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Experiencing a tilting vehicle

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Driving on city roads on a personal vehicle which tilts at turns comes with a feeling of security and control, much more than on a regular vehicle. As a driver, you sense the width of the vehicle and go around easily between other cars. The stability on turns is felt even at low velocities and you feel the vehicle as a part of you.

We were told unofficially by the operators that most users preferred the i-Road, which is indeed harder to reserve relative to the Coms. From witnesses of others too, driving the i-Road is pleasant and comfortable. The drawback of the i-Road relative to the COMS is shorter travel distance, probably due to its tilting energy consumption.

I experienced such a vehicle in the city of Grenoble, France, where Toyota introduced a few dozen of personal electric i-Road vehicles and few other dozens of COMS cars on a car sharing rental system run by an urban transport system named Ha:mo. The COMS is a one seat small personal vehicle, wider than the i-Road and does not tilt at turns. The driving sensation on it is not as good and at turns you feel the need to slow down to prevent rolling over.

 By Tal Meron

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