FFifteen years after Piaggio presented its first three-wheeled scooter to the amazed public and exhausted the thinking and seeing habits that had been in effect until then, one can conclude that it was not widely used. Many drivers do not trust the roast and insist on vehicles with four wheels. The offer remained manageable. The idea wasn’t a flop either. Piaggio MP3 and the like and, since 2013, the Peugeot Metropolis have created a solid niche for themselves with significant numbers.
There are several reasons for this. As natural talents in the bustle, scooters are generally ideal vehicles for commuting and city bustle. They are narrow and manoeuvrable, offer wind and weather protection, storage space and ease when looking for a parking space. In addition, there are special properties that the three-wheeler concept brings with it: good contact with the road, high braking forces thanks to the double front wheel, reduced risk of falling on slippery surfaces or when braking suddenly. The state of the art is the ability to lock the front wheel tilting mechanism at the push of a button, then it beeps for confirmation and the scooter remains stationary, for example in front of the traffic lights. When moving off, beep, beep, the lock releases automatically. With Peugeot it also beeps when the indicators are active. We think that’s good, with increasing age one becomes forgetful.
So far, so beep. The best thing, however, from the point of view of a three-wheeler driver of a car is the fact that no motorcycle driver’s license is required even for large-capacity scooters. With a track width of more than 46 centimeters, such a vehicle is considered a two-lane and not a single-lane vehicle, so that, thanks to the wondrous generosity of the legislature, the car license is sufficient, although the driving behavior clearly corresponds to that of a scooter or motorcycle and in no way that of a car. In this country, a minimum age of 21 years is required, provided that the engine power is more than 15 kW. A driving course is strongly recommended for those inexperienced.
Driving report
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Peugeot Metropolis SW
France, Germany, Italy and Spain are the largest markets for three-wheeled scooters, with France alone accounting for around half of sales, with Paris accounting for a significant proportion of that. French people in the capital city are particularly painless in rush hour traffic, the third wheel increases combat strength. The Metropolis is powered by a 400 cubic engine, Peugeot completely renovated it in 2020 (technology and engine from September 22, 2020). In terms of style, it was brought closer to the brand’s automobiles – although Peugeot Motocycles no longer belongs to PSA, but rather to the Indian Mahindra Group. But lion emblems, saber-tooth position lights, claw-track rear lights refer to relationship and origin. The Metropolis wears the tricolor on the body with good reason, because it is manufactured in the Mandeure plant near the Swiss border, with a high level of materials and workmanship. The attractive cockpit with multimedia color screen is framed by a strip of light, the pointers of the speedometer and tachometer move in mirror image to one another, as in the four-wheel lion world.
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