Atom ownership plus and minus

[katpeeler]

Hello all,
Im a 40ish 6 foot, 250lb guy that has loved the Atom since I played in on a video game many years ago. I have never realy thought about ownership since they look very exotic and figured they would be out of my reach. But now it seems I can get a used one if I so choose. But this brings me to my post. I understand the "plus" of ownership but what I want to know is the unknown negative about the Atom...

I live in Florida where the weather is nice year round so that would be a plus.
++But could 2 people have a conversation while going down the road??..What if there is a windscreen??

++What kinda of auto insurance are we talking about??..Higher than a sportscar??...

++How is the gas milage??

++Are the seats adjustable?? Is it a comfortable ride for a few hours??

++It seems like a very minimulistic machine so the wear/upkeep should be rather cheap??

If there is anything else that I should be concearned about I would like to be filled in...Thanx for any advice

[GTED]

There are Atom owners in the US who are taller and heavier than you, so no worries there.  As to your other questions, in the order in which you asked, based upon my personal experience:

1. Yes you can have a conversation, just talk just a bit louder.  It doesn't seem like it, but the 2 little screens for the Atom3, they do work quite adequately.  For example, if you move your head out of the "protected zone" from the screen, you'd know the screens do block out a lot of wind.  In fact, to me, driving an Atom is no different than driving my wife's convertible.

2. Insurance: no higher than sports car.

3. Gas mileage: C'mon, this shouldn't be anywhere near your top 30 questions re: an Atom.

4. Seat ajustability: Yes, it is adjustable, but unlike normal cars with sliders, on an Atom you can adjust by loosening up the 4 bolts, move the seat, and tighten the bolts (a 5 mins job).  One good thing about this is that this makes it more unlikely that your friends get to drive your Atom.

5. Upkeep: again c'mon... first, the car doesn't have than many components to break, and secondly, it has an Accura/Honda motor....  I have 6k miles on it now and nothing so far.

Good luck on your search.

GTED

[Anx]

I'll follow up GTED's with my experiences:

1. I have an A3 with the SRA exhaust and windshield, and conversations aren't really that good - but with the normal exhaust I don't think it would be an issue.
2. I found it to be about 25% higher than other exotics I've owned, and harder to find carriers.
3. I'm with GTED, if you want gas mileage, buy a Prius.  Depending on how you drive it can be very different, and TBH I haven't kept track.
4. Never adjusted mine - I'm 6' 165lbs, but I've had people close to 300lbs in the car without issues, except they weren't the most nimble of passengers.
5. I see this more as a TCO question, and the Atom is definitely higher in the realm of tire replacement - I believe you can get about 3k miles on a set of the AO48's and they're not the cheapest tires.  I drive mine a fair bit, so I'm looking at replacing them at least once or twice a year (I'm going to get about 4k miles on my first set).

Other than that, you're in the right state for them - I'm in Arizona, and it's another state I would consider Atom friendly (weather wise), although I imagine Florida is even better.

[katpeeler]

Thank you for the replies...My gas milege question was mainly regarding that it is a 4 cly. engine and should get decient milage.....I understand with a supercharger (which I am not interested in) would use more fuel with your foot buried

You mentioned tire espense..are you limited on what tire/rim you install on it??

[Anx]

I believe that the supercharger actually gives you better gas mileage than without - barring any kind of lead foot action typically associated with SC's.    With my Lotus I definitely got better mileage post-SC, but there's lots of variables with that (type of SC, tune, etc).  Either way, I think you'll find that NA Atoms are harder to come by (at least that was my experience).

As far as tires you can certainly put cheaper tires on it, but I think in the best case that kind of defeats the purpose of having an Atom, and in the worst case could actually be dangerous since you're talking about a very light car that you want lots of tire grip with.  I'm probably switch from the AO48's to the R888's or the AD08's when these are done - since most of my driving is on the street.  I believe these tires run maybe a bit less than the AO48's, but they have a longer lifespan (I believe maybe 2x the AO48's).  Keep in mind this is just conjecture on my part, I haven't run any of these yet so don't know first hand any of this.

[MonsieurX]

The SC will half your autonomy if you take it on the racetrack- i've compared this between a 245 and a 300...

[John Scherrer]

autonomy == economy

[MonsieurX]

Sorry for the confusion... I translated that from french without looking it up , not sure it means the same in english. Autonomy refering to the distance one can travel on a full tank (and thus be autonomous )

[Upshift]

I apologize for being late to the game here, but wanted to weigh in anyways.

- If you are in FL then the weather is your friend.  One of the better states to own an Atom.  Here in AZ the weather is usually glorious for driving!

- Insurance is very reasonable on these cars.  The most recent Atom owner I spoke with here in town was paying around $900/year for 6K miles in a supercharged 2009 A3.  Try getting that low of a premium in another exotic with even less performance.

- Height wise you should fit just fine.  Just depends if you carry your 250lbs up front or out to the side.  I just had a 6'1, 260 lb guy sit in my available new 2013 Atom 3 this week and he fit just fine.  (Had a bit of a frontal gut, but was not extra wide width-wise).

- Cost of ownership on an Atom is substantially less than other exotics (again, with greater performance).  Tires, brakes, service, etc... is quite a bit less than you would pay for any other exotics.  Especially if you are doing track days!

Obviously, I am a bit biased being an Atom dealer.  However, I have been very fortunate to drive just about every great car on the planet over the past 10 years and nothing comes close to the feel of the acceleration and handling of an Atom.  If you absolutely have to have air conditioning and a stereo, buy a 2010 GT3 3.8L or newer.  That's the next closest thing.  But, still a distant second. 

Hope this helps!    -Franz

[MonsieurX]

The only problem i see in Florida is the flash rains...