The Honda Motocompo scooter is back as the Motocompacto EV!

By topgear, 16 September 2023

The Honda Motocompo scooter is back as the Motocompacto EV!

Attention America: you can now buy an all-new, all-electric take on the early 1980s Honda Motocompo, and it’s called the Motocompacto.

Designed by Honda engineers in Ohio and California and on sale for just $995 at Honda and Acura dealers, this thing is described as an “innovative approach to personal electric transportation”.

It’s completely foldable and once the handlebars and seat are stowed away it becomes its own little carry case, weighing just under 19kg and measuring 74cm long, 54cm tall and just 9cm wide. We’re told there’s even a little bit of storage space in there.

The original Motocompo was designed to squeeze into the boot of the City hatchback, but even so the little 49cc two-stroke scooter still weighed 49kg and was almost 50cm longer than the newbie. 

Once you’ve unfolded the new Motocompacto, you get a range of up to 12 miles to complete your journey or bop around town. There’s a little electric motor that powers the front wheel with a whopping 0.7hp and 16Nm of torque, so top speed tops out at an exciting 24km/h.

You can take the little charger with you wherever you go and plug into a standard wall socket too, with a full top up taking 3.5 hours. Plus, a Bluetooth phone app allows you to change the ride modes.

We’re hoping there’s a full fat Sport+ mode for maximum city carving. 

Honda says it has earned 32 patents for this thing, and that it’ll be the perfect partner for its upcoming all-electric SUVs. Shame – we’d like to see a modified Honda e that could house this perfectly in its boot to really pay tribute to the Motocompo and City combo. 

STORY Greg Potts

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