Filed under: EV/Plug-in, UK, India
G-Wiz gets some safety upgrades, still not a car
The Indian-built G-Wiz has come under some scrutiny in recent months in the UK for it's apparent lack of safety. After Top Gear commissioned a standard 40 mph offset frontal crash test, people began to realize that these vehicles could have serious issues in crashes at even moderate speeds. The G-Wiz is classed as a quadri-cycle in Europe meaning that it's largely exempt from safety standards much like three-wheeled Zap Xebras are in the U.S. Unfortunately most buyers see these and other electric vehicles and assume they meet the same rules as "real" cars without realizing they are not even close.
GoinGreen, the UK importer of the G-Wiz, has announced that manufacturer Reva Electric Car Company has upgraded the car for 2008. Reva collaborated with Lotus Engineering to beef up the structure of the car with more front and side impact protection. They also added a "creep" feature to allow the car to hold its position without rolling backward on a hill. Performance of the car has also been improved with the range extended to 48 miles and acceleration enhanced. Space for two adults remains marginal. You can see the video of the crash test after the jump.
[Source: BusinessGreen.com, thanks to Domenick for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Franklin 2:14PM (12/05/2007)
Ouch!
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Phil L. 2:33PM (12/05/2007)
The Zap Xebra is exempt from most safety regulations in the US because it has only three wheels - and is (in most states) considered a motorcycle.
I believe the G-Wiz (which has four wheels) is considered an NEV in the US. It gets out of most safety regulations, but is limited to a max of 25 mph on streets with a limit of up to 35 mph (this also varies by state). To go any faster, it'd need to have lots of safety equipment (ABS, airbags, etc.) and go through crash testing.
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Phil L. 2:42PM (12/05/2007)
Ooops - I should have written that the G-Wiz "would be considered an NEV" in the US; I don't believe it has made it to the US yet.
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Danny 4:21PM (12/05/2007)
Apparently it's available from Feb and will be called the 'i' model.
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GoodCheer 4:30PM (12/05/2007)
It's interesting that G-Wiz seem to be doing what so many starts-ups have failed to do: Starting at the bottom of the market and make money (?) producing a budget EV. I'm sure the lack of regulations in India (and the special vehicle class in the UK) and the high price of oil play major roles in the fortunes of the company.
I would not be at all surprised if G-Wiz is a major player on the world EV market in a few year's time. They have the supply chains, the manufacturing and distribution infrastructure, and the engineering background. If they have just a few years to build up market and product lines, they just might give the 'major players' a run for their money.
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Domenick 8:03PM (12/05/2007)
@Danny: You don't seriously mean they are going to call it the "i-Wiz", do you? lolz
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Joeri de Ridder 2:51AM (12/06/2007)
The crash-test video is still the old model; not the beefed-up Lotus version.
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Danny 11:32AM (12/06/2007)
Domenick - i-wiz that's good, could catch on! No it's called the g-wiz 'I'. You can see it on goingreens site http://www.goingreen.co.uk. Hoping to get hold of one for my vlog in the near future.
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Joeri de Ridder 1:28AM (12/12/2007)
By the way, I am 1,90cm (6,2ft) and I fit perfect in the new Reva i and still have headroom 2 spare. The hill-holding feature is unique to its new AC-motor. Works great; you should try it...
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