Hey guys, ChrisFix here, and today were doing something special.
I'm taking you for a ride in an 84 mile per gallon Elio, which will cost sixty eight hundred
dollars brand-new.
Now these are some crazy numbers and I'm gonna go over how that's possible and give you an
idea of what this car is all about.
This is a preproduction prototype so the Elio isn't for sale yet, but they're aiming to
start selling them the second half of two thousand sixteen.
How I got this once in a lifetime opportunity is I was contacted by the Elio team and they
asked me if I could test drive the prototype and give them feedback.
I asked if I could bring my cameras and they said yeah, so now I'm here in Los Angeles
driving the Elio around.
This is actually pretty cool because I've been following the development of this car
after my father first showed me this a few years ago, and now I'm here test driving it.
Who would have ever thought this would happen?
So let's take a look at this baby.
The first thing you notice when you look at the Elio is that it has only three wheels.
There are two wheels in the front, and one in the rear.
Unlike the Polaris Slingshot, the Elio is front wheel drive, so you'll get power to
the two front wheels instead of the one rear wheel, which I like because it's good for
control and good for driving in the snow, especially for a commuter car.
The other thing that you notice is how narrow this car is, and the design is totally different
than any car on the road today.
With its open wheel design and long body, the vehicle is designed around safety and
aerodynamics.
The interior is nicely done.
Instead of having seats that are side-by-side, you ride tandem which is another unique feature.
Let's take a quick walk around the Elio just to check it out.
Man, does this thing look cool or what?
I'm loving the open wheel design and just how this car looks so different compared to
everything else on the road.
I actually got the chance to talk with the creator and CEO of Elio motors Paul Elio,
for over an hour and he's a super chill guy.
He told me the focus was: keep the car safe, get amazing fuel economy, keep it inexpensive,
and make it in America to keep jobs here; all things that make a lot of sense.
Now for me, this open wheel design is very intriguing because you can see all the parts,
and naturally I just keep thinking, "I wonder how easy it is to fix?"
The front suspension is an independent coil over double wishbone suspension and there
seems to be good access to all the nuts and bolts, which is nice for a change.
The wheel cover which aids in aerodynamics seems like it might be a problem, but it's
actually really easy to get off, which was one of my first questions to the Elio team.
These two orange cylinders, one here and one here, hold the wheel cover in place and slide
over metal posts.
To get them off, there are two screws on each one that loosen and allow the cover to slide
right off.
So that isn't bad at all.
I would guess this is about a two-minute job to access the wheel, brakes, and suspension.
So fixing the car should be pretty simple, and the best part is that this car uses parts
that are tried and tested on other cars in the market.
This keeps costs down, and also means that parts should be readily available from day
one, so you can actually find the parts, which is really helpful for people who want to fix
their car themselves.
Although for the first three years and thirty six thousand miles, you will have a bumper-to-bumper
warranty so you won't have to worry about fixing anything.
This color is called Creamsicle, and I think it's one of my favorite colors offered because
it really stands out.
The exterior color finds its way into the interior with the panel accents and I personally
like that, and I think it looks pretty cool.
OK, so let's get in this Elio and check out the interior.
This is pretty exciting - my first time sitting in the prototype.
All right!
This feels pretty good.
The shifters are located on the right, the steering wheel is actually from a Camaro and
fits very nicely in the interior, and it will be fully adjustable in the production car.
It feels pretty roomy with plenty of legroom and arm room, although it feels weird with
no passenger seat next to me.
The single door and the two windows are pretty large which gives you good visibility, and
not having a passenger side or a passenger seat also helps with the visibility.
The large windows also make the interior feel really spacious even though it's just a single
seat.
Let's go check out the engine compartment.
Getting in and out of the car is pretty simple just like a normal car, which is good.
The hood opens from the outside with two latches, and I'm loving the hood.
It opens like a Corvette and there is a reason why they do this, which I'll explain in a
few minutes.
This is an old Geo Metro engine, but there are three cylinder production engine will
be around the same size, so you can get an idea of how much space there will be to work
on the engine.
There's a lot more room than I expected.
You know you have a problem when you start asking yourself if you could fit a bigger
engine in there.
All kidding aside, we can't even talk about engines; I haven't even gone for a ride with
this Geo Metro engine.
So let's go.
Oh man, this is what I've been waiting for!
This is going to be awesome.
OK, so the first thing, I want to make clear is that this is a prototype, so I'm only going
to be able to tell you in general what the car is like to drive.
You can hear that Geo engine and the mailman muffler that sounds, well, like I'm about
to deliver mail.
This is just for the P4 prototype, which I'm driving.
The next prototype, the P5, will have the real engine and I really hope I can get my
hands on that and drive that one.
Maybe we could do like a fuel economy test or something.
We're in the P4, so let's get going and see how this thing drives!
Holy Smokes!
This is really something!
So that creaking noise is again because it's a prototype, and not all the panels fit perfectly
together, so they make some noise, but creaking noise aside, what I can tell you is how weird
this feels.
Sitting in the middle is really something different.
I know you can't see my face but there's a huge smile on my face.
This is way cool!
OK, let's focus, though.
I want to show you guys what this thing is really like.
The visibility is really good off to the sides, But it's going to take some time getting used
to the two front A pillars and the small windshield.
I was told that these A pillars will be smaller in the production model, that's going to be
a good thing.
I'll tell you one thing, even though this is a crummy Geo Engine, The Elio only weighs
twelve hundred pounds, so acceleration is not like that in a normal economy car.
This things actually pretty peppy. 0 to 60 in the production car will be 9.8 seconds,
and it'll have a top speed of over 100 miles an hour, and that's with an engine that only
creates 55 Horsepower and 55 foot pounds of torque.
Now this engine is a completely new engine that was designed by the same people who designed
the Bugatti Veyron engine.
The engine has a 12 to 1 compression ratio, but it uses plasma-coated cylinders, so you
can run regular gas, which is great for saving money at the fuel pump.
Although you won't be seeing the fuel pump often because you'll be getting 84 miles a
gallon highway and 49 miles per gallon city, and those numbers just blow my mind.
I'm lucky if I get 16 miles a gallon in my pick up truck.
So I know I should be telling you more about the car statistics, but I really need to say
how cool this thing is to drive.
I've driven hundreds of different types of vehicles, and nothing has ever felt like this
before.
That alone makes me want it.
The center steering really feels like a cockpit, and I'm totally loving that.
It does take some getting used to, not driving on the left side of the lane, because that's
what I'm so used to.
I notice that I'm over too far to the left, so I always need to adjust, but I can feel
it already since I noticed it, I'm starting to adjust myself, and it is becoming a lot
more natural.
Now, while steering the car, the car doesn't have power steering, but it really doesn't
need it, it's so light.
That direct connection to the road is something I've never felt before either, and I really
like it: it makes the car more fun to drive, which is definitely a good thing when you
have a commuter car and you're going to be driving it every day, you want something that
you actually enjoy driving.
Something that's weird, there's no rearview mirror or rear window, so you have to rely
on the side view mirrors to see behind you.
Also, I've been told, that these mirrors are not the same as the production model, and
hopefully the production model has bigger mirrors because these little side view mirrors
just aren't cutting it.
Fuel Consumption All right, so how does this thing get 84Miles
per gallon?
Well, first off, it's twelve hundred pounds, which is superlight.
Plus this car pushes half the amount of air that a normal car does because it's so narrow.
At highway speeds, pushing air is one of the biggest uses of fuel, so if you push less
air, you use less fuel.
Pretty simple.
Makes sense.
In addition, there's that little Engine with the variable valve timing.
It's also going to help save fuel.
I mean it's .9 Liters, not very large; so all those things combined equals crazy good
fuel economy.
So we know how it gets good fuel economy, but how's this thing so inexpensive?
The cheapest car right now that you can buy is a Nissan Versa and it's $12,000 brand-new
with nothing in it.
But even if you wanted one, you can't find those cars for that low of a price because
they all have a million options that jack the price up.
The Elio, on the other hand, is going to be sixty-eight hundred dollars, brand-new.
The only options are going to be whether you will want a five-speed auto or five-speed
manual transmission, and also what color you want.
After you actually buy the car, options can be ordered and put on the car later on, so
that way if you want a sunroof, you don't need to buy a whole package with the navigation
system and a million other options that you don't necessarily want.
You just buy the sunroof, and that's actually a pretty cool idea.
It's kind of funny, because a lot of times I'll go online and go on to the Chevy Corvette
website and just mess around building a Corvette, and I'll be like, oh, I want this and this,
and this and that, and by the time I'm done, my vet is very expensive.
Not like Im getting one anyway, but if you could just buy the things you want, like,
if I could just pick up the heads up display which I really like, and not have to buy the
whole package, which ends up being thousands of dollars, the price would be cheaper and
that is exactly the concept Elio motors is taking here.
That being said, the car comes from the factory well-equipped.
It has power windows, power locks, air conditioning, a radio, three airbags - one is in the front
and two are on the side curtain, ABS, stability control, and all the other basic stuff that
you find in cars.
Since a main focus on this car is safety, the Elio team told me that with their simulations
that they're running, they're able to get a five-star crash test rating all round, but
the real test will be when they actually crash test the cars.
Going back to price, engineering decisions, like that hood latch I was showing you before,
are what keeps the price down.
A normal hood that opens forward requires two latches.
If the first latch fails, the second latch keeps the hood from popping up and blocking
the driver's view.
The second latch requires an interior release handle; it requires a cable, and a bracket.
This adds more than $20 to the cost and it also adds weight to the car.
The Elio uses a Corvette-style hood that opens up the opposite way, so you'll only need two
latches that cost three bucks.
Designs like this all over the car are what save money and make this possible.
I can go on and on about this car, telling you neat stuff, but that would make this video
way too long and it's already getting long enough.
I want to do two quick tests.
I want to see both the luggage space and what it's like riding in the rear seat.
So let's go check out this trunk.
The white bumper sticker is how deep the trunk is.
The trunk is small, but the rear seat folds down, so you could get golf clubs in there.
But even more important to me, I could fit my fishing rods and tackle box.
Also to give you an idea, this is the largest size luggage bags that airplanes let you carry
on.
I wanted to see if my luggage would actually fit in the trunk, and as you can see, it does
get in there, it's a little tight, and that's as much as this trunk will hold.
So, the trunk holds more than I thought it would, but it still doesn't hold that much,
unless that rear seat is folded down.
Speaking of rear seats, let's go check out the rear seat; I want to see what it's like
to ride in the back, be a passenger in this car.
So this is what the rear seat looks like.
Let's hop inside and go for a ride.
All right, getting in the car, well, it's not too bad.
The door is pretty big, which is helpful, but it needs some type of handle somewhere.
It's actually roomier than I thought it would be back here.
I've been in some sports cars that have rear seats, which really shouldn't have rear seats,
and this rear seat will actually fit an adult, and I was told that there was going to be
two more inches of head clearance and the seat is also going to be a lot more comfortable,
more cushions, which is good because the seat is pretty hard right now.
Also I'm about 6 feet and my head just barely misses the roof, so an extra 2 inches would
be helpful.
All in all, the backseat is doable.
It's actually a little more comfortable than I thought it would be.
If you've ever been in the back of a Mustang, it has about that much room -except it's a
single seat instead of having two seats.
So now we know the rear seat is an actual usable rear seat.
Just real quick, some things I want to mention, to drive this car you only need a normal drivers
license, you don't need a motorcycle license.
You also don't need a helmet in 45 out of 50 states.
According to the Federal Motor Vehicle Standard, since it has three wheels, it can be registered
and insured as a motorcycle.
Another thing is, I didn't get to show you, but these are the actual gauges that are going
in the next prototype.
This will be in the production car.
I like the gauges; I just wish that they would show a little bit more of the dial.
You don't really get to see too much of the numbers, and also the speedometer is a little
difficult to read because it increases in 10 mile per hour increments - not five, so
hopefully they change that up.
And finally, the last thing I want to add is this car is going to be made in the United
States at the old Hummer plant in Louisiana.
The other thing is it uses 90% of US made parts.
So this company is going to be creating jobs for Americans as well as using American engineering
to create an awesome car.
OK, as an overview, while this is still a prototype, I really like the Elio and what
it has to offer.
You know I'm not being paid or anything.
They did fly me out here, but honestly this thing has got something going for it.
It's just a lot of fun.
84 miles a gallon is I mean that's awesome.
It is the perfect car to commute in; this is the perfect car to go around town in.
I mean if you think about it, how many times do you have more than two people in a car.
For many of us, this won't be the only vehicle we could have, but for $6800 and the amount
of money that you're going to save in gas, and also how much fun this thing is to actually
drive around on the road and all the people giving you the thumbs up, and waving and stuff,
I mean, this was really something special to drive.
I can't wait to get into the next prototype with the actual production engine, but until
then, if I haven't answered any of your questions in this video, like if you're wondering, oh,
does it have a spare tire?
no it doesn't, but if you have any other questions or whatever, comment below.
For the first few days of this video, the Elio team is going to be responding to the
comments just so you can get it straight from the horse's mouth, and then after that, I'll
be responding to the comments just like I always do.
Remember to give this video a thumbs up, and if you aren't subscribed, hit that subscribe
button for updates.
And finally, check out the link in the description to the Elio website, so you can reserve your
own Elio today.
After test driving this, I'm getting my father a reservation for Father's Day, so you know
this thing is ChrisFix approved!