Not As Daft As It Looks
Text and Photos by David Morgan (10 Apr 07)

That's it. My credibility is blown. A week commuting in a vehicle that whimsical French engineer Daniel Renard says will "put the fun back into motoring" has left my ego battered and more tangible parts of my anatomy bruised. Why? Because I’ve been road testing his two-seat Qpod Sport – part luxury quad bike, part micro-car.

Personally I like the rear-drive, single-cylinder petrol engined upmarket quad bike. But the great and the good who expect me to roll around in products by Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and the like were unimpressed by my noisy new-found transport.

Can’t think what all the fuss is about. Frenchman Renard has a brilliant concept. His Secma business turns out a range of low-cost street-legal vehicles that are a hoot to drive and the Devon-based Qpod Motor Company is selling them like hotcakes throughout the UK.

I drove the Qpod Sport on tarmac, through forests, across beaches and plunged through streams where I'd have never taken a car. And if I'd opted for an off-roader I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun (or as many bruises).

The Qpod Sport does exactly what Renard says it does – it puts the fun back into driving. From the teeth-rattling off-tarmac ride quality to the deafening crescendo of its demented motor-mower powerplant this roofed and windscreened two-seat fun-mobile will put the smile back on your face. It'll follow a quad bike everywhere but with better comfort and street-legal credibility.

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