WHEN is a supermini-styled four wheeled vehicle not a car? Answer: When it is a quadricycle, writes Simon Nix.

As you sit there scratching your head in confusion, let me explain.

Mainland Europeans have had the delights of this novel means of transport for 20 years or so.

Now it is the turn of the British to benefit.

Although the French-built Aixam has all the stylish looks and advantages of up-to-the-minute cars like, say, the Mercedes A-Class, they belong to another, separate category of vehicle that has closer links to its two-wheeled cousin.

The huge advantage is that the super little city runabout can be driven on a full motorcycle licence. Car licence holders are also entitled, by the way.

How is that? Think quads, or ATVs.

If your four-wheeled machine weighs below 400kg and the 500cc engine has less than a 15kW power output (I think that's around 16bhp), the lovely old EC defines it as a "heavy quadricycle".

As Aixam - Europe's market leader in this type of vehicle - crosses the Channel for the first time to set up its UK HQ in Leamington Spa, Oxfordshire's first dealership has gone to Max Motorcycles, of Banbury, who loaned me the test machine.

And the phones are ringing already.

The reason? How about 80 miles to the gallon, cheap road tax, acrylic bodywork, a bullet-proof two cylinder diesel engine, a variomatic belt-drive automatic transmission and, of course, four seats in the dry!

Let's take those one at a time.

To save on weight, the main structure of the Aixam is an alloy frame with steel sub-frames bolted on front and back. All the body panels are rust-proof plastic. It's great fun to prod each panel and watch them pop back into shape. Should they get scratched - there's still no worry. The colour goes right through the acrylic and can easily be sanded back to a spotless shine. And, goodness forbid, should a panel be cracked or smashed, they can be replaced - already colour-matched - in a matter of minutes.

Don't think that this makes the vehicle a bone-shaker. It's not.

It's also safe. Because, legally it is a "bike", it doesn't need to undergo safety crash tests - but the Aixam was put through them anyway. Thanks to the rigid front and back and the side-impact bars in the doors, it passed with flying colours.

Linked to this, the handling of the car far exceeds the power of the engine. Fling it through a tight corner and the MacPherson struts at the front and independent trailing arms with coil springs at the back make it feel like it is on rails. The rack and pinion steering is ultra light, as you would expect, and with a car that is only 2,885mm long, can turn a full circle in just 4.15m. How else could I park it in the bike shed?

Now to the powerplant. The two-cylinder diesel 479cc lump can happily cruise all day at about 50mph, while drinking just four litres of fuel every 100km (80mpg in English).

It has to be said that although the fully-proven engine is both "green" and economical, it is noisy. The factory is already working on providing additional sound-proofing.

At parking speeds, it's also a bit jerky. But floor the pedal to get away from the traffic lights and the Aixam has a lively, smooth acceleration, right up to its cruising speed.

This is partly due to the fully automatic transmission. It has a variomatic drive belt, which means the engine matches its speed to the powered front wheels. There are no separate gears.

This combination of engine and gearbox must make it one of the simplest cars to drive. The gearstick has three positions - forward, neutral (there is a light to confirm this) and reverse.

Apart from topping up fluids and changing the diesel's oil and filters, there not much else left to service. Even the brakes are self adjusting.

Inside the Aixam Super Luxe 500 - the top-of-the-range model I tested - there is an amazing amount of space. I could stretch out my six-foot frame and still have a good two inches head-room. You may have to pull the front DeLuxe seats forward slightly, but you really can get four adults inside in comfort.

The hatchback's boot is very small - about 80litres - but the easy-to-fold-down rear seat, flattens to provide acres of space.

Add to that a host of unexpected extras - such as alarm, central locking, electric windows, heated rear window with wash/wipe, walnut-look dashboard, full carpeting, stereo cassette/radio, cigar lighter, glove compartment. Not bad for £7,908 on the road.

There are three other models in the range, which start at £6,356 for the Utility 500.

But some people are harder to please....

Oxford Mail motoring expert David Duffy said: "The Aixam is interesting, ingenious and innovative - but it's also noisy, unrefined and, crucially, too expensive.

"For about the same price, car buyers have a choice of a dozen or so new cars, from the traditional Kia Pride and Suzuki Swift, to the larger Skoda Felicia.

"Those looking for something more contemporary have the choice of the Fiat Seicento, Hyundai Atoz and Daewoo Matiz.

"They don't have plastic body panels or diesel engines, but all offer more space, power and comfort."

But David, you can't drive any of these on a motorcycle licence!

Story date: Wednesday 01 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.