14 DAY TRIAL // This past March 6, Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota went public with the news that it had set its 3-wheeled i-Road loose in Japan.
Thus, the electric personal mobility vehicle, pictured above, is now undergoing public road trials in the city of Toyota, in the country's Aichi Prefecture.
On its website, the company details that the vehicle made its debut on public roads in Toyota on Sunday, March 2, and the 3-wheeler is now part and parcel of the company's so-called Ha:mo, i.e. an optimized urban transport system.
The Japanese automotive manufacturer says that, in the not so distant future, even more i-Roads will be seen journeying up and down the city of Toyota.
This is because the company wishes to make several such 3-wheelers available to the public by means of vehicle-sharing stations.
“On Sunday, the i-Road, which weighs a mere 300 kg [approximately 661 pounds] and is less than 90 cm [about 35.5 inches] wide, was let loose on public roads at an event to mark its introduction into 'Ha:mo,' Toyota's optimized urban transport system,” the Japanese car maker writes.
“Soon, even more i-Roads will be zooming around Toyota city when they are made available to residents at vehicle-sharing stations,” it further details.
Should things go according to plan, Toyota expects that, by the end of the year, it will manage to implement a similar vehicle-sharing project in the city of Grenoble in France.
The company goes on to explain that, all things considered, this car-sharing project in France will probably be in place for several years.
“And later this year the lucky residents of Grenoble, France, will also be able to have some three-wheeled fun, thanks to a vehicle-sharing project that will last until 2017, the Japanese automotive manufacturer writes on its website.
According to Green Car Congress, the i-Road 3-wheeled electric personal mobility vehicle was unveiled back in 2013 at the Geneva Motor Show.
It has a range of about 30 miles (roughly 50 kilometers) on a single charge, and can accommodate for two passengers at a time.
When it runs out of power, one need only plug it into a domestic power supply and leave it there for approximately three hours. According to Toyota, this is more than enough for the vehicle to recharge.
The Japanese manufacturer claims that driving this 3-wheeler is nothing short of a blast, and that, despite its not very impressive size, the all-electric vehicle is perfectly safe.