Three is a magic number

Could Kymco’s new CV3 be the machine to convince the car driving masses that there’s more to life than four wheels?

- Ross Mowbray

Kymco CV3

Many of you might not know much about Kymco, but you’d be wrong to think it’s not a serious player. The Taiwanese firm has actually had a long and illustrious history, including nearly 40 years of partnership with one of the biggest names in the game: Honda.

Kwang Yang Motor Company was founded way, way back in 1964. It started out manufacturing for Honda Japan, and over the following 40 years that relationship only grew and grew, with Honda becoming a significant shareholder of Kymco right through to 2003, when Kymco decided it was time to separate and focus on its own brands. And that’s what it’s been doing ever since, while building scooters and ATVs for Kawasaki and supplying engines for BMW in the background.

In the UK it’s been best known for its mobility scooters, ATVs and small-capacity bikes and scooters, but more recently it’s upped the ante with some seriously capable maxi scooters, including the well-respected Yamaha TMAX-rivalling AK550. Using that tried-and-tested platform as a base, it’s now created the CV3, a three-wheeled machine that’s perfectly placed to tempt car drivers to don a helmet and experience the joys of motorcycling. That’s because the new Kymco CV3 can be ridden on a car licence (providing you passed your test before January 19, 2013).

I’ve ridden the current crop of three-wheelers – Peugeot’s Metropolis, Piaggio’s MP3, Yamaha’s Tricity 125 and 300, and Niken – and always had a great time, so I couldn’t wait to swing my leg over Kymco’s latest creation.