Zander Drives Cars

Some of you may be scratching your heads right now. What is Sono? Isn’t the Sion that Toyota Brand? What’s going on with those solar panels? Well, I’ll tell you, right after a brief history lesson. Sono Motors was established all the way back in 2016 by Laurin Hahn, Navina Pernsteiner, and Jona Christians as a start-up aiming to build the world’s first solar electric car. After half a decade of prototypes, investments, and media appearances, Sono Motors debuted the Sion, a solar electric city car. Of course, this is just a very brief and very simple history of the brand, and more can be found on their website for those of you who want to learn more, and I encourage all to do so. On to the Sion.

The first, and most noticeable aspect of the Sion, is the solar panels located on every panel of the car. The hood, quarter-panel, roof, all four doors, and rear hatch are all covered in small solar panels that are used to absorb power from the sun to add an extra charge to the vehicle (roughly 10 miles each day), as well as power smaller features such as the air conditioning or radio. The matt black finish helps hide the solar panels and keeps them relatively un-noticeable to a passerby, without completely covering them up.

Looks wise, the car isn’t anything massively special. It’s a conventional five-door liftback aimed at families and city dwellers. The closest thing to an American car we have to this would have been something like the Chevy Sonic. Panel gaps are evident on the car but are excused since it is only a prototype. Other, more finished models are ready but unfortunately, I was unable to go back and take a look at said production-ready cars.

Inside the Sion is where things get weird. The most present and quirky aspect of the inside is the strip of real, live moss that grows on the lower half of the dashboard. Encased in a plastic-y resin-type material, co-founder Jona told me that the moss can be taken out easily to be replaced or watered. It brings the interior of the car alive with a pop of color to the otherwise pretty standard cabin. The Sion also comes with both an electronic drivers display screen as well as a center-mounted multi-function display that can be used to play with the interior lighting, view charge information, and explore other basic information such as the radio, Bluetooth, and heat/ac functionality.

The rear seats of the Sion offer an immense amount of space for the size of the car. Like most electric cars, the lack of an engine means that the wheelbase can be taken up more by the cabin, maximizing interior space for both front and rear passengers. Due to this, the Sion boasts a very roomy backseat with ample head space AND a moonroof with visible solar panels, how cool is that?

Now, here comes the part you have all been waiting for: the driving impression. Well, I have to report that there will be no such section today. As stated earlier, the Sion is a pre-production vehicle that can be driven, however, due to timing issues, I was unable to get this beast on the road to try it out. However, the folks at Fifth Gear: Recharged were able to take it for a spin, you can find their review here.

I am extraordinarily impressed by Sono Motors and their leaps to make solar electric vehicles a mainstream item in the next few years. While other companies such as Lightyear are building flamboyant, luxury grand tourers. Sono focuses on a wider, more family-centric crowd that, in the long run, will make the company more money than catering to the rich and famous.

A massive (and I mean MASSIVE) thank you to the team at Sono Motors for opening their doors and letting me poke around both their showroom and production facility. They are truly a revolutionary company. You can find more about them and what they do here.