Toyota to make some EV's. Why are they so ass-ugly?

[Flakbadger]

Hey all, I was browsing the internet this morning and saw this.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a2...rollout-plans/



Why can't electric car manufacturers just make a regular car when it's an EV? I want---more than anything---a Toyota Corolla, just powered by batteries instead of an internal combustion engine. Instead we get these Cyberpunk reject-looking, faux-flat-gold-enameled, faceted monstrosities.

I hate that car preferences in America, specifically, have leaned hard into "bigger is better" for vehicles in general. My Toyota Yaris was perfect for 99% of my driving. SUPER nimble when parking in the city, and averaged more than 40 MPG in mixed driving its entire career, oftentimes without even trying.

Why oh WHY can't I just get something like that in electric?

As a side note, let's take bets on how many of these vehicles are going to switch to all-touchscreen controls. Nothing says "safe driving" like having to peck at a ****ing iPad screen while you're driving down the highway, eh?

[redpoint5]

I generally agree with your sentiment about EVs being weird looking, and not only that, but their weird looks often convey no practical purpose. Take the gen I Leaf for instance. It looks dumb and isn't very aerodynamic.

My aesthetic complaint for all vehicles is overstating the grill. Efficient cars don't need massive grills, and yet they are made to look larger than they are. It makes even less sense to style an EV around a grill design. I appreciate Tesla leading design in this regard.

Touchscreens are likely unavoidable. They aren't as easy to use as physical buttons and cause a distraction, but perhaps in the nearish future cars will be harder to crash (active accident avoidance). If my car was driving itself, I wouldn't mind so much if I had to interact with a screen. Many cars have voice controls nowadays too (I believe Teslas do?). My 2006 Acura has voice control.

[freebeard]

I think it depends. Telsa doesn't make homely vehicles.

I like Canoo's approach. The transparent A-pillar chamfered edge carries through the whole [proposed] line.


cleantechnica.com/2019/09/29/how-canoo-could-disrupt-the-airline-industry-real-estate/

[MetroMPG]

It's not just EV's - a LOT of Toyota's recent designs are "aesthetically challenging".

[Flakbadger]

I generally agree with your sentiment about EVs being weird looking, and not only that, but their weird looks often convey no practical purpose. Take the gen I Leaf for instance. It looks dumb and isn't very aerodynamic.

**Cries in Gen-1 Leaf**

I don't super hate the design overall from an aesthetics standpoint, but it is a complete brick of a car for absolutely no reason. The aero on it is abysmal. Even the back visor thingy is at a **** angle and doesn't curve downward like it should. The fact that they made the headlights deliberately cause turbulence just to shield the side mirrors from making air noise alone shows how little they cared about overall aero.

Touchscreens are likely unavoidable. They aren't as easy to use as physical buttons and cause a distraction, but perhaps in the nearish future cars will be harder to crash (active accident avoidance).

All well and good, but I don't want touch screens on everything. If they made a modern smartphone with a slider keyboard for texting I would be all over that. Texting on a piece of flat plastic is a waking nightmare and I generally use speech-to-text now because I hate it so much. Same goes for climate control on a car. Give me the usual 3 knobs, thank you. Never have to look down at them to find them. I do understand that I sound 379 years old right now.

I think it depends. Telsa doesn't make homely vehicles.

True, but who the hell can afford a Tesla? The thought of paying more than ~$18,000 dollars for a car is abhorrent to me.

It's not just EV's - a LOT of Toyota's recent designs are "aesthetically challenging".

You are correct on that, but I think all manufacturers are going for these insane hyper-futuristic alien-looking aesthetics. The new Civics look like they've already been in an accident when they're brand new.

-----------------------------

To be honest, I think I'm just barking up the wrong tree here. I want a basic, electric, compact or subcompact, economy car with a few creature comforts that just works.

I think I'm hopelessly out of step with current car culture and what manufacturers think everyone wants.

[redpoint5]

My parents have a 2012 Leaf and I've driven it a bit, and enjoy it. The reason to get a Leaf isn't to win a beauty contest. Could be worse, could be better.

I was hoping Hyundai would make the Ioniq EV widely available and reasonably priced, but they did neither. It looks ok in my view, but more than that it has an efficient shape.


The Chevy Bolt looks ok too. I expect used ones to go for a song once the stop sale is lifted. 6 months of lease returns and trade ins hitting the market all at once. I might get one if the price is right.


Agreed that cars cost too much. The most I've spent is $17k, and that seemed pretty extreme to me despite the fact I can easily afford it. If I can get a used Bolt for ~$10k I might jump in. Hard for me to justify a vehicle purchase when I have several already, and a company issued car that can be used unlimited for personal use.

[Flakbadger]

Those are all great points. The price for entry with an EV continues to be a rather pressing one. I would have bought a Bolt when I bought my Leaf just for the extra range, except I won't buy a Chevrolet due to too many bad experiences with their electronics going to hell for no good reason.
Of course I would never in a million years buy anything made by Nissan either, except for this very car, because it doesn't have a Nissan CVT to break, or a Nissan engine to go haywire.
I, like many many other people, am just eagerly awaiting electric cars that are priced where normal people can afford them. When I bought my car I paid cash for the entire $16,000, so I could TECHNICALLY afford a much more expensive car. But I don't want to. I spend my extra money on other hobbies, a car is just transport to me. Why would I spend an extra twenty grand on something that hauls my groceries and generally doesn't even transport any passengers?

But again I acknowledge that I'm out of touch. Most people seem to want these accursed crossover SUV's, so they can have "a small car that feels big" and have the fuel economy of the big car without all its utility---and the "small" car that can't fit in small spaces.

[freebeard]

True, but who the hell can afford a Tesla? The thought of paying more than ~$18,000 dollars for a car is abhorrent to me.

I just paid off a thousand dollar car. And I was just in a dentists chair giving up one more tooth and I told him and he raved about a 3cyl/5spd Sprint he drove for ten years.

And Tesla is headed your way, just to the 20-25,000 dollar range. They'll come out of the China factory, a deal-killer to me. I lucked out, my new Mac Mini came from Malaysia.

[MetroMPG]

I'll be extremely surprised if Tesla brings its "cheap" car to North America.

Why? Because it would be a small car/hatchback. And the North American market has spoken: the vast majority does not want small cars (unless they're on stilts and marketed as trucklets).

VW will not be selling its "affordable" ID3 EV here. Honda is not selling the "e" here. Fiat has pulled the 500 out of North America, which is now an EV-only new model in other markets. Could go on and on.

I bet Tesla wishes it had skipped the 3 and gone straight to the Y.

[Hersbird]

Come on, you can't be driving a Leaf and complain about anybody's designs. Maybe any French car.

Those cars look pretty much right up Toyota's current designs. Here's the 2021 Corolla

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