Will Electric Vehicles Be Viable? When?

[strad]

performance is fine if thats what you want, but how many do

ME and from the sales statistics, whether they make use of it or not, a great many of buyers do too.
How else to explain the fact that they can't build enough Corvettes or how brisk Mustang, M class BMWs and other performance vehicle sales are?

[Greg Locock]

117 kg is almost 2 standard passengers and would have a noticeable effect on handling and mpg. The extra body mass to crash that 117 kg safely would add more, which might require bigger tires. Suspension would have to be bigger and heavier. (All test weights weights are based on curb and rgawr these days)

It would cost at least $600 to the manufacturer even if it was the cheapest material around, which translates to $3000 at the showroom floor.

[Andres125sx]

you know the first (and second) land speed records were set by electric vehicles,,, of course that was long ago and was the last time an electric vehicle held the LSR.

I am not questioning the ability of EV,s my point is the weight to meet a respectable crash test at 130mph must be far than that at 90 mph, so make them top out at 90 and fit appropriate tyres wheels disks etc for a max of 90 not 130.

I don´t think top speed change anything on a road car, except the marketing. Crash test are performed at 50kmh so that´s all manufacturers worry about, getting 5 stars in the test, none cares about safety at a 90mph/150kmh crash because if you crash at that speed you´re done anycase

[Andres125sx]

I do wonder who will pull you up the hills when the weather is bad and all the SUVs are banned, however. Funny how people are very appreciative of SUVs that tow them up a snowy incline then...

Any proper 4x4

I think we´re not talking about the same. SUVs are vehicles with 4x4 aesthetics, but compact car capabilities. Most of them are not even 4x4 and neither of them use differential lock. Not even close to a proper 4x4, and they even use low profile wheels wich are not prepared to take any bump. They´re tall compact cars without any off-road capabilities, wich adds maybe 500-700kg for nothing

[izzy]

117 kg is almost 2 standard passengers and would have a noticeable effect on handling and mpg. The extra body mass to crash that 117 kg safely would add more, which might require bigger tires. Suspension would have to be bigger and heavier. (All test weights weights are based on curb and rgawr these days)

It would cost at least $600 to the manufacturer even if it was the cheapest material around, which translates to $3000 at the showroom floor.

You haven't got the faintest clue about the realities of mass and cars.

Where are you finding your 59 kg passengers? Its 80 average, and plenty in the 117 range

And of course they're more expensive look at the price! The point is performance versions of EVs are lower in consumption proportionately, compared to ICE cars

So you missed the point entirely, talking about having a clue

[hollus]

Why would electric cars be bad at towing? Are we talking about lack of sheer ability to tow or about lack of battery capacity to do it for long enough, or about something else?

[Greg Locock]

NHTSA standard passenger mass is 68.03 kg. Still haven't a clue eh laddie?

[Just_a_fan]

So you missed the point entirely, talking about having a clue

You should probably look at his back catalogue of postings. From memory, he's done a bit in car engineering over the years...

[henry]

NHTSA standard passenger mass is 68.03 kg.

That’s all you needed to say originally, and now.

[izzy]

NHTSA standard passenger mass is 68.03 kg. Still haven't a clue eh laddie?

lol you're quite rude aren't you

the average US Male 18-64 is 88.6 kg, female 75.5. i know this being female Anyway it's still not the point. What mpg do you get in an ICE that can do 0-62 under 4s? A McLaren does 24.6 apparently, and most of the time doing the same speed as my Fiesta

[Just_a_fan]

Why would electric cars be bad at towing? Are we talking about lack of sheer ability to tow or about lack of battery capacity to do it for long enough, or about something else?

There's nothing specifically to stop them towing, of course, but range will be hammered (just as fuel economy is hammered in ICE vehicles when towing). There's also the weight - EVs are heavy to start with (compared to the equivalent ICE version) and rely on regen braking (excellent idea) for much of their braking capability. This isn't so great when towing, however, as the extra mass (especially down an incline) can basically be too much for the system to handle. The traditional brakes that are fitted aren't designed for this extra work, hence no tow rating. If the manufacturer doesn't homologate it for towing, then you're not allowed to tow with it.

I'm not sure any EV is rated to tow, other than the Tesla Model X, which can tow about 2.2t (more than enough for any tarmac caravan draggers, of course). That's an expensive option if you just want to tow a caravan to the coast for the weekend. It wouldn't legally tow our 2-horse trailer, however, which is plated at just over 2.5t and can get to that with two good size horses in it. My Range Rover Sport (rated to 3.5t), however, tows it like it's not there.

[Just_a_fan]

You should probably look at his back catalogue of postings. From memory, he's done a bit in car engineering over the years...

we are not engineering here tho are we, we're socialising, debating. obviously being a forum there's some trying to claim status, just like F1

It's a technical forum and this is a bit of a technical discussion. Greg Locock, in his own way, has brought some technical detail. That's not claiming status - he didn't, I merely mentioned it as useful background info.

If you're going to ignore the technical aspects, then let's all have cars that run on Unicorn poop. Entirely non-polluting, as everyone knows!

[Just_a_fan]

most of the time doing the same speed as my Fiesta

Now I understand your hatred of SUVs.

[izzy]

You should probably look at his back catalogue of postings. From memory, he's done a bit in car engineering over the years...

we are not engineering here tho are we, we're socialising, debating. obviously being a forum there's some trying to claim status, just like F1

It's a technical forum and this is a bit of a technical discussion. Greg Locock, in his own way, has brought some technical detail. That's not claiming status - he didn't, I merely mentioned it as useful background info.

If you're going to ignore the technical aspects, then let's all have cars that run on Unicorn poop. Entirely non-polluting, as everyone knows!

I don't know why you think I'm ignoring technical aspects, im arguing with data as usual. Why are you riding to his rescue anyway?

[Just_a_fan]

Just a case of lockdown