FUV Rental Review!

[Kepesk]

I took notes, I took photos, I took video, so here's my writeup!

1. Experience Center
The Eugene Experience Center is a one-room location with two big overhead doors across the street from Arcimoto's original design studio.  It used to serve as their prototype museum, but they have really spruced it up since then:

 

I was quite excited to get the yellow and green Beta FUV that they've named The Duck, as I'm a pretty big Oregon Ducks fan who also runs a duck-themed business.  They took me out on a test-drive-style refresher (good to have; I don't use handlebars often), and then I was out on my own.  I went back to my car (just down the street) to grab some things I needed for the day, only to discover that two more FUVs had parked behind my old beat-up Neon while I was inside.  That was a treat.


 


2. The Drive
I put a little video together with some highlights:



It. Was. A. Blast.  Test drives are one thing, but there's nothing like getting to take one where you want, when you want.  I took it to work for the morning, then I visited my wife for lunch.  I also snapped a photo that shows how much higher the FUV is than a lot of sedans.  Very visible!

 

It was a very rainy day (and of course the doors aren't finished yet), but I came prepared: rain jacket, ski pants, and all my stuff in waterproof containers.  I really only needed that a few times; the enclosure keeps you quite dry except for your legs, unless the rain goes horizontal (which it did a couple times).
 
After lunch, I ran into a minor glitch.  The switch to engage the parking break was only working intermittently.  I called the number they gave me in case something went wrong, and they asked me to drive it in to the AMP.  The team there was super friendly, and when they couldn't find a quick fix, they sent me off with the orange signature series instead, along with a promise for a free second day rental for my trouble (which I call a win).



After driving off, I went to see my mom and give her a test ride (she was thrilled despite not having ski pants), and then drove it back downtown to return it to the experience center.  It was an awesome day, and I'm looking forward to Day 2.


 

3. The Comparison
Getting to drive a Beta and a Signature Series on the same day was very enlightening.  They were both fun as heck, but the Beta was a much smoother ride, it was (I think) just a bit quieter, and it had some parts that were obvious upgrades to fix minor issues (the regen lever on Orange had some paint wearing off, for example, where The Duck's lever didn't show any signs of wear at all).

Were there still some improvements that could be made?  Yeah.  The indicator lights on the front control panel weren't bright enough for example.  But these are all super minor details that I'm sure will be fixed by the time they get through the Pilot series and into full production.  And once doors are available, the "Utility" factor of the Fun Utility Vehicle will really come into play.

If you're in the Eugene area (or soon the San Diego area), I really recommend taking one of these bad boys out for a spin.  There's nothing like getting to drive one of these all day to experience how much fun they can be.

http://www.arcimoto.com/rent

[shome]

Thanks, that looks great. I was glad to see you had it up to 55 in the video. What is the ground clearance of the nose of the FUV? It looks like it might be a little close to a parking block height in the parking picture.

[Kepesk]

Rick is right on the ground clearance.

A couple of people have requested the unedited footage without the music.  So here is a long dull video of mostly me driving for an hour:

[Rickb]

Ground Clearance: 5.75 inches

[AnimalCage]

Thanks for the write up! A full hour of FUVing. Gonna just let that play while I work on stuff

[Kepesk]

Thanks for the write up!  A full hour of FUVing.  Gonna just let that play while I work on stuff

Turn signal on
Turn signal off
?

[Rickb]

During our test drive, I followed my wife back to the AMP, laughing that she had the signal on most of the way.  As it turned out so did I, as a motorcycle rider passed me by, yelling turn off your turn signal! ?

Sometimes the auto off signal doesn’t work on my SUV!

[Kepesk]

There is no auto off, at least on the ones I tested. That's why I kept reminding myself (and you'll notice I still left it on a couple times).
I've suggested they add sounds. Should't be that tough for them to do.

[Rickb]

Yes, Manual signal on/off on the FUV.  On the rare occasion the auto off on my SUV doesn’t work.......I can’t hear the sound.......except for my wife’s vocal, ”your signals on!”

[PAX]

Yes, Manual signal on/off on the FUV.  On the rare occasion the auto off on my FUV doesn’t work.......I can’t hear the sound.......except for my wife’s vocal, ”your signals on!”

One does get better at turning it off but then occasionally one still forgets.