How far have electric cars come in 20 years? Old Reva G-Wiz vs new MINI Electric
We see how far the electric car has come in the two decades since the Reva G-Wiz hit the streets, with a little help from Car Throttle
Love it, hate it, or hope you never get within five feet of it, the Reva G-Wiz will go down in history as one of the first modern electric cars – arguably paving the way for the varied and highly capable EVs we know today.
The electric ‘heavy quadricycle’ – as it’s officially classified – went into production way back in 2001, five years before anyone laid eyes on even a prototype Tesla Roadster, and nearly a decade ahead of the game-changing Nissan Leaf. Indian company Reva kept building the thing until 2012.
Over 4,600 were sold, and it was offered in 26 countries around the world. Yet it was widely regarded as being one of the worst cars ever made. In fact, our colleagues at Auto Express named it exactly that – alongside other horrors such as the Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible, Austin Allegro and Vauxhall Frontera.
But as it’s such a historically significant EV, when the opportunity arose, we simply couldn’t pass up the chance to try a G-Wiz and experience its quirks firsthand. Our friends at Car Throttle had been tinkering with one (sorry, two!) for some time, and were in need of someone to brave the open road in their beloved ‘Barry’.
So what have 21 years of EVolution done for the electric car? Editor Richard Ingram and Car Throttle’s own Alex Kersten put the modern MINI Electric and veteran G-Wiz head-to-head to find out. Watch our video above to see how they got on...
