Incredibly exaggerated. Also, I’ve ridden in worse vehicles that were perfectly legal here.
It is extremely power limited due to engine size
That’s why they’re not allowed on freeways / highways in places they’re allowed, thus it’s not a problem.
handles poorly due to the wheel size
Better than a lot of what’s steeet-legal, still.
they certainly are not safer than any US vehicle made in the last 35 years.
They certainly are, you’re just pretending that their use-case is identical to say a sedan when that’s not the case. When used for their purpose (Shirt-Medium distances on Slow-Medium speed roads) they are fantastic vehicles. There’s a reason they’re still made and sell like hotcakes elsewhere in the world.