Aixam 500 - Lots of questions.

jaydeeuk1

^Yeah, if you look on the french forums, they take the p*ss out the english for treating them like a normal every day car, racking up 1000's of miles every year!

pendulum

Usually people buying this kind of unusual car will have done a lot of research first!
Not my cup of tea at all

shaun_from_Africa

their fitted with a kubota engine whilst they supply engines for diggers etc does not mean theres one out of a digger fitted in a aixam,

But don't forget that is no way that Kubota would have spent the money required to design, develop and build an engine especially for a road going quad, especially one that will be sold in small numbers.
All they would have done is to take an engine that they already had in production and carried out whatever modifications were needed to get it to fit and to make it road legal.

bosseyed

patman99 wrote: »

It uses a diesel engine out of a mini-digger (I'm not joking), so emissions will be higher as plant is not taxed like cars and vans so the engines tend not to be as refined. Surprised about the insurance though (might have something to do with the rarity of Axiam's in this country and therefore, the repair costs).

Theres one that trundles past me on the commute home sometimes and by god it certainly sounds just like a digger. Or a car with a chronic engine failure on the horizon, chugga chugga chugga chug chug chug......you can hear it a mile away.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

bosseyed wrote: »

Theres one that trundles past me on the commute home sometimes and by god it certainly sounds just like a digger. Or a car with a chronic engine failure on the horizon, chugga chugga chugga chug chug chug......you can hear it a mile away.

yip they sound like a 70's vw bug with the air pipe off amplified by dieslel chatter.

s_b

seeing as they have a cement mixer engine if i buy one can i run it on red diesel

Arg

LandyAndy wrote: »

There is one round here.

What a heap of crap.

The only reason anyone would even look at one is presumably because they don't need a car licence to drive them, AFAIK, because they are quadricycles.

I think they are put onto car licenses in this country while it was france or some other euro country that you could get it on a basic license if any at all like those 3 wheeled pick ups they have over there.

ps, You might get lower insurance from companies that cover kit cars or quads.

patman99

They are defo strong little motors. They have a full steel frame and can survive a crash much better than a 107/C1 or Ka.

They did do a petrol version as well, but these are even rarer. I worked with a guy who had fitted a 3-pot Matiz diesel engine and gearbox in one. It was a bit of a squeeze, but it did the job.
As for size, it is about 4 inches longer than a Ka or Corsa. Ideal as a town car, but carp for motorways and long journeys.

Kilty_2

patman99 wrote: »

can survive a crash much better than a 107/C1 or Ka.

T

Care to substatiate that statement? A C1/107 has a 4 star NCAP rating - the Aixam wasn't tested because it's not a car....

s_b

They are defo strong little motors. They have a full steel frame and can survive a crash much better than a 107/C1 or Ka.

sorry but cant let this pass
they have a steel frame that measures 1x1 in old money in box frame material, these bits are welded together under the hood to hold various bits like suspension pickups and engine mounts, they are definitely NOT better than a ka or a citroen c1 or a 107 in an accident and to say so is basically beyond comprehension