Dead badgers, loaves of bread and spilled mushrooms didn't give me a wobble on the new Piaggio MP3. And as for the usual motorcyclist's concerns of pools of diesel oil, raised manhole covers and the dreaded cold – all had no effect on this weird tricycle from the Italian scooter manufacturer.

With two wheels at the front and a big fat tyre behind, the revolutionary motorcycle is safe, sturdy, comfortable and very easy to ride. It is the future of scooter design.

Simply twist the hand throttle and off you go. There are no gears or hand clutch, no foot pedals and, with the usual scooter shape, it offers reasonable protection from the elements. And you don't even need to put your feet on the ground when you stop since an ingenious system allows you to flick a switch as you slow to a halt at road junctions, locking the front wheels.

Personally, I found it a technique difficult to perfect having ridden motorcycles for years, but once mastered it becomes a habit.

With three wheels you feel so much more stable. The front wheels lean into corners with one slightly in front of the other allowing you to corner in comfort. There's no horrible feeling that you are about to topple over, or that the bike will slide away from under you. It hugs the road surface allowing you to feel completely secure.

Cross-winds seem to have little effect either, in fact, I've never ridded such a stable machine. On a conventional small bike or scooter you can end up wrestling with the handlebars to retain control in high winds, but with this machine it was more akin to driving a car.

Going home I hit a dead badger on a corner on the A38. The MP3 did a sort of jolt but there was none of that feeling of losing control that can happen on a motorbike. Returning the following day I ran over a loaf of bread at full speed on Redhill, while in Churchill hundreds of mushrooms that had spilled from a truck caused no problem to the double gripping front wheels. I began to wonder if there were specially trained Piaggio technicians putting me through special hazards in order to test the bike.

The only handling problem came when parking. I found you need to mount pavements square on due to the double front wheels. Hitting the curb from the side was uncomfortable.

Parking the bike is different from the usual routine of leaving a motorcycle or scooter. Although there is a stand, you don't use it. Instead, you park the trike, lock the front wheels and put the handbrake on. If you don't it may roll away.

This happened to me when I parked outside a shop. I turned and heard a woman shouting at me, "Hey mister, your pram!" Clearly, I thought, this shouting isn't being directed at me, as I'm not in charge of a pram. Suddenly, rolling past me went the MP3. I quickly seized the handlebars and put the brake on. It's something that had never happened to me before. "That," said the woman who had mistaken the trike for a pram, "could have been a horrible accident." She was right, but hopefully, I have learnt my lesson.

Every time I parked it, people would come up and ask about it. Motorists pointed as they went past and motorcyclists would do a double-take. It's not a pretty looking thing – hardly sexy – so perhaps the next generation of MP3s will have slicker lines and not have the strange hybrid look of the off-spring of a quad bike and scooter.

Most people commented on its size. It is no bigger than any large scooter or medium sized motorbike, so filtering through the queues of traffic in Bristol was fine.

I gave Mel, a colleague at work, a lift as a pillion passenger and she said it was very comfortable and great fun. Having a passenger didn't slow the bike noticeably, but then we only went along the level to Temple Meads railway station. The jury is out on steeper climbs.

Fuel, as always on scooters, is a fraction of the cost of what goes into a car. I filled up the 250cc machine with £8 of unleaded and there was plenty left at the end of a week when I'd ridden more than a 100 miles. Even around the town the Piaggio MP3 does the best part of a 100 miles to a gallon.

It was difficult to find fault apart for its looks.

Our steer

Easy to ride, sturdy and safe, very economical, omfortable and stable. but the unsexy styling could be improved. Other plus points include ample storage space under the seat, there's no need to put your feet down and it's perfect for commuting.

Fact file

Engine: Single-cylinder, four-stroke 124cc or 244.3cc.

Max power: 124 – 15bhp at 9,250rpm; 244 – 22.5bhp, 8,250rpm.

Max torque: 1254– 12Nm at 8,500rpm; 244 – 21Nm at 6.750rpm.

Transmission: Twist-and-go automatic.

Brakes: Two front 240mm discs, single rear 240mm disc.

Tank capacity: 12 litres

Seat height: 780mm

Weight: 204kg/199kg

Price: 124 – circa £3,600; 244 – Circa £4,000