Aixam
And other small car matters
Don't ask me how, but late on in 2005 while considering a replacement vehicle, I came across a class of car I hadn't ever heard of here in England; the quadricycle. Nope I don't mean just the motorcycle-with-four-wheels which you sit astride and generally use for all-terrain work and recreation. There are also cars built under 400kg and driveable on a "motorcycle" licence (see license notes below). They can have four seats, roof, doors, windscreen, in fact look just like an ordinary small car. Here's a picture of the one I bought:
2002 Aixam 500.5 SL. The styling is modern, (or at least late '90s !) but the light weight construction and twin cylinder industrial based diesel ensure a 1960s riding experience ;o) It's quite bumpy on rough road surfaces, and noisy. It doesn't go fast, in fact the makers say 75km/h, or about 48 mph and this is what the 50 mph speedometer shows. On a flat road with no wind it will eventually indicate a full 50 (or slightly over) but this is subject to wind and gradient, quite what you would expect with less than 13 horsepower available from the Kubota diesel. The engine has been used in Kubota lawn tractors and generators. It is very economical though, now averaging a true 75+ mpg which will do nicely thank you. I believe the trip meter isn't accurate, over reading by an estimated 10 % but even so, it doesn't use a lot of fuel See my records (Excel sheet) which applies a correction for the meter.
After fitting some new
Bridgestone145/65x13 tyres instead of the standard 145/60 Michelins, I
re-checked the trip and speedo accuracy using 100 metre road markers. See: Files/speedocheck.xls
if you're interested in the details. The bottom line is the trip meter is now
reading only 2.5% high, so my fuel chart has a new adjustment for subsequent
entries. I wonder how far out it really was before? The speedo is also reading
only 1% fast at 50mph indicated which was a surprise. The new tyres do feel
higher geared, and caught slightly on the rear of the front wheelarch plastic on
certain steering deflections. I have trimmed the plastic edge now.
The transmission is Variomatic type belt drive, which gives stepless automatic driving, and a simple 3 position lever on the floor. "Forward to go forwards, back to go back". A Lombardini petrol powered version is available which goes somewhat faster, more like 65 - 70 mph but uses a bit more fuel. My model isn't the current one, which was restyled as the Aixam 751. Check the size - I'm only 5 foot 6 tall!
I intend doing my own maintenance on this, it is a relatively simple vehicle with few luxuries and the home mechanic should be able to do quite a lot. It's now out of warranty so I have no reason not to pull it to bits as needed. First I did root about under the dashboard and sort the heating controls, they weren't very positive and had been ill treated. See the link below for mechanics' work (Dirty fingernails pages ;o) ). After the first 12 months and 9500 miles I have been into several areas and dug out my little-used tools.
A bit of background for the cars. For years in France where the Aixam is built, there has been a restricted performance vehicle class which can be driven without a driving license. The light quadricycle: 45 km/h (about 30 mph), 2 seats and 350 kg just about sums it up. Many drivers are older and live in rural areas where the cars provide cheap village transport. Other countries in Europe have a similar class of "moped car" with varying license conditions. There also exists a heavy quadricycle class, requiring a minimum of a "B1" license, 400kg weight limit and free of the 45 km/h restriction. This is the type on UK roads, where it is the current option for pre-2001 motorcycle licence holders needing a car. New motorcycle tests DO NOT automatically add the B1 category to the driving license. You CANNOT drive one unaccompanied with a provisional license despite what some advertisements suggest. In the past a bike rider would take a car test or drive a sidecar outfit if family needs arose, then that derivative of the sidecar regulations, the tricycle, eventually typified by the Reliant 3 wheelers. Reliant production has sadly halted for now, though I hope the make isn't quite dead yet, and there are still quite a few on the road, the long lasting bodies and galvanised chassis of later years will see them around for a while yet. Accepting the heavy quadricycle here has also given Reliant agents a new line alongside the existing pool of used 3-wheelers. So far of the manufacturers available, quads from just Aixam, Microcar and Ligier have appeared on UK roads in any numbers, there are many more marques around in mainland Europe.
St.
Valentines Day Microssacar - a fun day out with the MicroManiacs. Many
thanks to Terry and Carol Parkin.
Dirty fingernails
pages - maintenance, mechanisms and modifications.
Other sites:
3-Wheelers.com
- Elvis Payne's quality site, Reliant and other 3 wheeled vehicles.
Afquad
- specialist interest group, manufacturers and importers, general info. Link
broken for now
Aixam
and microcar group (Yahoo) - mailing list sharing tips, questions and
experiences with quads.
Mark's
Bubblecars - Fun site from Mark Fisher, a Hull bubblecar fan. A few popups
to ignore (it's a free site host) but worth it, lots of pictures. It's all new
so let Mark know if you find broken bits.
MicroManiacs
- dedicated to the enjoyment of small cars. I've joined!
R3W
- Reliant 3 Wheelers. Check out the great forum.
Rossefields
(commercial site) - Reliant and Aixam specialist