While the Chevy Volt may have aspirations of being the first plug-in hybrid car sold in the US, the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid is going to beat it all-ends-up for fuel economy.
With a goodly 2.0 l/100km (141mpg) fuel economy to its credit, the Piaggio MP3 – from the crowd responsible for the Vespa – runs on a system that follows the same principle as the Toyota Prius.
Plug the MP3 Hybrid into a regular power outlet, and a full charge can be achieved in about three hours. The battery alone can be used to get around town as far as 65km, which is easily a day’s worth of scooting in the city, or a couple of trips to and from the suburbs, before you’d even need to worry about using the petrol engine.
The Piaggio MP3 Hybrid offers four operation modes: electric-only, or three hybrid modes optimised for performance, minimal fuel consumption, and fast battery recharge.
The Piaggio MP3 Hybrid will be available in the US for around US$8000 (AUD$12,400), but there’s no word on Aussie distribution as yet. The regular non-hybrid MP3 can be had in Australia for AU$9,990, so here’s hoping!
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You know, if this came out, I’d be seriously tempted to ditch the car and get one of these to ride to work…
Only problem with a bike like this is that it too big to lane split. You’re gonna be stuck in traffic absorbing fumes.
Maya, I have a MP3 400 and I can lane split comfortably. It’s not that big. Sure it is big compared to a skinny scooter, but this scooter is no wider than any traditional maxi-scooter which is what this is.