Is this the antidote to your otherwise autonomous motoring future?

For those of you that have read my previous articles you will know I am a lifelong motorcyclist who has also had company cars for 35 years. A stream of nice new shiny vehicles each better equipped than the last culminating in my stepping into my first fully battery electric car ( BEV ) last year.

Again from my last article you will know that like a lot of other BEV drivers my first experience of them has not been perfect. There are many Pro’s - I love the smoothness and quiet, the level of comfort and technology and of course their ( possibly arguable ) green credentials. But as I concluded in that article, the lack of infrastructure, fully connected technology with that infrastructure and poor ranges in most of the currently available cars themselves, most of the current crop of BEVs are just not quite the straight replacement for your current ICE powered vehicle that you would hope for.

To be fair the infrastructure, technology around them and ranges of 350-400 miles from the vehicles themselves will come ( and also to be fair it isn’t that far away ).

But there is something else I realised recently when playing with the plethora of onboard technology that comes with my BEV. Adaptive cruise control for example is great ( although there are still plenty of times you have to override it as it’s not completely infallible!! ) but first stage self driving ( mine is called Pilot assist ) gave me my first glimpse of what is coming - autonomy and I dont like it.

I realised that autonomous driving is going to takeaway the things I love about driving.

I love the freedom that driving brings and the connection it gives me with the environment and this is even truer still than when your ride a Motorcycle.

On a motorbike you are not only more aware of the environment but you actually become part of it and for your own safety you become mindful of absolutely everything happening in front of you.

There’s a saying amongst motorcyclists that youll never see a motorbike in the customer car park of a?Mindfulness coach! Living in the moment is a prerequisite if you want to stay rubber side down!

On a sunny day I can’t think of any other place to be other than on a motorbike and have been lucky enough to have toured the UK and Europe solo, with friends and my long suffering wife.

That’s fine of course for me to say but I appreciate its not for everyone and it certainly has its cons - having to don all the protective gear, its pretty much a solitary thing to do and you can fall off!

Then I had a test drive in the new Morgan Super 3 wheeler and suddenly a whole lot of things came together in my mind.

For those of you not quite mad enough to ride a motorbike the 3 wheeler is the perfect middle ground but it is also the perfect choice for those of us who don’t want to finish our motoring careers sat in a wind tunnel designed soulless, self driving box.

As well as its appeal to me as a motorcyclist, I also have to admit some skin the game. First I am local lad born and raised under the shadow of the Malvern Hills so Morgan has formed somewhat a backdrop to my life. Prior to me arriving on the planet, my grandfather cycled from his home in Wrexham to Malvern to join Morgan motor works as an apprentice, so Morgan also runs in the family. Around the time my grandfather joined Morgan they introduced the first Ford engined versions of their 3 wheeler, replacing the previous Matchless and JAP motorcycle engines.

My Grandads love of motorbikes and three wheelers endured as he point blank refused to ever own a 4 wheel car instead carting his daughters then my brother and I around in a sidecar until my Gran put her foot down and grandad bought his first Robin Reliant.

Then followed many happy trips up the A44 to the gloriously sunny sands of Borth - my brother and I loose on the rear bench seat singing all the way there and back.

Enter my love for the three wheel car that I always thought would simply tip over if you braked or cornered too much.

Morgans 3 wheeler is based of course on a single belt driven rear wheel with a wide front axle and 20” wheels that gives rock solid stability. Gone is the distinctive S & S V Twin front mounted engine which gave it distinctive Motorcycle credibility and sound. However time and Emissions legislation wait for no man and as S & S couldn’t meet Euro 5 standards and in a repeat of the 1935 move, in comes a Ford 3 cylinder liquid cooled 1.5 litre engine married to a trusty Mazda 5 speed gearbox.

This engine is used by the European spec Ford Focus and Fiesta hatchbacks and returns 40+mpg.?

The bodywork is ultra modern aluminium superformed, glued and riveted bringing strength and lightness whilst retaining its classic styling. Although some agility is needed to get into the door less seats, once in it is surprisingly spacious.

The first thing I noticed driving away is how wide the front end is and although I wasn’t a fan of the aesthetics of the wrap around mudguards, on a wet day these would be a godsend as you only have the 2 small windshields for cover otherwise.

But let’s face it this is a sunny day car or for the hardened motorcyclist like me who’s used to getting wet!!

With the reconnection the Morgan brings to motoring and your environment you don’t need to drive it fast to feel like you’re really moving but believe me when wanted this thing has power.

118hp in a 635kg dry weight car that can do 0 - 60 in 7 seconds and pull 130mph when it is safe and legal to do so. The need for twin radiators has been reflected in the design with flat plates on either side of the front bodywork which have been adapted to carry soft or hard panniers which along with a rear luggage rack make it a true adventurer.

Like certain types of motorbikes, driving it definitely inspires adventure and certainly that feeling of individualism that I am feeling is being lost from the wider OEM march to autonomous BEV’dom.

There is no doubt in my mind that the single piece skateboard chassis has a future electric drive in mind and in many respects this would be the perfect vehicle for it, lightweight and wide enough to carry enough battery capacity especially as battery density increases.

The good news for Morgan and many other small series ( sub 1000 units ) manufacturers is that the EU has just exempted them from the 2035 ban on ICE powered sales so hopefully they will be able to revel in the space that leaves them ( hopefully of course the Uk will follow suit as our ban is from 2030 ).

So if your looking for adventure and preservation of your motoring individualism, don’t want to don all that protective clobber and too worried about falling off a motorbike to buy one - look no further than a Morgan Super 3.

So I’m saving up for a weekend hire when they are available, watch out on the A44 for 2 grinning adventurers ( and most certainly 1 relieved wife ) on their way to the seaside.?