EV cars why are so many ugly SUVs

Laughing said:
Never driven it ST. But I have driven the porsche TAG formula-e. It was pretty good, with one exception, which the test driver told me was a common issue on electric cars because of the way e-gen is set up. There is poor feedback through the streering and they tend to judder under heavy breaking.

The way I came to my conclusion that electric cars are awful is I have driven several electric cars and they were all awful to drive. As above steering felt vague and disconnected. The experience was poor, from a driving perspective.

Add on to this, and this is just a personal preferance, the cabins are, a bit stark and too much is controlled via the console, though I would say that about modern cars more generally.
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Ah so you don't know that your car handles better than mine. Cool. You'd be surprised.

I have just test driven a BMW i4 and nothing you said about the cabin rings true with that one. I grant you it does with my Tesla, one of the reasons I'm done with it.

Be curious as to which EV you have driven. I would bet not a model s plaid, e Tron GT, taycan turbo or i4.
 
SmallTown said:
All cars to be fair. Got me in trouble with the Mrs when she had a Juke. I really really dislike them. I do t know how you can make something so bulky on the outside and so small inside
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I ended up with one as a hire car once and i was utterly perplexed at what the point of it was.
 
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Unfortunately SUVs are a sign of the horrible times we live in. They are ugly, corporate, gas guzzling neoliberal icons that say: "dont mess with me". In a world where it is every man for himself and life is precarious it makes people feel safer to drive around in a tank. It is essentially a defensive posture, in the same way that animals try to make themselves bigger when threatened in order to put off predators. It is of a piece with fashions of our times like shoulder pads for women and going to the gym to pump yourself up. When the zeitgeist changes, people will wonder why anyone would have wanted to buy one.
 
SmallTown said:
Ah so you don't know that your car handles better than mine. Cool. You'd be surprised.

I have just test driven a BMW i4 and nothing you said about the cabin rings true with that one. I grant you it does with my Tesla, one of the reasons I'm done with it.

Be curious as to which EV you have driven. I would bet not a model s plaid, e Tron GT, taycan turbo or i4.
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My car does, it handles better than just about any car, but that wasn't the point I made.

I said ev's don't handle as well as comparable ice cars and they don't. The reason they don't is because they are considerably heavier than a comparable ice car so the suspension has to deal with that first and foremost. Whilst their horizontal center of balance is quite good, they have a lot of weight on their axles,which compromises handling.

The steering has problems too transmitting feel back to the driver. Very much a part of the driving experience. This is due to the regeneration on the electric motor which do slow the car, but effect handling.

So I don't need to drive your car. 4 years working with Toyota then 2 with ABB taught me a fair bit about the compromises you have to make.

You like your electric cars, knock yourself out. I didn't tell you your wife and kids are ugly so don't feel you have to argue with anyone who disagrees with you. Sometimes the know what they are talking about.
 
Laughing said:
My car does, it handles better than just about any car, but that wasn't the point I made.

I said ev's don't handle as well as comparable ice cars and they don't. The reason they don't is because they are considerably heavier than a comparable ice car so the suspension has to deal with that first and foremost. Whilst their horizontal center of balance is quite good, they have a lot of weight on their axles,which compromises handling.

The steering has problems too transmitting feel back to the driver. Very much a part of the driving experience. This is due to the regeneration on the electric motor which do slow the car, but effect handling.

So I don't need to drive your car. 4 years working with Toyota then 2 with ABB taught me a fair bit about the compromises you have to make.

You like your electric cars, knock yourself out. I didn't tell you your wife and kids are ugly so don't feel you have to argue with anyone who disagrees with you. Sometimes the know what they are talking about.
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FWIW I agree with you on the handling of your car. I have driven one and I quite like it. You have overstated it but that's fine everyone does with their own! It is a good car and I like the drivetrain.

You do need to drive my car though. Or else you are making statements about handling and driving experience that you actually don't know. You're not making subjective statements here. You're making objective ones based on prejudice and zero experience.

That's the issue. You're saying they don't handle well, without actually driving ones that do. Ones where you can select the amount of regen you have and so correct another problem you perceive.
 
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Had to chuckle at the one who says they need a tank that weighs a couple of ton to fit a pram in. Bet there's an extra large cup holder for the dummy as well 🤣

The true spirit of an EV is a small city car. The idea that they should be these big SUV things is totally ludicrous. They are bad for the environment, bad for the roads and a danger to all.
 
BillyBoyStu said:
Will this change peoples minds?
Bit of a game changer if true.
"Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has launched Shenxing, a superfast charging lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP) claimed to deliver 400km of range with a 10-minute charge."
400km-on-ten-minute-charge
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ultimately the reason I didn't move from a petrol car to an electric one was spending tens of thousands on a car that could be obsolete with a leap in battery technology as opposed to residuals that, apart from changes in tax, are known.

Fine if you rent/hire/lease a car but not for me. I've bought some fossil relic that is sure to become a classic in 20 years, especially if I keep the miles off it if I can't afford the petrol. Old enough not to have been choked by regulations, young enough to be faultless.

I'll move to a reliable, clean, quiet, low maintenance electric car when the early adopter price hike reduces, local independent garages can service them and the betamax/VHS period is over.
 
I will be surprised if the 2030 date on new petrol/diesel cars isnt put back to 2035.

Price of 2nd hand EV’s will have to be an issue given the price of some batteries. I would be wary of having one over 6 yr old at most, part ex value will be seriously hit won’t it, more so than currently I’d have thought?
 
sweet_left_foot said:
ultimately the reason I didn't move from a petrol car to an electric one was spending tens of thousands on a car that could be obsolete with a leap in battery technology as opposed to residuals that, apart from changes in tax, are known.

Fine if you rent/hire/lease a car but not for me. I've bought some fossil relic that is sure to become a classic in 20 years, especially if I keep the miles off it if I can't afford the petrol. Old enough not to have been choked by regulations, young enough to be faultless.

I'll move to a reliable, clean, quiet, low maintenance electric car when the early adopter price hike reduces, local independent garages can service them and the betamax/VHS period is over.
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I did read something recently, and I don't remember the context or where it was, but to paraphrase "You can't see tesla's becoming future classics"
 
coluka said:
I will be surprised if the 2030 date on new petrol/diesel cars isnt put back to 2035.

Price of 2nd hand EV’s will have to be an issue given the price of some batteries. I would be wary of having one over 6 yr old at most, part ex value will be seriously hit won’t it, more so than currently I’d have thought?
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Dealers seem to be selling 2nd hand with miles covered being a big influence on price, when far more time limiting & devaluing IMHO is battery age & condition..

Reading that used EV prices are very unpredictable & prone to steep declines.. maybe due to being way overpriced to start with.. new Astra EV is £10k more than top spec ICE model..
 
Laughing said:
I did read something recently, and I don't remember the context or where it was, but to paraphrase "You can't see tesla's becoming future classics"
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I see what you are saying and tend to agree but many ubiquitous, tedious, base model cars become classics over time. Sinclair C5, Prius kind of thing.

A first generation RHD Tesla Roadster based on the Lotus chassis is a classic.
 
coluka said:
I will be surprised if the 2030 date on new petrol/diesel cars isnt put back to 2035.

Price of 2nd hand EV’s will have to be an issue given the price of some batteries. I would be wary of having one over 6 yr old at most, part ex value will be seriously hit won’t it, more so than currently I’d have thought?
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Why would second hand prices be an issue? I know people don't understand battery life and deg but there'll be less ignorance in 7 years time
 
SmallTown said:
Why would second hand prices be an issue? I know people don't understand battery life and deg but there'll be less ignorance in 7 years time
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Because of trust in battery life and replacement costs of some cars batteries.
There may be generics come in to reduce such costs, but trusting the source of them may be a concern too.
 
Horses for courses, I do 15k miles a year on the M4 going to see my son once a fortnight in Wales, and for this purpose the Tesla Model 3 Long Range is a brilliant solution given its got the auto steer and self braking cruise control, really helps on long journeys and in traffic queues.

The lack of public fast charging infrastructure however is a big problem - I live in a flat so cant charge at home and have spent several hours just waiting to get onto a charger, never mind the actual charging time - Membury Eastbound Supercharger is horrible on a sunday afternoon...

I love the car but unless the infrastructure gets a lot better between now and the end of my lease in April 2025 I'll probably switch back to petrol.
 
SmallTown said:
Why would second hand prices be an issue? I know people don't understand battery life and deg but there'll be less ignorance in 7 years time
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Its clearly an issue depreciation is huge on ev cars. People also dont know the reliability of 7 to 10 year old evs. I not against ev's my wifes got one but its a lease i wouldnt want to take the chance on buying one because the resale value is not holding like ice vehicles
 
sweet_left_foot said:
I see what you are saying and tend to agree but many ubiquitous, tedious, base model cars become classics over time. Sinclair C5, Prius kind of thing.

A first generation RHD Tesla Roadster based on the Lotus chassis is a classic.
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Yeah, I initially thought hmm thats probably right, but new classics will come along. Who ever thought the beetle would become a classic, or the vauxhall viva or the original mini. Seems obvious now, but not when I had each of those cars. The original tesla roadster is one of the few ev's I like, and I believe it's supposed to be really bad. I'd still have one.
 
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