Think City

The Think City goes on sale at the end of 2008 with the ability to drive over 100 miles on one charge and hit 60mph. It also looks, steers and, so we’re promised, crashes like a modern city car. If it looks familiar, then you remember Ford’s aborted eco project. This is that same car six years on, back in Norwegian hands and brought bang up to date.

The Think City only has a 100-mile range? That doesn’t sound much.

The range is plenty given the target customer and the competition. Think bosses realise it only makes sense for tax-wily Londoners taking an eco-stand, and for them the car is nigh-on perfect. The range is double that of the electric competition, namely the G-Wiz and Mega City Nice, and the top speed is a healthy 20mph faster.

Common to all are the plastic panels, stubby three metre footprints and 2+2 seating, but the vast difference in range comes from the battery. In contrast to the venerable lead-acid cells juicing the G-Wiz, the Think is powered by the same lithium-ion polymer tech as the iPod.

Is the Think City the future, then?

It’d certainly get a callback from Futurama, at least on the tech and exterior looks. Ford’s wide-eyed design from 2002 is still fresh today, and those matt-finished plastic body panels are the same colour all the way through, so no worries with scrapes. The panels are anchored to a steel lower frame that, according to Think, means it’ll absorb crashes like a car and not a quadricycle (aka the G-Wiz loophole).

You can even text chat with your Think. A quick SMS will discover what charge remains or how far into the ten hour recharge you are. A bit of optional cleverness will also let you text to warm the interior on cold mornings.

Any G-wiz escapees will laud the interior as futuristic too, but the well-built, generously proportioned cabin takes us right back to the Millennium, thanks to those 2002 Ford-sourced controls.