ARI 252 / 452 / 802

The ARI 252, 452 and 802 are three versions of the same two-seat electric microcar sold by ARI Motors, a small company based in Borna, near Leipzig in Saxony, Germany.

The 252 and 452 belong to the European L6e light-quadricycle class and are limited to 25 km/h (16 mph) and 45 km/h (28 mph) respectively, while the 802 is an L7e vehicle with a regular car registration and a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). Despite the differences in speed and licensing, all three share a very compact body about 2.25 m (88 in) long.

The story of the car begins with the company. Daniel Jacob, Pavel Pilous and Thomas Kuwatsch had known each other for years through automotive projects and kept running into the same problem: electric mobility in Europe was too expensive for everyday use.

Around 2016 they went looking for an affordable electric vehicle, first for business customers who needed a “last mile” delivery van. After several months of research and visits in Asia, they chose the Chinese manufacturer Jiayuan EV of Nanjing, a company that says it has been building electric vehicles since 1982, as their platform supplier.

The first prototype received European approval in 2017 and sales began in the Czech Republic through the distributor velorXtrike. The German market followed in 2018 under the name VXT-Deutschland, and since 2019 the business has operated as ARI Motors GmbH.

“ARI” is the Japanese word for ant, a nod to small size and big workload. The vehicles are adapted for Europe and fitted with bodies at the company’s workshops in Borna and in Říčany near Prague.

The delivery van, the Ari 458, remains the heart of the range, but the passenger cars grew out of the same basic design. The Ari 802 was already in the catalog by October 2020, when the trade site Vision Mobility reported on a new solar-panel option for the family.

It shares its body with the slower Ari 252 (25 km/h) and Ari 452 (45 km/h), which can be driven with a moped license or, in the 25 km/h case, in some circumstances without one. The 802 has the stronger motor and the full passenger-car approval that goes with it. A four-seat sibling, the Ari 804, is about 2.55 m (100 in) long.

The 802 is a compact, upright two-seater with two side doors and a glass panoramic roof with a sunblind. It is 2,245 mm (88.4 in) long, 1,290 mm (50.8 in) wide and 1,570 mm (61.8 in) tall on a 2,300 mm (90.6 in) wheelbase, and ARI quotes a turning circle of just 6.48 m (21.3 ft).

Unladen weight is listed at 635 kg (1,400 lb) with a gross weight of 1,166 kg (2,570 lb), leaving a payload of 531 kg (1,171 lb). The trunk is very small: Ari gives its interior as 105 cm (41 in) wide and 28 cm (11 in) deep, enough for a couple of shopping bags. Disc brakes are fitted at all four wheels and the wheels are 12-inch alloys.

A 7.5 kW (10 hp) electric motor drives the rear wheels and gives a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). Official consumption is 6.2 kWh per 100 km in town, 8.0 outside town and 7.1 combined. The standard battery is a lead-gel unit of 100 Ah with a range of around 120 km (75 mi); an optional LiFePO4 lithium battery stretches that to as much as 250 km (155 mi), at an extra cost of roughly $3,000 to $5,000 depending on capacity.

A roof-mounted solar panel is also available and is said to add about 20 km (12 mi) of range in good weather. The car charges from an ordinary 230 V household outlet, with a Type 2 adapter available for public charge points.

Equipment is basic but more complete than in many rivals: power windows, a touchscreen radio with Bluetooth and a rear-view camera, remote central locking, cabin heating and ventilation, an eco driving mode and a battery-capacity display come as standard. Air conditioning, power steering, bumper guards, fog lights, a roof rack and winter tires are optional, and the car has been offered in white, blue, red, yellow and brown.

Price has always been its strongest card. The 2023 German “electricar” magazine test of six light electric vehicles (the others included the Microlino, Renault Twizy, Opel Rocks-e and Aixam e-City) named the 802 the best battery-powered L7e car, with a score of 86.3 percent, citing a price of about 13,000 euros (roughly $14,300 including tax), consumption of about 7 kWh per 100 km and its equipment. The testers were less kind about its looks, and ARI itself admits that noise levels and comfort cannot match a regular small car such as a Volkswagen Polo. Today the manufacturer lists the 802 from 10,999 euros plus VAT, which is about $12,100 before tax.

The little car also made a screen appearance. A yellow ARI 802 with power steering and air conditioning plays the road-trip car in the German comedy “Die Känguru-Verschwörung” (2022), filmed in Berlin, Brandenburg and Bitterfeld in spring 2021.

Ari 804

For buyers who needed more than two seats, ARI Motors offered the ARI 804 — essentially a stretched, four-passenger version of the 802. It was built on the same Jiayuan-derived platform as the entire early ARI passenger range. Like the 802, the 804 was homologated as an L7e light quadricycle and could be driven with a standard class B licence.

Despite measuring just 2.55 metres long and 1.29 metres wide, the 804 seated up to four people, and the rear bench could be folded down to create additional luggage space. Power came from the same 7.5 kW AC electric motor as the 802, giving a top speed of 78 km/h and consumption of around 6 kWh per 100 km.

From October 2020, the 804 (like the 802) could be ordered with a solar panel on the roof, which charges the battery with up to 200 W in sunlight — both while parked and while driving — and was said to add up to 25 km of range after eight hours of strong sunshine.

Later the 804 disappeared from ARI Motors’ range.