Deadly at city speeds

This is how dangerous lightweight cars really are

The vehicle involved in the accident looks better than the driver at the wheel - who suffers the most serious injuries because the impact energy is transferred to the occupants due to the rigid bodywork.

(Bild: Dekra / Friedhelm Schwicker)

Environmentally friendly, inexpensive to buy and maintain, likeable and with guaranteed parking - microcars offer some tangible advantages. However, the need to save money that this type of vehicle is subject to also creates problems.

The electrically powered representatives of this category in particular are a financially interesting alternative to expensive electric cars for many. The tiny vehicles are also attracting interest from novice drivers, with 15-year-olds being allowed behind the wheel of the slower L6e and 16-year-olds behind the wheel of the faster L7e variants. The lightweights are often touted as a supposedly safe alternative to scooters and 125cc motorcycles. However, the issue of safety is also the Achilles heel of these dwarves, as they are subject to various cost-cutting constraints that make them dangerous, at least for their users, as a recent crash test once again proves.

Deadly danger in city crashes
The rekindled discussion about the safety of microcars was triggered by a crash test commissioned by the television program "auto mobil - das VOX Automagazin" and carried out by the testing company Dekra with the L6e representatives Citroen Ami and Aixam Access. Both vehicles were driven at 45 km/h, their maximum speed, against a stationary obstacle with 40 percent overlap. Dekra's conclusion was alarming and understandable in view of the images shown of the deformed vehicles: According to the report, forces acting on the driver in such a scenario are classified as potentially fatal. The television report broadcast in November 2024 generated a not inconsiderable and probably desired media response with statements such as "horror result". The widespread reservations of car buyers about this vehicle class are unlikely to have diminished following this report.

As early as 2007, the German Insurers' Accident Research Association (UDV) warned in a study on the safety of microcars carried out jointly with the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT): "Even collisions at "city speed" pose an increased risk of injury to the driver". The UDV is still critical of microcars today. The accident researchers refer, among other things, to two Euro NCAP crash test campaigns from 2014 and 2016, in which the eight microcars tested were consistently rated as "poor". The clear recommendation from Kirstin Zeidler, Head of Insurers' Accident Research at GDV, is: "In light of these and our research results, we cannot in good conscience recommend L6e or L7e vehicles."

Although the passenger cell in the Aixam Access was not severely deformed, the stress caused by the crash was enormous for the driver.

(Bild: Dekra / Friedhelm Schwicker)

Still better than two-wheelers?
The German automobile club ADAC also cannot give car dwarfs a good report card, especially with regard to their occupant safety. The last crash test carried out by the ADAC a good 20 years ago with a moped car was just as disastrous as the Dekra tests. The same applies to the tests carried out by the ADAC in the Euro NCAP test consortium in 2016. "However, our experts are largely certain that if we were to repeat the crash today, we would get the same results," says Volker Sandner, Head of Vehicle Safety at ADAC. Nevertheless, the ADAC confirms that the Microcar has a safety advantage over small and light motorcycles, which are mainly used by young road users.

The microcar's belts and bodywork offer better protection against secondary crashes, in which moped riders usually collide with the road. Nevertheless, the ADAC's assessment of the microcar as a mobility alternative outweighs the reservations: "In our view, these vehicles, which are also not cheap, are not really recommendable, especially for longer trips and night rides. They might still be suitable for young people in the city - but they have public transport. Where there is no public transport, in the countryside, microcars are not recommended," Sandner sums up.

If the manufacturers of these vehicles want to sell more cars in this country, they will probably have to focus more on passenger protection. However, the scope for this is narrow, as the vehicles without battery may only weigh 425 or 450 kilograms. Renault's Mobilize brand has at least made a small advance towards greater safety by launching two successors to the Renault Twizy in 2025, the Duo and the Bento, which are equipped with four disc brakes, three-point seat belts with belt force limiters and a driver airbag. However, in view of the weight restrictions, there is little hope of several airbags, ABS, ESP and reinforced bodywork and crumple zones.

If occupant safety is to be given greater consideration in the future, the actually appealing approach of the ecologically and economically advantageous lightweight vehicle remains problematic. There is too little scope to integrate the kind of sophisticated safety technology that has long been standard in the passenger car world. The only way out of this dilemma would be to introduce a new class which, while remaining committed to the idea of lightweight construction, would also offer more scope for safety technology by providing more leeway in terms of weight. The problem with such an "L8e" class would be that costs would continue to rise, which would lead to significantly higher prices. Currently, the entry-level versions of L6e and L7e vehicles cost between 8,000 and 14,000 euros and are therefore a good deal lower than the cheapest passenger car models. If the light vehicles wanted to keep up with passenger cars in terms of safety, they would probably also have to move into passenger car regions in terms of price. Then they would at best be an inexpensive, but no longer really financially attractive alternative to the classic car.