Torrot’ s Muvi electric scooter makes clean, green, extremely economical commuting available to all.
Words: Peter Elliott / Photos: Geoff Osborne
The electric scooter is one of those things that seems like a really, really, good idea; simple, easy to use, cheap to run, and efficient. Like the flying car. It’ s a great concept, solves a lot of traffic worries, and is easily achievable, engineering-wise. And three things have to occur before being adopted in huge numbers. One, the technology has to reach the point where it is no longer a one-off, in other words, mass production is not far away and the standards are agreed to. Tick. Two, it has to be
affordable for the average person. Hmmm. And three, it has to offer some sort of fun or enjoyment in the mix. Because that’ s where the desire comes from to make the other two points work. Big Tick. Now maybe the flying car is stretching the point because it’ d sure as hell be fun, but traffic control in the air will be a freakin’ nightmare‘ til we get some definite rules in place. That would mean we couldn’ t just go where we want, without air traffic control, air cops(!), and no hover, no fly zones, so why bother? If you know what I mean... NO FUN. So flying cars are out for the foreseeable. But electric scooters are here and they are heaps of fun. And the Torrot Muvi is a blast. You can rock along at the speed limit for about 65 kilometers, or you can zip around town in Eco mode for about 75 kilometers, on a full charge. You don’ t ever put gas in these things. The Muvi looks like a proper scooter, because it is. There’ s under seat storage for helmets and shopping etc, and inside that unit there are two large batteries which take about 2.5 hours to charge and give you plenty of distance for the day. I zapped into town for a meeting( 9.2) kilometers, and then tootled home along the waterfront round the marinas and up the hills of Herne Bay towards home( 12.8) kilometres for a total distance of 22km. I rode in Full mode because I’ m a heavy bugger and the hills were steep in places. On arrival the speedo still said I had a range of 54 km – I suspect they err on the side of caution. The Muvi is very stylish in black and white, with tall, black mag wheels. Twist the throttle and forward motion is provided by a rubber notched belt drive whirring almost silently beneath you. The brakes are excellent, discs front and rear. Acceleration is
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