Power comes from two hub motors, one in each rear wheel. They produce 19bhp in extended running and can briefly peak at 30bhp, making the S04 good for a top speed of 52mph.
There are two battery packs, one under each seat. Intelligently, they are exactly the same as the ones used in Silence’s motorbikes – which use only one. They have a capacity of 5.6kWh each, so they’re heavy.
They can be charged via a mains socket on the car, but also they have a trolley handle and wheels built in, so after you’ve clicked a release catch, you can slide them out and wheel them indoors for charging.
In Barcelona, there’s now a sufficient number of Silence e-motorbikes around that the firm offers battery-swapping stations, “almost democratising the charge infrastructure”, says Edwards.
The S04 needs both batteries installed to run – effectively one powers each motor, although they can be at different charge levels.
With both full, range is said to be up to 92 miles, but with 90%-charged batteries, my test car reckoned 60 miles in its medium power mode, labelled City, 75 miles in Eco and 50 miles in Sport.
During my test, the percentage of charge and range (expressed in kilometres) evaporated at the same rate, which would make for an easy 60-mile range even if you’re not soft on the throttle and I reckon an 80-mile range if you are.
Edwards contends that “it feels like a car”, and it certainly does more than an Ami or any other recent quadricycle I’ve tried.
Performance is pretty average by most car standards (0-30mph in less than 7.0sec is Silence’s believable claim), but it keeps pace with town traffic easily.