Let’s say you might be driving on a French nation street and end up caught behind a gradual driver. A very gradual driver. “Can’t this man go any quicker?” you marvel. And the reply is perhaps…no!
A Pot of Yogurt
France is stuffed with microcars, referred to as voiturettes or pots de yaourt (pots of yogurt), which might be specifically designed to go slowly. You’ll be able to drive one and not using a license, so long as you might be a minimum of 14 years outdated.
You received’t discover them on main roads, as a result of they’re too small and gradual: to qualify as a microcar, the car should weigh a most of 200kg (440 kilos) and have a high pace of 45 kilometers per hour (28 miles per hour). However that makes them economical—some fashions price properly below €10,000.
Voiturettes have lengthy been widespread within the French countryside, particularly amongst older drivers whose eyesight isn’t what was. And they’re the one alternative for somebody whose license has been suspended due to repeated offenses, or due to a drunk driving conviction (therefore the nickname voiture des alcolos—alcoholic’s automobile.)
Paris Right here We Come!
Lately, producers have launched electrical variations of those little vehicles which have change into widespread amongst younger city dwellers—Citroën calls theirs an “city mobility object.” A microcar’s pace restrict isn’t an issue in gridlocked metropolis visitors, and its tiny footprint makes parking a breeze. Some fashions have detachable batteries that may be carried indoors to cost.
The voiturettes aren’t identified for his or her modern styling—not that you’d count on that from a so-called pot de yaourt. Many have a particular Toytown aesthetic and appear like little cubes as they putter down the road. However they’re cheap and sensible, and for somebody who’s had a bit an excessive amount of vin ordinaire, the one approach to go.
Keith Van Sickle splits his time between Provence and California. He’s the writer of An Insider’s Information to Provence, One Sip at a Time, and Are We French But? Learn extra at Life in Provence
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