on the steering column for speed and range, and a tubular handrail attached to the door also contains a tiny touchscreen with controls for the fan, heater, air-conditioning and interior light.

You don’t get any infotainment as such – there’s a sturdy phone mount as well as a Micro-branded bluetooth speaker that fits into its own dedicated holder, a neat solution. Plus, there are four USB ports to keep gadgets juiced up. Our test model was the ‘Premium’, which added nicer upholstery as well as air-conditioning, but I’ve sat in a lesser model before and found it perfectly pleasant.

The original Isetta used a single-cylinder moped engine with about 12hp in later versions, but times have moved on somewhat. The Microlino is fully electric – it has a 17hp motor driving the rear wheels and a choice of 5.5kWh, 10.5kWh or 15kWh batteries. According to Micro, the largest of these gives you a driving range of 142 miles – two miles more than the Dacia Spring. The UK distributor claims a more realistic 114 miles in summer and 85 in winter.

Setting off couldn’t be easier with just a rotary dial by your left knee for driving modes. Acceleration is modest – but unlike the Citroen Ami you don’t feel like a liability to traffic. In fact, traffic couldn’t be friendlier, with so many appreciative waves and thumbs-up.

It grips well in the corners, so well in fact that I didn’t really dare to approach the limits for fear of rolling over. I’m sure it’s stable – but the comparatively high seating position and ample body roll means it feels a bit sketchy going around roundabouts or corners too quickly.

It’s even reasonably comfortable. Bumps and potholes are dealt with unexpectedly well considering how small the wheels are, and the bench seat is squashy and quite supportive.

The top speed of 56mph means that, unlike a Citroen Ami, you can take the Microlino onto a motorway – and I did, with a short spell on the M1 and a little trip up and down the A1(M). And the result? It’s fine. A bit blustery perhaps, and you do get overtaken by lorries especially on long, gentle inclines where your 56mph top speed becomes more like 50mph – but this isn’t a car meant for cross-country jaunts.

Round town and on country lanes, the Microlino excels, and you can even make use of ‘Sport’ mode – which unlocks a little extra boost and is activated by a button featuring an adorable graphic of a Microlino with a rocket booster on the roof.

If there’s one criticism, it’s that the unassisted steering and braking both require a bit of muscle. Neither provide much feedback to the driver and they encourage a gentle driving style with considerable forward planning. It’s also not the best winter vehicle – the sunroof, windows and doors all let in a bit of a draught, and though the heater is effective it really chews through your battery.

As for range, I found in our big-battery test model that a real-world 80 miles was achievable – but a lot of that was at the car’s top speed. Round town, over a hundred miles is much more realistic, and that’s a good amount for a city car. The Microlino’s urban focus also makes the lack of fast-charging easier to swallow – it tops up from a home charger in a few hours, but you can’t speed that up. Nor can you use the majority of public charge points, fitted as they are with CCS ports instead of the Type 2 standard. And once you get below 15% charge, the car starts throttling back the power available to you, so even 56mph becomes a pipe dream.

You’ll have to really love it to buy one. Practicality concerns aside, the Microlino is far from cheap. The 28mph model starts from just under £17,000, and the 56mph model just under £18,000. That rises to £21,490 if you want the biggest battery, and our top-end model with the Premium interior and air-con was an eye-watering £25,000 and change. For that money you could get a Renault 5 in a similarly eye-catching shade of yellow.

So who’s the Microlino for? Well, the ‘Lite’ model is a bit pointless in this country – it makes more sense in France, where it can be driven by children as young as 14, but in the UK you can only start at age 16 and with a moped licence – it’d be easier just to wait a year and drive a proper car. The full-fat model, though, is a real charmer.

Microlino’s UK distributor, Krazy Horse, says they’ve had orders from all sorts – from island-dwellers such as people on Guernsey to landowners wanting something to get round their estate to people who live in famously car-unfriendly cities such as Oxford. For urban mileage, assuming you have somewhere to charge it up, I can hardly think of anything better than a Microlino.

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