The trendiest Honda is a 15 mph electric scooter called the Motocompacto
"What the heck is that?!" a man on a bicycle shouted at me as I zoomed along a bike path in Manhattan on the new Honda Motocompacto scooter.
The man had a point: the Motocompacto looks like a futuristic suitcase from "The Jetsons."
I eventually stopped counting the stares and finger-pointing as I maneuvered the gleaming white Motocompacto along the winding pavement. With a top speed of 15 mph, the scooter requires a helmet. There's also a bell to alert fellow riders. Hold on tight when you launch the compact two-wheeler from a standstill (0.7-horsepower, 11.8 lb.-ft of torque).
The sleek and simple design of the Motocompacto makes it an instant talker. It weighs just 41.3 pounds, allowing you to pick it up and transport it with you everywhere. Plus, the scooter is electric and goes an estimated 12 miles before the lithium-ion battery pack has to be charged up again. Charging takes about 3.5 hours with a 110v outlet, according to Honda.
"Given the smile on my face when I was riding the Motocompacto, and how much interest some of my friends and co-workers have expressed in it, I'd say Honda has a hit on its hands," Matthew Skwarczek, research editor at Car and Driver, told me. "As for the riding experience, it's just plain fun. It's easy to steer and lean into turns, and the single brake is strong."
Honda built a foldable scooter in the 1980s called the Motocompo. Only available in Japan, the Motocompo had an air-cooled, gas-powered engine. It also weighed nearly 100 pounds.
"We drew inspiration from the original Motocompo," Nick Ziraldo, project lead and design engineering unit leader at Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, told me. "Motocompacto is a good tie to our heritage and a good product that meets the current moment with all things going electric."
Ziraldo said the Motocompacto won't necessarily replace a car -- it's not technically street-legal -- but it makes for a "perfect campus commuter."
"All the parts fold up into the white shell body," he said. "We developed it for the bike lane and tried to keep it as compact as we could but also fun and safe to drive."
Motocompacto will be built in China and retails for $995. Orders can be placed online or at a local Honda or Acura dealership.
"The demand has exceeded our expectations so the little elves at the factory are hustling," said Jane Nakagawa, vice president of the R&D Business Unit at American Honda Motor Co. "This may end up being the first new Honda someone buys."
Nakagawa said Honda is targeting students and young professionals as customers: "You grab it, go to the train station and then take it to the office or campus."
The AlphaTauri Formula One racing team has also been spotted whizzing around in the pint-size scooter.
Electric scooters have gotten a bad rap lately. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said injuries related to e-scooters rose more than 20% in 2022 versus 2021. Moreover, there have been at least 233 deaths associated with e-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards from 2017 through 2022, the CPSC said.
"You don't want to ride this next to a giant Suburban," said Nakagawa. "This is really meant for personal use."
Additional Motocompacto models may be coming in the near future, like ones that go off-roading, Ziraldo said.
Nakagawa said she's ecstatic with the response so far.
"It's a practical and fashionable product," she noted. "Everyone reverts to their 8-year-old self on a Motocompacto."
