By Andrea Hargraves 
Nobody expected this. Accustomed to dealing with Ikea furniture, both inexpensive and practical, assembled at home with an Allen key and a little more, imagine the surprise when Nordic Furniture revealed that their new in-home assembly product is … an electric car! The car in question looks simple, functional and simple, as is customary at Ikea, having been designed by Renault, which used the experience gained with Zoe and Twingo.
Called Ikea Höga, it’s still a prototype, but with plenty of details to stay around. With two-person seats, 1.8 meters high and 2.3 meters long, it is much longer and shorter than its natural competitor, Citroen AMI (1.39 meters and 2.41 meters), and it also stands far beyond the length of the Smart Fortwo (2.69 meters).
Despite its small size, Renault and Ikea Höga equipped with four steering wheels
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But just like tables, beds, and shelves that enhance the use of small spaces, the Ikea prototype also has a few tricks up its sleeve, allowing it to temporarily replace the passenger seat with space to accommodate a wheelchair, ideal for people with limited mobility. Surfers and cyclists are not forgotten, as there will also be a solution to accommodate business or leisure gear, as appropriate.
Renault sought to design a car that was simple yet effective. However, putting it together will require more dedication and ‘getting caught’ in manual labor than a crib. 374 pieces need repair, before the Höga can be used as a vehicle a platform must first be constructed to install on him The batteries, wheels and suspensions are attached to them, although the latter did not appear in the published drawings.
Ikea Höga will be offered for 5,300 € and delivered in a kit like this one, which requires some dedication to assemble at home.
The platform, the stiffer part of Höga, will fix the body and then the rest of the bodywork, but a way must be found to ensure the car is well assembled, because if it is dangerous for a table to suddenly lose one of its feet, it is more sensitive for the car to lose a wheel, just because That the screw is missing, or without brakes, just because someone did not follow the order indicated in the instruction manual …
Despite their small size and shortness between the axles, Ikea and Renault intend to equip the Höga with a four-wheel steering system, which is purely electric. Also intriguing is the way in which the interior is accessed, with the front and rear windows transformed into vertically opening doors, with the privacy the front end takes in the steering wheel, pedals and the generous (single) central screen.)
Ikea plans to sell the Höga for 5,300 euros, well below the 6,900 euros that Citroën Ami ordered, which was delivered already fully assembled. Ikea and Renault have yet to announce the Höga’s remaining features, either in terms of engine power or battery capacity.