The landscape of electric micromobility vehicles is pretty crowded right now. There are pedal-assist e-bikes, standing e-scooters, e-mopeds, and straight-up electric motorcycles, all competing for scant real estate in America’s bike lanes.

While the various typologies of these small electric vehicles are confusing, their proliferation signals a growing demand for small, affordable electric mobility. Two-wheelers represent the largest segment of the EV market, and one we’re committed to covering here.

I recently spent a week riding the Infinite Machine Olto, a Class III “bike lane vehicle” that looks like a mashup of a Cybertruck and a Vespa scooter. The company behind it wants to be the Tesla or Rivian of non-car EVs, and I wanted to find out: Is this actually a great way of getting around a city, or just a novelty?

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

What Is It?

Made by New York-based startup Infinite Machine, the Olto is a two-passenger ride-on scooter that goes up to 28 miles per hour on pedal assist or throttle. It has a 1.2-kWh removable battery, which gives it up to 35 miles of claimed range at 20 miles per hour. It charges from 20-80% in about an hour or fully in about three hours on the included 14-amp charger. 

The Olto weighs 175 pounds—a normal amount for a moped, but significantly more than a typical e-bike. It starts at $3,495 and rises to around $4,400 with a full kit of accessories, including a cargo basket, phone mount, and charging dock.

Infinite Machine promises automotive-grade quality and hardcore theft protection—both of which are important in an EV that needs to handle potholes and live outside. The Olto pairs with your phone via an app, which allows you to unlock it, adjust settings, view its location, and even get push notifications if someone’s messing with it.

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The startup also sells the P1, a 65-mph electric scooter that can go up to 60 miles on a charge and costs $7,995. That one requires plates and insurance, so consider it more akin to a Vespa. The Olto skirts by as an “e-bike” thanks to its pedals, which act as footrests when you’re riding in throttle mode.

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

How Does It Ride?

The Olto is a blast to ride. It accelerates quickly up to about 17 miles per hour and cruises stably between 20 and 25 mph, thanks to its full-suspension design that soaks up potholes, frost heaves, and cobblestones. Due to the scooter’s low seat and knees-forward riding position, I found it a bit awkward to use pedal-assist mode and preferred to just twist the throttle.

Maneuverability and parking are a cinch, so long as you remember that this is closer in size and weight to a Vespa than an e-bike. The turning radius is wider than it would be on a bike, but cornering is stable and the Olto’s brakes are more than up to the task of stopping it, even down hills.

Carrying a passenger is no problem, as the Olto has a second set of foot pegs and enough power to cruise around 20 miles per hour even with two adults on board. I saw around 25-30 miles of real-world range with just me, and I didn’t go far enough with two people to estimate how that would impact the figure.

I did feel a bit weird riding the Olto on separated bicycle paths—while it’s technically legal, it felt a bit uncouth to zip around slower-moving folks using human power or pedal assistance on something closer in size and weight to a moped.

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

The Great

One handy feature is the Olto’s “back-up” button, which allows you to inch the scooter backwards at walking pace without having to drag it. I wish there was one for forward movement—you have to modulate the throttle, which I overcooked a couple of times.

Finally, I loved the Olto’s optional storage walls ahead of the driver’s seat. There’s just enough space for a backpack, a purse, or a bag of groceries, meaning you don’t have to think about securing most items you’ll carry every day to a rack or basket. It’s the kind of simple feature you look at and wonder, “Why doesn’t every scooter have this?”

Photos by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

Photos by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

The peace-of-mind provided by the Olto’s security suite is also a huge selling point for urban dwellers. The scooter’s steering and wheels lock in place when the owner’s phone or key isn’t present, and if the Olto detects movement, it sounds an alarm and sends a push notification to the owner’s phone. The battery locks securely into a compartment below the seat, so no one’s walking off with it. Finally, there’s GPS tracking even with the battery removed, so even if someone does manage to steal your Olto, you can alert police to its location.

Infinite Machine’s co-founder, Eddie Cohen, told me he stores his scooter outside, so during my five-day loan I did the same, locking it as recommended and monitoring it from the app. I once had a (locked) e-bike stolen the same week I bought it, so having the freedom to ride where I wanted without constantly looking over my shoulder was a huge plus.

The Not-So-Great

While the Infinite Machine app is slick, I expected a little more from the Olto’s tech, if I’m honest. The battery percentage readout doesn’t provide a range estimate, which isn’t a huge deal once you get familiar with the Olto’s range, but it would be nice. 

The screen is a simple, mostly black-and-white rectangle. This was most likely chosen for durability and cost, but it isn’t quite the full-color, interactive touchscreen interface that Rivian offshoot Also chose for its recently-debuted TM-B e-bike. Both startups have a similar vision of creating high-tech, software-defined micromobility vehicles in the image of Tesla or Rivian.

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

Looks are subjective, but not everyone will be into the Olto’s cyberpunk aesthetic. It’s much less intimidating than the Cybertruck due to its diminutive size, and the bulk of the comments I received while testing it were positive, but it isn’t quite the friendly, pastel bubble of a Vespa. I personally loved the look, and the flat surfaces made wiping it down a breeze.

Verdict

I used the Olto as my main mode of transportation for the better part of a week and loved it. I rode to work, shopped for groceries, and even took my partner out on a date. Would I buy one? I’m not sure.

The Olto is a pretty unique offering on the market right now, given its bike-lane classification, design, and anti-theft protection. The $3,500 price tag is a decent value for what you’re getting, considering that’s an all-in price (Class III e-bikes don’t require vehicle registration or liability insurance in most states). Vespa’s own electric range competes more directly with Infinite Machine’s P1 and requires moped registration.

Photo by: Maddox Kay/InsideEVs

Still, for my money, I might choose something more along the lines of the TM-B, which is lighter and designed to be pedaled. Part of the big advantage, to me, of micromobility vehicles is being able to use protected bicycle infrastructure to bypass larger vehicle traffic. While the Olto is bike-lane legal, it felt just a little too big and unwieldy to be truly at home on a bike path.

Whether an e-bike or scooter fits your lifestyle better is a valid question, and one we plan to cover in a future article. If you plan to carry another adult regularly or prefer cruising to pedaling, the Olto is a great choice.

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If you drive a lot on the highway and think mileage really matters, yet you’re still not ready to turn in your gas card for a charging-network app, the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid might prove the perfect choice when it arrives in a few months. 

With the Sonata Hybrid’s debut at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show on Thursday, Hyundai announced a mammoth improvement of up to 10 mpg combined for its efficiency-focused version of this mainstream mid-size sedan—up to 54 mpg on the highway and up to 52 mpg combined (EPA-cycle, but not yet officially EPA-rated) for the Sonata Hybrid Blue.

On the highway, that may be more efficient than the Toyota Camry Hybrid or even the Toyota Prius Eco—second only to Hyundai’s own Ioniq. But the Sonata is a big, spacious sedan with a great highway ride. 

The Sonata Hybrid gets quieter inside, just like other versions of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, and the Sonata Hybrid promises an even more pronounced difference—partly from its improved aerodynamics (from 0.27 in other Sonatas to 0.24 here, mostly from various underbody shielding), but otherwise from newly added noise insulation. 

The Sonata’s powertrain is, from a distance, an evolution of what Hyundai has been fine-tuning over previous versions of the Hybrid. It has a completely new 2.0-liter inline-4 from Hyundai’s latest Smartstream engine family. It makes 150 horsepower and 139 pound-feet of torque and is mated with a single 51-hp electric motor and 6-speed automatic transmission. Altogether, the powertrain makes 192 hp.

For this hybrid system, which has typically been good on the highway but not always the smoothest in city driving, Hyundai’s introducing an Active Shift Control feature that adds a new sensor to more precisely match the hybrid system’s motor speed with engine speed—making shifts smoother and up to 30% quicker, and adding to durability for the transmission. 

Another interesting piece of tech offered in the Sonata is a Solar Roof—the first solar roof system on a mainstream hybrid that’s configured to add energy to the hybrid battery, not just the accessory battery. Hyundai says that the Solar Roof can increase driving range and add up to 700 miles per year that are essentially free—if you park it all day out in the bright sun of course (better not get that black interior). 

A digital key feature uses your smartphone—Android only, for now—to allow unlocking and starting for you and family members, and Qi wireless charging is available. Infotainment possibilities span from a base 8.0-inch system that’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible, to a 10.3-inch touchscreen with cloud-based voice recognition and a surround-view camera system, with Bose audio available. 

Last year’s Hybrid was offered in SE and Limited versions, with prices running about $3,000 above their non-hybrid counterparts. Prices have gone up slightly for those other models in the lineup, and while we’d expect a price hike for the hybrid too, don’t be surprised if Hyundai makes hybrid prices a little less of a step up. 

It’s all yet to be revealed; expect more about pricing, features, and confirmed EPA ratings within a few months.