The 500kg Microlino is part of a new set challenging the ever-increasing domination of huge cars

Driving through central London in a tiny Microlino electric car, barely visible between the hulking SUVs, it’s surprising to be the focus of so much attention. “Yes, Lego car!” shouts a scaffolder.

Made by Micro, the family-owned Swiss company behind the mini-micro kick scooters, and modelled on the bubble cars that had a brief heyday in the 1950s, the two-seater is only 2.5 metres long – marginally smaller than a Smart car. The most unusual feature is its one and only door (there is also a rear hatch for accessing the boot), which is at the front. The windscreen and bonnet swing open to let you in.

The FCA is considering opening a compensation scheme for customers after an influx of complaints

When Gary Hill took out a £12,500 loan to pay for a new family vehicle in late 2014, he had no idea that the north London dealership he had travelled to from his home in Bedfordshire could have sway over his monthly payments.

But the 45-year-old was in a bind, having started a new job that no longer gave him access to a company car. Hill agreed to pay £335 a month over more than five years to take home a Nissan Qashqai, piling costs on to a household budget already supporting three children and the up-keep of his family home.

Analysis of real-world data suggests annual cost of fuelling PHEVs is nearly double manufacturers’ claims

Drivers of bestselling plug-in hybrid cars pay £500 a year more on fuel for their cars than manufacturers’ figures suggest, according to analysis of real-world data, largely because owners tend to charge them less frequently than expected.

Laboratory tests of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) suggest that fuel should cost £560 a year, but real-life data suggests the cost is nearly double that, at £1,059 a year, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a climate research group.

It was hit by an uninsured driver after they bought it to accommodate a wheelchair for my disabled mother

My parents’ car was hit by an uninsured driver. They were taken to hospital but suffered no serious injuries. The repair was being organised by their insurer, Saga, but four months later they are still waiting for the return of their damaged vehicle. This is causing significant hardship since my mother is disabled and the car, a Volkswagen T-Roc, was recently purchased to accommodate her specialist wheelchair.

Saga initially insisted they were only entitled to a compact courtesy car because it had erroneously recorded that my father was at fault for the accident. I complained to Saga’s head office but received no reply. Four days after the collision, Saga told my father that its chosen garage had refused the repair job, and that he should find another garage. My sister rang the garage in question, which claimed it had not turned down the job, and that it was waiting for the car to be brought in.

Petrolheads are quick to scorn the idea of electric car racing, but the series’ chief executive is sure that time, technology – and even geography – are on his side

Jeff Dodds has been a fan of Formula One “all my life”, he says. That is probably a good thing because, as chief executive of electric racing series Formula E, he must find the comparison with its fossil-fuelled cousin is constant.

So he takes it head-on. Such is the growth and improvement in technology in Formula E that one day, he says, it is “realistic that a question will be asked about whether both can exist together”. Talking to the Observer in the race company’s west London headquarters, he adds that maybe one day, as Formula E develops, “they won’t [both exist]”.

Insurer Allianz says scam by criminals on motorbikes and scooters increased by 6,000% last year

Motorists have been warned to be vigilant after a 60-fold increase in “crash for cash” fraud claims involving motorbike and scooter riders staging accidents so they can blame innocent drivers.

The insurer Allianz said its data showed that claims relating to this scam increased by 6,000% between January and December 2023 – a significant jump from the 50% increase the year before.

Electric and hybrid vehicles are quieter than cars with combustion engines, making them harder to hear, especially in urban areas

Hybrid and electric cars are more likely to strike pedestrians than petrol or diesel vehicles, particularly in towns and cities, according to an analysis of British road traffic accidents.

Data from 32bn miles of battery-powered car travel and 3tn miles of petrol and diesel car trips showed that mile-for-mile electric and hybrid cars were twice as likely to hit pedestrians than fossil fuel-powered cars, and three times more likely to do so in urban areas.

When our new motorhome broke down in France we felt unsafe and were stranded for five days

When I retired from work last year, my wife and I set off on a road trip to France in our new motorhome. Two weeks into our trip, the engine failed on a campsite. We’d bought a £284 breakdown policy with the RAC, including European cover, and a recovery vehicle arrived promptly. The mechanic was unable to fix the problem, so we were told it would be towed to a dealership. However, the recovery truck was not long enough to carry the vehicle and, after trying to manoeuvre it off the campsite, the driver left it blocking a lane. A larger truck was eventually sent and, since it was getting late, the motorhome was moved to a storage depot for the night.

The site, shared with a breaker’s yard, was unstaffed and we were advised by the driver to stay with the vehicle for security reasons. That night we witnessed people with their faces covered entering vehicles and removing their contents. It felt very menacing. The RAC was unable to find a dealership willing to take us the next day and offered us a hotel, but we feared it would be unsafe to leave the motorhome unattended in the depot, so spent another alarming night expecting to be transferred to a repair garage the next day.