Sixteener wheeler

Dunno 'bout you but most of my sixteenth year was spent picking gravel out of my knees.

I think I probably fell of my Fizzie at least once a week. All of it was my fault, of course. That heady combination of invincibility and utter blind faith is part and parcel of being sixteen.

Or maybe that was just me. I hit the road a few times but also hit a van, a car, a drystone wall, a cattle grid (ouch) and a cow.

The cow was fine by the way.

In the main it was wet leaves, man hole covers, frost and flat-out (?) seizures that got the better of me. To this day I still ride with two fingers on the clutch. Old habit die hard.

And so do the lessons learned from that first year in the saddle.

But things for sixteen year-olds (with affluent parents, anyway) are about to change, possibly for the safer.

French firm Aixam (promounced 'Axam') have shifted the goal posts for independence-seeking sixteen year-olds with – gasp – a car. Yes, a car you can drive on UK roads at sixteen.

Except it’s not strictly a car. It might look like a cross between a Suzuki Swift Sport and a Fiat 500 but the firm’s Coupe S is actually a quadricycle. You know, like a quad.

Powered by a presumably indestructible 4Kw, 400c, twin-cylinder Kubota diesel engine normally found doing much more mundane stuff on building sites (like mixing mortar, whacking ground flat or providing off-grid electricity) the 350kg, 3m long Coupe S is eligible for moped-licence holding sixteen year-olds to drive on UK roads. They can even carry a passenger.

The ‘car’ makes its UK debut at the Motorcycle Live show next weekend but I got the chance to drive it yesterday and so too did my nearly sixteen year-old son, Adam.

Never mind what I think, Adam thought it looked ‘cool’. His eyes lit up when he popped open the ABS skinned door and feasted his eyes on the nicely detailed interior. The most crucial interior technology? A hi-fi with big door speakers and an mp3 input. Job jobbed.

The closer you look the nicer the detailing is. There’s a full aluminium chassis to keep the weight below the critical 350kgs and the fit and finish of the ABS body plastics is impressive. All the glass is just that – no plastic windows.

‘Hey Dad, you can fit a BMX in the boot’. Yes, you can – without taking it to bits, as well. The boot’s massive.

I’ve been held up behind lots of these little diesel Aixams on the continent. Portugal seems to be rammed to the gun’lls with them chugging about their tax-free business - usually driven my old men. If you’re sixteen, however, a top speed of 30mph is not important. It’s faster than walking, it’s much cooler than public transport and you can go where you want, when you want. 30mph is not a handicap, it’s a new freedom. And you can listen to your tunes in a warm environment and carry a passenger in the sporty bucket seat alongside you. That spare seat alongside the driver isn’t just a seat, it’s a whole new-found, sumptuously upholstered sex appeal.

We only had a few minutes in the car but I thought it fairer to let Adam do most of the driving. It’s pretty simple to drive. A CVT gearbox with one forward (lever pushed forwards) and one reverse ‘gear’ (lever pulled back) with neutral in between. Because it’s a scooter-style expanding cone and belt transmission, the little Axiam has the benefit of being able to do 30mph in both directions - like an early DAF - but obviously not at the same time. That would be silly.

Steering is meaty and precise (although the steering lock isn’t great) and it feels like a proper car in almost every respect – just minus a clutch pedal. There’s electric windows, a heater and enough seat adjustability to get really comfortable behind the wheel. Disc front brakes offer plenty of power and feel. Being fifteen, Adam drove it like he’d been driving cars all his life. I made it look more difficult. Obviously.

Performance is on a new level of slow if you’re used to ‘real’ cars. It’s pretty noisy, too and sounds like a cement mixer on full-chat because that’s precisely what it is.

But it will do 95mpg. Yes, 95mpg. Judging by the massive grin on Adam’s face, fuel consumption was not at the front of his mind. Can you imagine the excitement of driving a built-for-you car at 16? Epic, just epic.

Now the bad news, parents. The Coupe S will set you back a quid under ten grand brand new and will cost around two grand to insure fully comp for your little dahhlrlings to drive. Add six to seven hundred quid into the mix for them to take training and take their test, too. They’ll have to do this before they can drive it on the road.

Compared to the cost of a second hand 50cc Peugeot Speedfight and some third party only insurance – that’s a lot of dough. Which is safer, though? Scooter or quadricycle? I’ll let you be the judge of that.

But maybe you could justify the expense it if you towed it behind your motorhome or had several kids approaching the magical sixteen in succession.

Maybe you could slot a Hyabusa engine in there when they’re done with it….

Hmmmm…

By mark forsyth