Why so few EV large saloons?
Discussion
MF35 said:
Many thanks, and esp to those who mentioned Lucid Air - hadn’t thought of that one at all. Seems promising. That and the new BMW 7 series.
My aversion to SUVs is a sort of reverse-snobbery (I hate the "upwardly mobile" connotations - literally looking down on people), but I do have some practical reasons:
1. I’ve been in many modern SUVs, and they're all a bit reverse Tardis, in that rear seat room is nothing special in any of them. Something like a Taycan, which otherwise looks and goes well, is poor as far as rear seat space is concerned. But they're all a bit of a let-down in the space dept, and I guess it’s my perhaps naive idea that if I'm shelling out for a new car, I can get something as least as good as my old one in all key aspects, not significantly worse in one of them ...
2. Better aerodynamics, and better rear headroom - can't be having sloping rears on cars. Just screams fashion victim.
3. Safety - an aluminium A8 3-box saloon has crumple zones front and rear, and any saloon is less prone to rolling over than an SUV.
4. More secure, separate luggage compartment, instead of one that can be accessed with a casual brick through the window.
5. Driving dynamics - better in a saloon than in a top-heavy SUV.
See: https://www.motorbiscuit.com/dont-follow-pack-7-re...
There are v few cheap options, but it seems to be:
1. Lucid Air
2. BMW 7 series
3. MB EQS (albeit it’s really a hatch)
Tesla – thought about them but Musk is a bit of a tool, and more importantly the shoddy build quality wouldn’t give much ownership satisfaction.
The other option is something like the LWB VW Zoom or similar – has the visibility and all-round headroom that SUVs lack.
Time is going to be your friend. Eventually every niche will be filled for EVs but at the moment the sales volume is clearly family SUVs and local hatchbacks/crossovers. My aversion to SUVs is a sort of reverse-snobbery (I hate the "upwardly mobile" connotations - literally looking down on people), but I do have some practical reasons:
1. I’ve been in many modern SUVs, and they're all a bit reverse Tardis, in that rear seat room is nothing special in any of them. Something like a Taycan, which otherwise looks and goes well, is poor as far as rear seat space is concerned. But they're all a bit of a let-down in the space dept, and I guess it’s my perhaps naive idea that if I'm shelling out for a new car, I can get something as least as good as my old one in all key aspects, not significantly worse in one of them ...
2. Better aerodynamics, and better rear headroom - can't be having sloping rears on cars. Just screams fashion victim.
3. Safety - an aluminium A8 3-box saloon has crumple zones front and rear, and any saloon is less prone to rolling over than an SUV.
4. More secure, separate luggage compartment, instead of one that can be accessed with a casual brick through the window.
5. Driving dynamics - better in a saloon than in a top-heavy SUV.
See: https://www.motorbiscuit.com/dont-follow-pack-7-re...
There are v few cheap options, but it seems to be:
1. Lucid Air
2. BMW 7 series
3. MB EQS (albeit it’s really a hatch)
Tesla – thought about them but Musk is a bit of a tool, and more importantly the shoddy build quality wouldn’t give much ownership satisfaction.
The other option is something like the LWB VW Zoom or similar – has the visibility and all-round headroom that SUVs lack.
Saloons will always be difficult while batteries remain so bulky but also the shape is the least usable as well as fashionable.
Some thoughts on your points:
1- Don't forget that all an SUV is is a taller version of another car. It won't have any more space than the comparable saloon or estate other than height and even that's marginal because while the roof is higher, obviously so is the floor.
. You would really expect an SUV that's the same size as a saloon to actually have more width or length inside. 2- sloping rears as in the x6 BMW thing? That certainly is odd and unwinds the key area where the SUV has a load more practicality. I think it's fine on something like a Urus where practicality everywhere is overtly discarded for noise, smell, drama and theatrics but on normal cars it does seem to much form over function.
3- Not sure an EV SUV is going to rush to roll with nearly a tonne of batteries in the floor. And crumple zones are probably moot in anything with that much mass hitting something which so much force that the extra bit of metal a saloon shape may or may not have is probably irrelevant. The fact that you're higher up and with a taller crumple zone at the rear may even be better. I'm not sure that's something to be overly concerned with.
4- If you're spending £100k on a massive luxo barge but hanging out and living where folks hobble around lobbing bricks then one might argue that the £100k would be better spent moving to a better area or going to more civilised places?
5- with all those bricks in the floor of both cars I suspect the driving dynamics are pretty moot. An EV of any shape is going to seriously struggle to be too heavy!!
All in, I think your 'reverse snobbery' concerns are arguably the most logical ones. The SUV shape has become synonymous with some undesirable social traits but then look at saloons and their Arthur Daley image, their minicab and travelling salesman image? Both shapes have big roadman baggage.
What you need is the same solution to the same dilemma whether EV or ICE and that's an estate.
When BMW electrify the 5 series that should be the go to saloon. It's a marquee vehicle for the brand and already quite spacious with dinosaur fuel. On the new electric platform it could be something special.
Ioniq 6 is worth a look. Doesn't have the Audi brand, but the Hyundai group is on fire right now.
If you want something now, have you looked at the fabulous iPace? It's not really an SUV, you could call it a saloon or crossover but it is certainly not a big tall SUV. It has plenty of room internally and is arguably the best driving non-Porsche electric car on the market.
Ioniq 6 is worth a look. Doesn't have the Audi brand, but the Hyundai group is on fire right now.
If you want something now, have you looked at the fabulous iPace? It's not really an SUV, you could call it a saloon or crossover but it is certainly not a big tall SUV. It has plenty of room internally and is arguably the best driving non-Porsche electric car on the market.
As a fellow LWB A8 owner I’m with you on them being great family cars. And as I’m 6’8” the extra rear room is vital for anyone to be able to sit behind me. However you will not find any estate car, or “normal” SUV that comes anywhere close to a LWB saloon’s rear legroom. In all my years of looking, the only viable options in that regard are a LWB Range Rover, the usual LWB luxury saloons (incl Panamera Executive), and the electric or plug-in hybrid versions of them. The Landrover Defender isn’t a bad shout either. Second row legroom is good, but of course it’s an SUV.
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