Just like motorcycles, people love the cars they love for different reasons. It can be super sentimental, like the car your dad taught you to drive or took you to school in, or you can just love it because it's the first car that made you fall in love with the auto enthusiast life in the first place.
Or it can just be cute and charming, like the Honda Beat. The added allure of a car that you don't see every day is also a factor here, but one thing no one would ever accuse a stock Honda Beat kei car of being fast.
Because, unless they're modified, kei cars aren't there to be fast. They're there to be adorable, inviting, and attention-getting. And just so we're clear, that's totally fine. There are bikes like that, too, and there's a place for all of 'em in the hearts of enthusiasts.
Apart from potentially being slow, though, another problem that the aspiring kei car owner can run into is parts availability. Once you've gotten your hands on your dream Honda Beat, what happens when you need to fix it? It's not as easy as sourcing parts for, say, an Accord or a Civic.
And that's when the practicality of something like the EV Honda Beat conversion that the Rich Rebuilds crew just undertook starts to shine through. To be completely transparent, a whole lot of pieces had to fall into place to make this build as inexpensive as it was. At the same time, if you got the kind of screaming deals on the constituent parts of this build that Rich and his crew did, even an EV skeptic might at least have to think about it.
The math is honestly pretty enticing.
If you haven't watched earlier videos in the series, like the one we wrote about in the link above, the RR team took dual motors from prototype Arcimoto electric trikes, added appropriate batteries and controllers, and removed the entire non-working ICE powertrain to make room. The engine bay of the Beat, which was originally under the hood, is now empty. The dual motor, battery, and controllers are now positioned much more rearward, with some components also toward the center of the car (behind the seats).
A whole lot of work went into making this build come together, and having a whole crew work on something like this made it go a lot faster and smoother than it would if you were working on it by yourself, of course. And while Arcimoto itself isn't in anywhere near as strong a position as a manufacturer as Honda is, electric motor, battery, and controller parts and expertise are simply easier to come by if you need them down the line.
But enough about that, and back to the central question posed by this video: How does the EV Honda Beat compare against a stock, combustion-powered Honda Beat? To find the answer to that question, Rich and his crew invited their buddy Aaron, who owns an ICE Beat, to hold their first-ever Beat-Off. Giggle all you like; they certainly were while making this video.
It's not a track competition. Instead, since the Rich Rebuilds team is located in coastal Massachusetts, they went for a nice drive together (along with an Arcimoto) to see how each performed according to various metrics. They also switched Beats so that both Rich and Aaron got to see what both Beats were like to drive, and judged them accordingly.
Afterward, they judged both Beats on both driving characteristics and overall vehicle weight to see which came out on top. While the ICE Beat, with its five-speed manual transmission, was undeniably more engaging to drive, the EV Beat was equally undeniably quicker. Also, because you weren't forced to keep thinking about your next shift and the approaching redline in the EV, it was a lot easier to just go out for a fun, zippy, carefree Sunday drive.
Interestingly, when they added up all the weights at the end, the EV Beat also managed to come in a full 30 pounds lighter on the scale than the ICE Beat. Not everyone is going to get an essentially free kei car because the engine isn't working, nor are they going to have extremely cheap prototype EV motors around that they can just swap in.
But on the off chance that you do, it's an intriguing and potentially very fun prospect. You know, depending on who you are, your skill levels, and your level of interest in attempting something like this.
