Is a Light EV Actually Safe? Breaking Down What's Inside Yours

The ASTRAUX Team
2026-04-10T23:14:28+08:00

Everyone thinks it when they first see a light EV — cute car, but is it safe? We break down the actual build quality, braking systems, seatbelts, and airbag spec inside the AL6 and AL7, and explain how they compare to what EU law actually requires from this vehicle category.

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EV · Safety & Build

Is a Light EV Actually Safe?
Breaking Down What's Inside Yours.

Let's address the thing nobody says out loud but everyone thinks when they first see a light EV: it is small, it looks friendly, and somewhere in the back of your mind you are wondering what happens if something goes wrong on the road.

It is the most common concern we hear. And it is a fair one to raise.

The Instinct

Small Does Not Mean Unprotected

The instinct makes sense. We grew up associating size with safety — bigger vehicle, more metal around you, better chance of walking away. And for a head-on collision with a truck at highway speed, that logic holds.

But city driving is not that scenario. The roads these vehicles are built for — urban streets, residential areas, daily commutes at city speeds — are not the same environment as a highway. The right safety question is not how a light EV performs against a truck. It is whether it is properly equipped for the roads it actually drives on. On that question, the answer changes significantly.

The Category

Not All Light EVs Are Built the Same Way

Here is something worth knowing before you compare options in this category: EU regulations do not require light quadricycles to carry airbags, ABS, or advanced seatbelt systems. The legal minimum for this vehicle category is basic seatbelts, working brakes, and lights. That is it.

Two vehicles can both carry full EU approval, both look like enclosed city cars, and have very different safety specifications underneath. The differences are not visible from the outside. When you are comparing options, the question to ask is not just whether it has EU approval — it is what the manufacturer chose to put in beyond what the law requires.

Structure

The Structure Underneath

Both the AL6 and AL7 are built on a unitized body — the same structural approach used in conventional passenger cars, where the body shell and chassis are one integrated structure rather than a body sitting on top of a separate frame. The result is a stiffer, more coherent cabin. It is a more complex way to build, and not the approach taken by every vehicle in this category.

The suspension is also car-grade. The front uses a MacPherson strut independent suspension — the same setup found in most hatchbacks and city cars — which keeps each wheel responding independently to the road, improving stability and control at all urban speeds.

Braking

What Actually Stops You

Every AL6 and AL7 variant includes disc brakes at the front, paired with a brake vacuum booster. Disc brakes provide stronger and more consistent stopping power than drum brakes and handle heat better under city stop-start conditions. The vacuum booster reduces the pedal force needed for full braking — the system responds harder and faster with less input from the driver.

The AL7 adds ABS as standard across all variants. ABS — Anti-lock Braking System — prevents the wheels from locking during emergency braking, which is the main cause of skidding and loss of steering control. With ABS you can brake at full force and still steer around an obstacle at the same time. Without it, hard braking removes directional control at exactly the moment you need it most. Not legally required in this vehicle category. Standard on every AL7.

Occupant Protection

Seatbelts, Airbag, and What Else Is in There

Front seatbelts are standard on every seat in both models, anchored to the B-pillar — the structural column between the doors and the strongest load path in a frontal impact.

The AL7 goes further. The driver's belt includes a load limiter, which controls the force applied to the chest and shoulders during sudden deceleration. The passenger belt adds a pre-tensioner — a device that fires instantly at the moment of impact to take up all belt slack before the occupant moves forward. Neither is required by EU regulation for this vehicle category. Both are standard on every AL7.

The AL7 also includes a driver's airbag as standard. Not a legal requirement for light quadricycles. A deliberate choice.

Beyond passive protection, both models lock the doors automatically once in motion, alert you if a door is not fully closed, and include vehicle condition monitoring across all key systems accessible through the ASTRAUX app. Higher variants add front and rear parking radar, and the AL7 Ultra offers an optional 360-degree camera system for full visibility when manoeuvring.

The Verdict

The Honest Answer

A light EV is not a full-sized passenger car. It does not have the same mass, and we are not going to suggest otherwise.

What we will say is that the concern most people carry about this category — the small car, the fragile impression — is based on what the minimum specification looks like, not what every vehicle in the category has to be.

Every AL6 and AL7: Unitized car-grade body structure, disc brakes with vacuum assist, B-pillar anchored seatbelts.

Every AL7 additionally: Load-limiting and pre-tensioning seatbelts, ABS, and a driver's airbag — none of which are legally required for light quadricycles under EU law.

For daily use on city roads at city speeds, that is not a compromise. It is a considered build.

Up Next
Can I Park It Anywhere? What Light EVs Mean for City Parking Rules

Can a light EV use a motorcycle bay? Where does it actually fit in European city parking rules? Next week we cover what the regulations say and what it means for daily use.

Safety specifications referenced in this article are based on ASTRAUX AL6 and AL7 configuration data as of April 2026. Feature availability varies by variant. EU regulations referenced are under Regulation (EU) No 168/2013. Always refer to the official vehicle specification sheet for your region and variant before purchasing.