On August 25th 2003, I was invited over to Holland by Harry Kroonen and Tim Hodgetts to test drive the Carver and have a tour of their manufacturing facilities.  By the time I left I could not help but feel that the Carver was the most fun you could have on the roads.  Forget the Ferrari, Maserati and the Porsche, in a line up the Carver will grab all the attention. As Harry Kroonen says though, (with a big smile on his face) this is not just a fun car but a very serious machine as well.

Road Test

When I arrived at Dordrecht, I waited to be picked up by Harry Kroonen in a Carver. As I looked up and down the street he arrived a few moments later in one of the prototype Carvers that he had built. It was the first time I’d seen a Carver in the flesh and it looked a superbly finished vehicle, but what I noticed more was the public’s gaze.  As Harry pulled up everyone in the street just stopped and looked trying to work out if it was a car or some futuristic jet fighter. After greeting Harry, he pulled open the surprisingly long door and I clambered into the back. Now for those of you who saw the Carver on the BBC programme Top Gear you may have smiled when Jeremy Clarkson clambered into the back of the Carver just to prove he could get in. My girlfriend thought this was hysterical and said images of Jeremy Clarkson flooded her mind when I mentioned I was being picked up in the Carver.

After a few miles we reached open countryside and Harry asked, “Are you ready for a go?”. I certainly was. With all the excitement of a 5 year old opening his christmas presents, I unfolded my legs and clambered out of the back. Harry then leapt into the rear seat and I boarded at the front.  Now at 6ft 3”,  I’m not the smallest of chaps, but was amazed at the amount of leg room and head room I had. The driving position was superb and everything I needed was all laid out around me.  With a turn of the key, the engine fired into life, I then slipped the car into 1st gear and we were off.  At this point Harry said that the Carver was very responsive so until I was used to it suggested I drive with one hand on the gear lever and one on the steering wheel. The gear lever is mounted at a nice height on the right hand side and you would think that after driving in the UK and always changing gear with the left hand, that it would feel strange changing with the right. It wasn’t, and if anything seemed a lot more comfortable.  The Carver was now in third gear and we approached the first corner. I wondered what the car would do, but as I turned the body just tilted very slightly.  As my confidence grew I started to give the car a bit more power.  The Carver is powered by a 660cc engine with a turbo intercooler and despite being two up, was not short of power and easily left other road users standing at most junctions.

I should perhaps explain that the Carver has a Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC) system that turns car type steering wheel input into an optimal motorcycle type tilt of the vehicle’s chassis. With the exception of the rear two wheels, the whole car will tilt like a motorcycle as you turn into a corner. Now I have to confess, as I have never driven a “tilting” 3-wheeler before, I was a bit worried that when the car tilted I would feel uneasy and lean the opposite way. I needn’t have worried.  The Carver feels so safe that no matter the tilt angle, you never feel you are going to tilt to far, even more so it feels totally natural.   Being a biker for many years the Carver was like riding a bike and that you lean into corners as you do on a bike.  The big difference is though that as you have two wheels at the back, you have to totally rethink your driving line on the road to avoid clipping the kerb on any sharp corners. 

Inside the Carver, the dashboard is superb, with the arc of the dash following the Momo steering wheel so that everything is clearly visible. The dash clocks are set against an eye catching aluminium dashboard whilst the rest of the interior is upholstered with leather and alcantara. Electric windows and a CD player help compliment the setting, whilst the roof can be detached for those who want to feel the wind through their hair.

For a one man wide vehicle, the pedals are all well spaced apart and so even with someone like myself with size 13 monster feet, movement around the pedals was swift and easy. Driving along the sound of the lusty engine fills the cockpit, whilst the whine of the turbo is delightful to hear. The seating arrangements with the passenger sitting behind the driver works really well and conversations can still take place without the need to shout at each other .. unless of course you are having an argument with a loved one, then you can just make out you can’t hear them or turn the CD player up.

This is me just returning from my test drive in the Carver.

Despite being 6ft 3” it is still quite snug and comfortable in the back.

In “maintenance mode” you can get an idea just how far the Carver tilts.

What other car can you get into and be this close to the road when you turn corners?