Affordable, Local, Now: ZAP’s Xebra
Let the movie stars blow their royalties on fancy, high end electric cars.
I’m fine in with my Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar, and would be equally so in ZAP’s four-door, all-electric, three-wheeled Xebra Sedan, especially if I lived somewhere with only three relatively moderate seasons and not where there are too many hills. ZAP, or Zero Air Pollution, has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, at least those vehicles that are both practical and affordable to us non-celebrity types.
While presenting on Ecopreneuring at the Solar Living Institute’s SolFest in Hopland, California, this past August, I had an opportunity to drive Zap’s Xebra. It’s amazing the difference a few decades can make in the driving experience: from CitiCar to Xebra. The Xebra, pronounced “zebra,” is a lot smoother and its breaking system more consistent than my CitiCar (admittedly, a 30-year-old collector vehicle). This Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) has a top speed of 40 mph, but I shouldn’t be driving over that anyway given the posted speed limits in town. Having driven a Geo Metro for years, driving a ZAP Xebra felt almost the same (at low speeds), but without the fumes, fuel and gas station stops.
- » See also: Is the Renault-Nissan Alliance Going in Two Different Electric Car Directions?
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Recharged by plugging into a 110V outlet, the Xebra costs about 2-cents a mile to drive. It’s owner, Reid Edelman, who is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Mendocino College, purchased the car in the fall of 2007 because he wanted some green wheels. When he plugs in to his utility grid, he’s even drawing a portion of electricity generated from renewable energy sources (he has plans to add a PV system to recharge it himself). The car is one immediate step toward getting to 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide and stabilizing our planet’s atmosphere.
“I drive about 10 miles per day, 5 miles each way to work,” says Edelman. “If I take my son to school or pick him up, that may add another 5 or 6 miles. The car has a maximum range of 20 miles on a single charge. The most I’ve gone is about 18 miles. The 20 mile range is based on ideal driving conditions; when I’ve gotten up to 18 miles on a charge I can feel the car starting to lose power.” The car easily recharges overnight, ready by the next morning. New ones go for about $12,000, but Edelman picked up his for $11,000.
“ZAP is a small company without lots of marketing and dealerships,” confides Edelman, when asked why more people aren’t driving around in one. “Service can be a problem, since there is no dealership nearby to work on the car. On the other hand, the cars are pretty simple mechanically, and I’ve learned to deal with small technical problems on my own.” Pretty good for someone who teaches theater and not electrical engineering.
“It is insured and licensed as a three wheel “electricycle” with motor cycle plates,” explains Edelman. “The insurance is comparable to our gas car.”
So while GM continues to advertise heavily for a vehicle it can’t even sell us yet (the Volt), ZAP’s Xebra is one option for getting around town — today. What’s making the proposition of owning one even sweeter is the new ZAP plant under construction in Kentucky (Xebras are currently manufactured in China). Now this car for local transport around town will be Made In America, another attractive selling point for Americans who care about supporting American green businesses.
At a time when the auto industry is taking quite a hit, ZAP seems to be bucking the trend, having posted some of its best ever sales figures in the last quarter. Not only are sales great, there as been a 30% increase in workforce as well.
This seems like a vehicle well suited for well-off suburbanites with plenty of garage space and the ability to afford two or more cars.
I who live in the inner city and need a gasoline-powered vehicle for those days when a 10-mile range (10 going + 10 return) won’t do, would have to pay several hundred dollars in parking rental fees just to own this tricycle.
The Xebra, pronounced “zebra,” is a lot smoother and its breaking system more consistent than my CitiCar (admittedly, a 30-year-old collector vehicle).
Well, I’m glad that part has been improved ;P
It’s good to see the concept of neighborhood vehicles finally get going. Ever since I was a kid in the 70’s, the worst automotive decade ever, I’ve long thought that cars were overkill for small local trips that don’t involve significant haulage.
Too bad that better batteries are still hella expensive. I despise lead-acids, which I strongly suspect is what the Xebra uses.
“…and its breaking system more consistent than my CitiCar…”
There’s just nothing more irritating than an inconsistent system to break the car!
The 20 mile range won’t hack it for me. A four-season weather experience apparently is a problem too.
Bring on the plug-in hybrids!
$12k for a vehicle with a 20-mile range?
Get a bus pass and/or one of those compact electric scooters.
It’s a golf cart with doors. Come back when you decide to be serious.
Thanks for the great review of the Xebra. I own a Xebra and still have my gas car, but the gas car now just sits for days sometimes weeks at a time. It really is a great feeling to break the gasoline addiction. Every time I have to fill up with gas now it is an unpleasant experience. I guess I’m addicted to electricity!
Oh, I’ve driven well past 20 miles range in a Xebra. I’ve heard some hyper miler Xebra drivers get over 50 miles range. I think when you can use an electric vehicle in place of a gas vehicle, that is a “serious” transformation.
The Xebra is definitely not for everyone, but I guess I’m one of the fortunate few.
Is it possible to upgrade the batteries for longer range ?
great if you live in a small town, but I drive around 100 miles roundtrip a day and sometimes stay overnight, sometimes I drive even more than 100 =( i hope they come out with more practical electric cars soon.
I was completely sold on one of these until I actually test drove one yesterday.
Let me start at the beginning. My wife and I moved to downtown SLC a few months ago and realized that our cost for gas had gone up because we were making more frequent trips but they were shorter. Turns out that at least with our car, running it for 2-5 miles costs more than running it for 20-30 miles (I think it has something to do with engine temp and fuel economy)
Anyways we looked at the numbers and an Electric makes sense for us, even if it’s an NeV.
To date we have test driven the Zenn, the GEM and the Zap Xebra.
There were 3 major problems with the Xebra that I could see.
#1 Cheaply constructed, this car absolutely feels like it’s going to fall apart. The head rests wobble like they are about to come out, the plastic bits on the interior vibrate and even the emergency brake wouldn’t fully release. In short it’s like most things from china, cheaply constructed and probably unsafe (lets hope the alias fixes those issues)
#2 No room! I’m not a large person, I’m only 5′6″ and even though I fit ok in the passenger seat, when it came my time to drive i noticed that the drivers seat is incredibly cramped. Now I’m not talking no leg room cramped, I’m talking no elbow room cramped. I’m not particularly broad shouldered by my shoulders were pressing the door. My poor wife had to roll the window all the way down because there wasn’t enough elbow room for her to driver (large chest).
#3 Inefficient! Yes I know it’s an electric vehicle, but it is still horribly inefficient design. The electric motor continues to run (idles) while stopped. This car could probably increase it’s range by 25% just by putting an engine kill switch in. The dealer told me this was something to do with torque, but clearly he didn’t know what he was talking about, because electric Additionally there is no regenerative breaking at all.
So to sum up, I’m so glad I test drove one of these, they do have potential, but they need to increase the size of the driver compartment to fit a normal adult. This could be accomplished by dividing the space between driver and passenger more like 50/50 rather than 30/70 like it is now. However I wouldn’t hold my breath. These cars are not built by Zap. They are imported as-is by Zap who then does the electrical conversion. But if they could at least be a little more discerning about quality control this car even as-is could go from a 5 of 10 to 7 of ten. Turn off the electrical motor instead of idling it and you get bring that up to an 8 of ten.
Anyways for the record my experience was 5 of 10, I prefered the Zenn to this, and will be test driving a Miles Electric Vehicle http://www.milesev.com/ as soon as I can find a local dealer, after which I plan to make my purchase, but so far Zenn is the clear winner.