It’s been quite a journey to follow the Microlino from its first designs until the first delivery, which happened in August 2022. However, we were still missing learning how it drives and what it feels like to be inside the new electric bubble car. Jack Scarlett and Fully Charged went to Turin to answer that question for us: their video shows they were pretty impressed with the Microlino 2.0.
As our regular readers know, the car is called 2.0 because the 1.0 version was supposed to be produced by Micro-Mobility’s former Italian partner, TMI (Tecno Meccanica Imola). It was bought by Artega, a German company that decided it would make the Microlino and a car exactly like it with its own badge and the name Karolino. Micro-Mobility did not accept that.
After a short legal battle and a settlement, Microlino got rid of Artega and found a new manufacturing partner: CECOMP. Artega kept the Microlino 1.0 project, went bankrupt, and was bought by Electricbrands, which will produce the Karolino in Göttingen, Germany, under a new name: Evetta. If the plans for it do not change (again), the car should only reach its first customers in 2023. The Microlino already had 60 units manufactured for customers.
Scarlett drove the Microlino around Turin, where CECOMP makes the bubble car. The Pioneer edition comes with a 10.5-kWh battery pack that provides a range of 177 kilometers (110 miles). Located underneath the bubble car, it gives it a low center of mass, which made the Fully Charged host very pleased with it on mountain roads around Turin. Scarlett called it a driver's car.
In the city, the Microlino is agile and catches so much attention that early buyers must not be shy. If they are, they should wait for when the electric bubble car is more popular in their cities to buy one. Despite the tiny wheels, the Microlino suspension is also surprisingly comfortable on rough surfaces.
Scarlett showed all details in the car. Despite being 6’5” (1.98-meter) tall, he only missed a bit more headroom – something the sunroof helped him expand. He stressed that the early Microlinos have some things that may bother owners, such as the windows that move in hard braking and the transmission that whines loud (something he enjoys but knows people may be annoyed about in daily use). If you are curious about the tiny EV, you should definitely watch the entire video.
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