FirstDrive: Reva ClasseDespite its low emissions and low costs, the Reva Classe had an uphill struggle to convince Paddy Comynthat it is the future for motoring.
With so much pressure being put on us all to do our bit for the environment and to reduce our "carbon footprint" as a nation, it is in all our interests to look for alternative methods of propulsion and different ways of fuelling our transport.
So, what if there was a method of transport that produced zero emissions, and whose carbon footprint was limited just to that used to make the electricity that powers it? Well the idea sounds good - doesn't it? The Reva is India's first electric vehicle, and was launched in 2001 after seven years of development. According to the manufacturers, there are some 1,800 vehicles on the road in countries such as the UK (where it's called the G-Wiz), France, Malta, Sri Lanka, Cyprus and Greece.
The car has become popular in London in particular, where there are thought to be some 900 examples on the streets as they avoid the congestion charge and tend to be ideal for low-speed journeys.
The Reva Classe is not really a car, although in Ireland it is treated as such. It has received full EU-Type Approval as a quadricycle, a classification which limits the maximum output to about 20bhp and the weight to 400kg without batteries. It takes up 40 per cent less road space than the average car, both on the road and when parked.
Green Machines in Terenure is Ireland's stockist of the Reva and unlike our friends across the water, they have not been inundated with enquiries for the new car - hardly surprising since it comes with a €14,000 price tag for a new one, and that includes a 50 per cent VRT rebate. That is the price of a normal supermini with four proper seats, proper brakes and airbags, albeit with a petrol engine.
Ironically enough, I roll up to Green Machines driving a Jeep Commander, a vast seven-seater 3-litre SUV with about as many green credentials as a bag of coal. Outside the building sat a red Reva, plugged in and charging up, ready for action.
If you have been to one of the major shopping centres, you will often see small red cars that you can hire for your children, sort of a high-class buggy that look like Noddy's car, with a handle at the back. This was the same theme; except I was about to enter Dublin traffic in mine.
The Reva is a mere 2,638mm long and 1,510mm high and allegedly seats four people, although I was struggling to get my 6'2" frame into the car at all. Powered by either a DC or AC induction motor, which is controlled by a 400 amp microprocessor, the top speed is about 65km/h and it takes six hours to fully charge the car, using a plug that you put into any standard house socket. On a fully charged battery there is a range of about 80km.
Our model was a used example, but the new Reva i has 40 per cent more power and will reach a top speed of 80km/h, and comes with better brakes and automatic hill holding.
The controls are straightforward enough. There is a dial to the right of the steering wheel, which you turn to F to go forwards, E for Economy mode, N for Neutral and R for reverse. There is barely a sound apart from a faint hum that reminds you of a milk float or a bumper car.
The quality is appalling both inside and out, and everything feels like it is just about to snap off in your hand. Storage space is limited to a small cubby under the bonnet and a tiny boot, which is just about big enough for one bag of shopping.
Away from the mass of metal that my Jeep provided, I now sat doubled over, peering out the small windscreen like an idiot, edging my way into traffic, not really sure what was going to happen next.
But sure enough, I pressed the accelerator and my ashen-faced passenger and I hit the streets. I have driven thousands of cars - everything from Ferraris to Model T Fords, but I don't think I have ever felt so decidedly nervous as I did in the Reva.
Granted, it goes fast enough for your average spin in Dublin traffic. But with the passenger door wedged up against my shoulder, the windscreen wedged up against my face and the knowledge that the car was made in India using bits of old plastic did not inspire confidence.
Nor do the brakes that aren't, nor the steering, which feels like it is little more than twine connected to the wheels by the grace of God.
At least I gave the van drivers of Dublin a chuckle. They were barely able to get their windows down fast enough to spurt out abuse about the validity of my parentage.
Remember that Ireland is a country where the Smart car didn't work, and that had a proper engine, so it is not surprising that this electric dinky has failed to attract many buyers.
But of more serious concern is the fact that the UK Department for Transport found "serious safety concerns" after crashing a G-Wiz at 35mph into a deformable barrier in April.
Likewise, a test commissioned by Top Gear magazine, that followed the Euro NCAP crash test specifications, found that the occupants would suffer "serious or life-threatening" injuries in a 64km/h crash.
THE REVA IS EXEMPT from crash test rules, due to the fact that it is classed as a quadricycle. The company has hit back by claiming that in the over 20-million customer driven miles there have been no serious injuries reported.
You are unlikely to ever get fast enough to crash into something with much force, but the thoughts of being hit by someone running a red light or a sleepy bus driver were enough for me. But truth-be-told, you are probably as likely to hurt yourself badly in a scooter at similar speeds.
While it is unlikely that there will be many takers for this "car", the idea is good. An average car produces 165g/km of CO2. A Hybrid car like the Toyota Prius produces 104g/km.
The Reva produces 0.02g/km when you base that on the charge coming from non-renewable national grid supply. If the electricity was generated from something like wind power, it would be a zero carbon footprint. Put another way, charging this vehicle for a year and using it every day for 80km creates a carbon footprint equivalent of travelling only 4.5km in a standard petrol car.
Yet this model is still subject to the same VRT as a hybrid petrol car. Robert Nolan, managing director of Green Machines, questions this. "We are challenging the new green Government to immediately address the question of VRT and VAT on zero emission vehicles," he says.
"Our industry is promoting a switch to a mode of transport that will have an immediate impact on the local, as well as the global environment. The reductions we are calling for will encourage a switch by the consumer to an environmentally-friendly mode of travel and reduce our dependency on oil for our internal transport needs."
There will be a more updated version coming to these shores next year, with more of a passenger car appearance and Green Machines themselves also offer a clever electric scooter called the Vectrix which uses similar technology.
Until then, for me, like so many others, it is back to internal combustion, airbags and plenty of metal, and until cars like this are bigger and cheaper then, like our weather, there will be no sign of the dark clouds shifting soon.
Factfile:Reva Classe
Price:€14,000
Top speed:65km/h
0-65km/h:Nobody really knows
CO2 emissions:0.02g/km
Range:80km
Weight:750kg