Can EV's be fun?

[freebeard]

Almost forgot this:



At the Amity OR Pancake Breakfast in 2017. I should've got a rear view as well.

A solar assisted Fiero.

[Isaac Zachary]

I never press the throttle in all the way, even when I drove a Leaf. Maybe I would more if I had an EV with even more torque, but I have my doubts.

My idea of fun would be a two speed manual EV with a 50hp motor. That will never happen, but that's my idea of fun.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I never press the throttle in all the way, even when I drove a Leaf. Maybe I would more if I had an EV with even more torque, but I have my doubts.

My idea of fun would be a two speed manual EV with a 50hp motor. That will never happen, but that's my idea of fun.

I don't have to mash the accelerator pedal to the floor to enjoy the instant torque from my EV. It is more about zipping out of a corner on a twisty road than straight line speed. (That straight line speed does come in handy when merging into traffic)

EV specs are a bit funny - you can't just look at the motor rating because the gearing varies so much. For example

2014 Spark EV: 400 lb-ft x 3.17 1,268 lb-ft at front axle
2017 Bolt EV: 266 lb-ft x 7.05 = 1,875 lb-ft at the front axle

The Bolt is bigger and heavier than the Spark with a motor with 1/3 less torque but it is a second faster 0-60.


The Spark's motor is also less balanced with a massive 400 lb-ft of torque but only 140 hp where the Bolt's motor is 266 lb-ft / 200 hp.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by JSH

I don't have to mash the accelerator pedal to the floor to enjoy the instant torque from my EV. It is more about zipping out of a corner on a twisty road than straight line speed.

Maybe instant torque is something I'm into and just don't know it. I think the ol' non-turbo 40hp diesel Golf had instant torque. The Prius and Hybrid Avalon supposedly have instant torque too. And I think they are fun in a way. The Golf was the most fun IMO.

I don't think I like zipping out of corners though.

Putting chains on a small FWD car and driving past AWD/4WD pickups and SUV's that are stuck in the snow is fun.

Maybe I'm just evil...

[freebeard]

I don't think I like zipping out of corners though.

It's Okay until there is a big surprise just around the bend.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It's Okay until there is a big surprise just around the bend.

Exactly! I just got home from a small drive (4 hours) and I saw fallen rocks, deer and a couple of wrecked cars after some of the corners.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by freebeard

It's Okay until there is a big surprise just around the bend.

That is only an issue for people overdriving their sight-lines. One should be able to stop in the distance they can see the road ahead.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Maybe instant torque is something I'm into and just don't know it. I think the ol' non-turbo 40hp diesel Golf had instant torque. The Prius and Hybrid Avalon supposedly have instant torque too. And I think they are fun in a way. The Golf was the most fun IMO.

I don't think I like zipping out of corners though.

Putting chains on a small FWD car and driving past AWD/4WD pickups and SUV's that are stuck in the snow is fun.

Maybe I'm just evil...

Having owned 2 Prius and 2 EVs - no - the Prius doesn't have instant torque. The eCVT ramps the engine up to peak torque and then SLOWLY the car start accelerating. Even a 1st gen Leaf is quicker 0-60.

That said they are all slow compared to motorcycles. Even my giant and slow touring bike will hit 0-60 in 3 seconds in the right hands.

Pretty much all cars can be fun in a way and there is something to be said about driving a underpowered car fast.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by JSH

Having owned 2 Prius and 2 EVs - no - the Prius doesn't have instant torque. The eCVT ramps the engine up to peak torque and then SLOWLY the car start accelerating. Even a 1st gen Leaf is quicker 0-60.

That said they are all slow compared to motorcycles. Even my giant and slow touring bike will hit 0-60 in 3 seconds in the right hands.

Pretty much all cars can be fun in a way and there is something to be said about driving a underpowered car fast.

I meant motor torque, not peak torque. But yes, it isn't that much different than a non-hybrid gasoline vehicle.

To me the Prius and Avalon fly out like bats out of hell. I've always had cars with some 50hp at sea level, and up here they are missing a third of that. The Prius and Avalon not only have more power, but the electric part of the power isn't affected by altittude.

My first car was a 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, followed by a short time with a 1984 Toyota Corolla, then a 1993 Mazda 323 and finally a 1985 VW Golf non-turbo diesel with a few short lived second cars like a stock 1972 Super Beetle. Then I got a Leaf for a year. It and the Avalon and even the Prius feel very fast in my experience.

Then again, the year I owned the Leaf I tried every day to hypermile as best as I could. I don't think I ever did 50 mph in it except maybe once.

[JSH]

My first car was a 1987 GMC S-15 Jimmy 4x4. 2.8L V6* paired to a 3 speed auto. It did 0-60 in something like 18 seconds and topped out at an indicated (but likely optimistic) 82 mph. It couldn't even top out an old federal mandated 85 mph speedo.

* The truck was purchased with a massively leaky engine so the first thing we did was pull the engine and rebuild it. Purchased when I was 15.

Come to think of it my first 2 motorcycles also got full engine rebuilds.