We’ve been hearing a lot about the “city car.” When that phrase is used it is commonly associated with a subcompacts like the Smart fortwo or the MINI Cooper.
But those cars are powered by gasoline. Now comes a so-called “city car” that’s powered by electricity.
Called the Zenn electric car, it is, well, small: 122-inches long, or around half the size of a Smart fortwo and MINI Cooper. It has two seats and some storage area that can be accessed through a rear hatch.
Anyway, according to technoride, Zenn is powered by six 12-volt batteries which are re-energized by a regenerated brake system. Speed is said to build slowly and so does the road noise. Top speed is 25 mph, but the manufacturer says that is “artificially capped” and that it could go 5 or 10 mph more by simply figuring out a way to bypass the speed governor.
Range is said to be 30 to 50 miles depending on driving conditions and whether the air conditioner is on. By the way, the A/C is an option.
The car is “filled” by plugging it into an electrical outlet. It takes four hours to get 80 percent charged, eight hours to get fully charged. It is said that “filling up” the car with electricity is equivalent to buying 50 cents a gallon of gasoline.
The Zenn electric car was recently tested in New York City. Our take? We guess if something is called a “city car” it should be tested in New York City, right?