Zoomi Life

Sometimes failure and adversity can pleasantly turn into opportunity. Take this morning, for example. I utterly failed to wake up on time to make it to today’s Santa Monica Electric Vehicle parade, an event I’d been looking forward to for some time. However, my failure to arrive on time also presented me with an opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with Adam Maoz of Zero Emission Motors, and to test drive his Volt electric moped.

I was able to get a hold of Adam, who lives in Marina Del Rey, California, and meet with him in Santa Monica for a chat over a coffee at Urth Cafe, one of Santa Monica’s chic and trendy coffee shops. Adam is the president of Zero Emission Motors, a company that sells electric mopeds. I got to meet Adam a few months back at the Kick Gas Festival, but never did get an opportunity to test drive the Volt electric moped, Adam’s flagship product.

This time was different. I got to spend about 10 minutes driving the streets of Santa Monica on the Volt, and I was highly impressed with this zippy, inexpensive electric moped.

While the Volt’s 1,500 watt motor didn’t exactly push me back in my seat, it easily accelerated me past 40 mph within a few seconds, which took me by surprise. I really didn’t expect the top speed of the moped to exceed 35 mph under the best of conditions - not on a $1,500, 1,500 watt moped. But the Volt pleasantly proved me wrong. It was peppy,  responsive,  and did not leave me wanting more power, at least not on Santa Monica’s fairly flat and busy streets.

What really stood out for me about driving the Volt (and any other electric moped for that matter) was the total lack of noise and exhaust smell. It’s really fun zipping along the California coast enjoying a beautiful day while driving a silent, emissions-free electric vehicle. It’s a bit like the difference between piloting a small plane versus piloting a glider - both will move you, but the glider’s silent nature lets you experience the scenery in a way that a noisy Cessna never will.

Riding the Volt is a bit like that - the lack of noise and smell lets you enjoy your ride in a way you never will on a gas moped. And at $1,500, you get a whole lot of electric moped for your money.  My final verdict:  The Volt electric moped is in my opinion the best mid-range electric moped you can get for under two grand. Sure, you can spend $6,000 on an X-Treme XM-5000Li, or even ten grand on a Vectrix VX-1 - and those are both great mopeds - but for $1,500, and if all you need is a city moped to get around locally then it just doesn’t get any better than the Volt.

Check out our Volt electric moped review for more information, or pick one up over at the Zero Emission Motors website.

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