Tiny Silence S04 aims to make a noise in the “nano car” segment

If you’re looking to downsize and go fully-electric, then the new Silence S04 could be the ideal ‘car’ for you. Technically it’s a quadricycle rather than a car, but it’s designed to be the ideal “low cost, zero emission” transport for urban environments.

Priced at £15,995 and available to reserve now, the S04 is designed, engineered and built in Spain. The first UK deliveries of this tiny EV are scheduled for this month. 

Silence says the S04 features a ‘compact design’ which is certainly true given the length of just 2.28m, width of 1.29m and height of 1.57m. That makes it shorter in length and narrower than a Citroen Ami. Despite the size, there’s seating for two in a staggered layout with the driver slightly ahead of the passenger (like you got in the Volkswagen XL1) and a 247-litre boot - 65 litres more than a Fiat 500’s.

A seven-inch digital screen features on the dash along with a multifunction steering wheel, a cradle for your smartphone, air conditioning, keyless entry, electric windows, bluetooth and ‘comfort’ seats. Indeed, Silence claims there’s no compromise on comfort and to make the S04 as urban-friendly as possible it has a short 3.5-metre turning circle. 

The Silence has 30bhp from two electric motors on the rear axle with power coming from two 5.6kWh batteries with a 55kW pre-heating system to promote cold weather use. It also comes with a three-year warranty. There’s regenerative braking and three driving modes - ‘ECO’, ‘City’ and ‘Sport’ which “optimise performance and battery management characteristics”. Most importantly, the S04 comes with a maximum 92-mile range, dwarfing the 47 miles offered by the Citroen Ami. Silence claims its little EV will also do 52mph.

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