Personal transportation is all the rage at the moment. The Segway was the first to gain success and continues to convince people that maybe it just isn’t always necessary to own a car. Toyota have now entered the game with this tiny little unit called the Winglet.
The Winglet comes in three sizes, Small, Medium and Large, and has a top speed of 6kph. The smallest device conveniently folds into an area small enough to carry or store on a seat in your car. Whilst the Winglet doesn’t present itself as a viable option for car replacement, it certainly offers potential for those with longer distances to cover on foot. And, let’s face it, this certainly has something that the Segway lacks - the cool factor.
That said, it’s difficult to know where these devices actually sit in environmental terms. My personal take is that this particular model is essentially useless - it’s not fast enough to replace a car and/or public transport like the Segway, meaning it’s only capable of replacing walking. Which is something that we should be encouraging. So this unit can really only replace the greenest method of transportation that man can use with a not-quite-so-green and not-quite-so-good-for-you alternative. Shame, it looks like a lot of fun to use.
Personally I can’t wait to have a go on these bad-boys. Even if I can actually walk faster than these move.
