HD: Test/Review of the Think City electric car / EV

Watch ElectricAid.org take the Think City out for an extensive and entertaining test drive. Over a period of three days, this electric car was pushed to its limits in endeavors such as mountain climbing and drag racing on ice.

Music By:

Arne Christian Skjævland
Tryad : Struttin´
Silence : Cellule
Blue Orange : Murder in a Garden
Loupland : Runner Joe

Transcript:

Narrator:

This is Norway. This rather small country with its renowned natural scenery, is populated by a fascinating but contradictory people. They're pretty modest and likes to mind their own business, but at the same time there is nothing they can't do based simply on the fact that they are Norwegian. They were the first to reach the South Pole and the American continent. They can beat Brazil 4-0 in soccer, rule the Winter Olympics and get 99% of their power from hydroelectric dams. So if you where to tell them that you can't run a car on water, they would probably say: Well that depends on how you look at it...

It can do a 110 miles on one charge. Its highway approved, has a top speed of 65 mph. Best of all, this is not even a prototype, It's here.

The Think City is an all electric suburb-to-city car that has it where it counts. Its Scandinavian design is minimal, but comfortable. It packs a lot of space for the city dweller. It's easy to maneuver and above all: its fun. We took the City for an extensive 3-day test drive and it surprised us a lot. But first things first:

Driver:

Trying to turn it on... Lights blinking all around, yeah! Aaand, I think it is on, handbrake is of, aand Yes, rolling! Fast yeah! It works like a charm. We can make quick turns without problems, its excellent.

Photographer: Pretty aggressive, ey?

Driver: It does not have a servo, but it has a very low radius in "the swing" so you dont have to push it far to get around corners. Its just like, whoo, and were around.

Photographer: Its not called "swing" its called ehm

Driver: Its not called a swing?

Photographer: Its called turning

Driver: Turning! Turning this car is quite easy

Driver: Its not like an automatic, because it doesnt have any gears, but you put it in "D" and push the acceleration Pedal, and it goes like hell. So acceleration is very smooth and all the way good.

Driver: Being a small vehicle you would expect the space to be small and crummy, but as you can see, me being 1.85 meters tall I still have room for my head. I can jump around. In the back we have excellent place. The trunk is very big. We have actually been able to carry our whole film set during this filming

Photographer: Is it possible to have sex in this car?

Driver: It is very possible to have sex in this car, if you would like to do so, but being that all the walls are filled with windows, creating a nice view and also creating a very open atmosphere, you will be spotted. But the space is here, so do whatever you want to do.

Driver: Considering safety in a car that is this small you would think: If I crash I will die, but consider this: You could actually drive quite fast into something quite big and hard and come out walking..


Narrator: Ok so the car is named the City. So you would expect it to perform excellently in city driving conditions. But what if you had to satisfy the Norwegians lust for freezingtemperatures combined with high altitudes? On the doorsteps of Oslo and around 300 meters up, lies Tryvann, a ski resort that is heavily visited by the people of Oslo during the winter months. If we could make it up there and make it fast, we could be there just in time for sunset.


We quickly realized how little hassle it was to get up the hill. Our mighty challenge was reduced to a tourist sightseeing trip. The driver became so sure of himself, he even tried to overtake the film car. Moments later we made it to the top. And although the task in the end was extremely easy we felt like conquerors of old. We got ourselves a nice cup of hot chocolate and reflected on the days events. This would have been the perfect spot to contemplate on how to get rid of the city smog below us, except for the fact that we could not see it because of the fog. So with that in mind we called it a day and went to bed, curious on what the next day would bring.

Narrator:
The next day it was of to the drag racing track, RaceWay Oslo. Its over a kilometer long and is located right next to Oslo Airport, and we could think of no other place to push the Think to its limits. But since its the weekend and the track is not serviced, its covered with a lethal mixture of snow and ice. When they saw the track, our camera crew went on immediate strike, in fear of their own lives. But the madness of our driver knows no limits and he was determined to take it for a spin nonetheless.

• Category

  Autos & Vehicles

[c33r0k33]

Why isn't it possible.  The original Th!nk's Ford produced are still being driven here. This is definitely a much better upgrade. I would prefer to have this version than even the Th!nk Ox. Electric Aid, do you think it is possible to buy one of these now and get it to the US?

[ElectricAid]

At the moment Think only takes new orders for fleet customers. Together with that, they have about 3-400 cars that are being completed for the private customers who ordered it last fall. I saw that the car rental company Hertz was selling 2 of their just recently but they are gone now. I will let you know if something comes up =)

[c33r0k33]

I wonder what it takes to be a fleet owner? 12 co-owners of their own company, like a cooperative?

[ElectricAid]

I guess anything that is more than 5-10 cars and is not a private consumer can be looked upon as a fleet.

If you have 12 orders to lay on table, I could always play matchmaker for you =)

[ElectricAid]

It takes 12 hours with a 10Amp socket and 8 hours with a 20Amp socket. We just plugged it in at our garage at the end of each day. Typicly around 22:00 and it was ready to go at sunrise the next morning.

[Rich Quackenbush]

Why wait for coal power to be phased out? EV's are so efficient with current battery technology that it's still way cleaner to run an EV that is charged completely from Coal than it would be from gas.

Think about the carbon footprint / emissions of getting gas to your pump. First, you have to power an oil rig to get the oil out of the ground. Then you have to transport the crude to a refinery. Then you use a lot of electricity / power to refine the crude. Then it has to get to the pump!

[speculawyer]

The recent software update improved the cars such that they are even better than before. I hope that Think makes a return to the EV biz. As battery prices drop and gas prices rise they should be able to build cars that are economically competitive.

[anandecy3035]

Just saw one here in Portland OR, USA

[mikego18753]

Good vid. Norway is the friendliest place i've toured&the wettest. Cheers.

[ngvconversion .]

Arena Motor Sales (410) 363-3444 in Maryland is selling these cars for $22.5K. The $7.5K federal tax credit brings the price down to $15K. I've owned one for a year and $15K is a great price for a freeway capable electric car. Maybe I'll buy another one.

[andrew caponi]

just purchased one to cruise the streets of Rhinebeck NY

[Dualshock21]

too bad it looks like pure shit

[nottinmatterz2day]

You lost me at top speed 65mph :(

[DANIEL D Martin]

i could see also Israel with 5,6 millions of this cars and cero oil imports!

[DANIEL D Martin]

Like it or not ,this is what USA needs to get rid of imported oil ,trade deficits and budget deficits

excellent ,i want to buy one!