Riding Honda's Motocompacto Is Fun, But This Folding E-Scooter Is More Than A Gimmick

The Honda Motocompacto feels like something James Bond might have if he was also obsessed with "Transformers." Luckily, you needn't be a super spy with a government expense account to get your hands on some folding electric scooter action. This month, all you'll need is $995 and to live in the U.S. as the Honda-branded, two-wheel e-scooter goes on sale online, as well as at Honda and Acura dealerships.

The Motocompacto is, as long-time Honda aficionados will already have spotted, a 21st century update of the fan-favorite folding Motocompo of the early 1980s. It has a similar premise, too: a collapsible scooter that can stow in the trunk of a car, and fill in the gaps as you zip between destinations. Only, for this reboot, it's fully electric instead of a two-stroke gas engine propelling said-zipping.

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That makes it, arguably, the perfect addition to Honda's upcoming Prologue EV we took a first look at recently (and Honda dealers are apparently mighty enthusiastic about the potential for accessory upselling once that electric SUV arrives early in 2024). However you don't need to be in the Honda family to buy a Motocompacto, and this is no limited-run gimmick.

What it is — we discovered astride the "any color you want, as long as it's white" e-scooter — is good fun mixed with cunning design.

While there are plenty of folding electric scooters on the market, there are also plenty of horror stories about what can go wrong with them, too. Some of that comes down to how prepared the rider is: The Motocompacto's limited top speed, for instance, means it doesn't require either a motorcycle license or registration, and Honda recommends owners wear a helmet. Some of that also comes down to the reliability (and safety) of the hardware itself. That can be a tricky thing to gauge, with numerous unrecognizable brands competing on price above all else.

Honda, clearly, has more to lose there than most scooter-makers. The Motocompacto has the automaker's logo embossed on the side, and it'll be sold by Honda dealerships. That means, while the company itself may not be building it in one of its own factories, safety tech has been a big focus, the team says.

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So, there are multiple locking mechanisms — including clamps and clips — to open the Motocompacto out and then fold it down again. If they're not all deployed correctly, then the scooter's control unit won't give it power: it may roll, but the motor won't kick in. There are two drive modes, with the default Mode 1 requiring around one mph of rider input (as in, you have to scoot the scooter forward with leg-power yourself) with the throttle held down before the motor kicks in.

That way, Honda explains, there's no chance of inadvertently hitting the throttle trigger while you're setting up and sending the Motocompacto whizzing forward. Mode 1 is also limited to 10 mph; double-clicking the power/mode button under the LED screen (which shows speed and battery power remaining, and is a little on the dim side, not that you'll be looking at it much anyway) switches to Mode 2, which does away with the rider input requirement and bumps the top speed to 15 mph. You can change between the modes while the scooter is in motion, and change the default in Honda's companion smartphone app.

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There's a headlight on the front, which flashes during the day, and a red brake light on the back, plus side reflectors. A little metal kickstand folds out from under the left foot pedal, and there's also a welded steel loop there for bike locks. With the handlebar assembly raised, the cavity between the rider's knees can be used for storage: you could easily fit a laptop in there, though it's not soft-lined so bumps will shake things around.

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Alternatively, it could hold the charging brick, which will fully charge the Motocompacto — via its charging port on the front, under the headlamp — in about 3.5 hours. There's no brake regen to top up the battery as you slow, and you can't remove the battery to slot in a second one, but you do get a charming little bell.

The sound of that bell competed with the sound of ostensibly serious auto journalists giggling like kids around Honda's mini autocross course. The Motocompacto may have a fraction of the power of, say, a Honda Prologue EV, but it's hard to imagine the automaker's electric SUV prompting this much entertainment. Thumbing down the throttle lever sends you zipping forward, while the solid rubber wheels make leaning into turns unexpectedly intuitive.

Suspension is noticeable by its absence. Fans of the (gloriously misunderstood) Acura NSX may have championed the hybrid sports car's ability to telegraph road conditions through to the driver, but the Motocompacto bests that with the sort of directness that makes anything but smooth asphalt and sidewalks a literal pain. This is not, clearly, an off-road machine.

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On the right surface, though, it's surprisingly comfortable. Honda's seat has better padding than you'll find on many e-bikes, and the faux-leather-wrapped handlebars are nice to grip. Yes, you can lean down, minimize wind resistance, and try to coax as much speed out as possible, but simply sitting up and trundling merrily is just as successful.

That sort of contented commuting is, of course, Honda's big expectation for the Motocompacto. It's a last-mile solution, but also a first-mile one: something to take you to and from the train station, or to a college campus, or even for a quick visit to a grocery store. That makes its 12-mile range perfectly adequate.

There's no specific accommodation for the scooter in, say, the Honda Prologue or Acura ZDX: Honda, in a fit of blunt honesty, says it wasn't entirely sure what the response would be until it announced the Motocompacto. Now, that reaction proving to be glowing, there are apparently talks underway about how it could be better integrated with the brand's EVs. Regardless, the flat, boxy design should slot neatly into the trunk of a Prologue, ZDX, or other electric vehicle. If that EV has a 110V outlet, then it could top the scooter up, too.

Key to that is how straightforward the Motocompacto is to fold and unfold. It takes a little familiarization, but eventually can be done in about a minute or two, and it measures a compact 29.2 x 21.1 x 3.7 inches when fully stowed. The integrated carry handle on the top makes lugging its 41.3-pound weight simple as well.

Not everybody needs an e-scooter, just like not everybody can make an EV work for their transportation needs. It's tough not to fall for the Motocompacto, though, even if you didn't grow up playing with "Transformers." Honda's aggressive pricing helps too: $995 doesn't make it an impulse purchase, but it does make it very competitive against other e-scooters and e-bikes.

Some of those rivals are faster, or have more range, but none have the absolute whimsy that the Motocompacto provides. Before you dismiss that as irrelevant garnish, it's worth remembering that encouraging any sort of behavioral change — like getting drivers out of their cars, SUVs, and trucks, and making things like public transport more appealing by joining the dots more cohesively — is as much an emotional challenge as a practical one.

What stands out most, maybe, is just how surprising it is that Honda will actually sell the Motocompacto at all. The automotive history books certainly aren't short on "electric personal transportation" concepts that were wheeled out once or twice at auto shows, hyped up, and then quietly shelved as the car-makers focused on their next SUV or truck. 

Even if the Motocompacto doesn't single-handedly reinvent green travel, the fact that it's a real product — not some lip-service to sustainability — makes it a whole lot easier to get excited.