Will electric hot hatches be a hit ?
Discussion
Jacobyte said:
Leon R said:
Realistically how long could you drive the i3 hard on a b road for?
About 4 or 5 corners and then it starts to limit power, if it's cold. It'll allow max power for a bit longer in warm weather. The standard i3 is a bit wobbly but the i3S is genuinely great fun to throw around.
Basically on any B road you care to mention it'll sit quite happily on the max speed limiter ( obvs, 60 mph officer......). IME, after about 15 min of proper, 100% max attack, and as the battery SoC drops it'll start limiting high speed power noticably. However, in the real world, unless you live in scotland or wales, it's rare to get that amount of time un-hindered by other traffic, 30mph zones or similar, all of which allow the powertrain to cool and bit and full omphh is restored.
I also left foot brake, so i give it the hardest possible time
And remember, this isn't really a proper hot hatch, but it still is great fun to drive, and can carry a surprising amount of speed into, and especially out of, the twisty bits.
phil4 said:
While I think that there's massive scope for someone like Porsche to add a sound mode that emulates all their classic models (sell them in packs too)..
Didn't Renault do that with the Clio GT? Play engine sounds through the speakers...I think they pointed it out on Top Gear. Doesn't feel right IMO. captain.scarlet said:
Didn't Renault do that with the GT? Play engine sounds through the speakers...I think they pointed it out on Top Gear. Doesn't feel right IMO.
Lots of petrol cars have fake engine noise already. The reaction to it being completely synthetic just exposes the silliness really. You could easily fudge the feel / interaction of a flappy paddle box on a BEV with a software.
You could write code that imposes maximum speeds across a determined number of "gears", and have those "gears" selectable with paddles. You could even code in a thump to mimic a DSG or TC box in "Sport" mode. Which tends to be coded in on those transmissions anyway. Add a synthesized engine note over the top, which also exists today in many IC cars, and you're there.
I can see electric hot hatches being a hit. A performance car that is fun to drive, but comfy and practical enough to use daily, to carry the family, to do tip runs and also do general carting about of crap is a winning formula. The method of propulsion is less important, IMO.
You could write code that imposes maximum speeds across a determined number of "gears", and have those "gears" selectable with paddles. You could even code in a thump to mimic a DSG or TC box in "Sport" mode. Which tends to be coded in on those transmissions anyway. Add a synthesized engine note over the top, which also exists today in many IC cars, and you're there.
I can see electric hot hatches being a hit. A performance car that is fun to drive, but comfy and practical enough to use daily, to carry the family, to do tip runs and also do general carting about of crap is a winning formula. The method of propulsion is less important, IMO.
I think the very concept of the hot hatch might die out. Performance is already at the point of irrelevance even with ICE cars, when electric becomes mainstream and even the most basic shopping hatchback is quicker than there is ever opportunity to use then what exactly will be the point of an even faster version?
Sports cars will remain as they are defined by their lack of seats, lack of roof and subjective feel rather than outright performance but I wonder how long the concept of the mainstream performance hatchback will survive electrification.
Sports cars will remain as they are defined by their lack of seats, lack of roof and subjective feel rather than outright performance but I wonder how long the concept of the mainstream performance hatchback will survive electrification.
Leon R said:
The answer is no because it is literally impossible to miss what you've never had / experienced.
This assumes that the people who they will be a"hit" with are us.Original hot hatches weren't really aspirational for sports car drivers, they were aspirational for cold hatch drivers. I imagine that EV hot hatches will be aspirational for ICE cold hatches owners in the same way.
SidewaysSi said:
Will an i3 survive a day of high speed lapping on a track?
Well they’re limited to 93/99mph so it’s never going to be very high speed!Funny you mention it but in a moment of madness I took my i3 to Goodwood a few weeks back, hadn’t appreciated how fast the track was until I watched some YT vids after booking it.
Queued up behind 3 x lovely 911’s for sound testing (they said I had to do it despite no engine) which drew some interest - car was fine until nearing the end of my 15 min session at which point it lost some power and I was restricted to about 83mph.
Unfortunately someone put their Alfa Guilia into a tyre wall at speed, thus closing the track for several hours and bringing my fun to an end - probably a good thing.
Obviously a modern Tesla/ i4 etc would be much more suited to it, within reason I don’t see why you couldn’t enjoy yourself on track in an EV, pref one with rapid charging nearby (or at the track itself).
Mave said:
Leon R said:
The answer is no because it is literally impossible to miss what you've never had / experienced.
This assumes that the people who they will be a"hit" with are us.Original hot hatches weren't really aspirational for sports car drivers, they were aspirational for cold hatch drivers. I imagine that EV hot hatches will be aspirational for ICE cold hatches owners in the same way.
You cannot miss something you have never had, I cannot miss driving a McLaren F1 because I have never driven one....
Leon R said:
Mave said:
Leon R said:
The answer is no because it is literally impossible to miss what you've never had / experienced.
This assumes that the people who they will be a"hit" with are us.Original hot hatches weren't really aspirational for sports car drivers, they were aspirational for cold hatch drivers. I imagine that EV hot hatches will be aspirational for ICE cold hatches owners in the same way.
You cannot miss something you have never had, I cannot miss driving a McLaren F1 because I have never driven one....
Mave said:
Leon R said:
Mave said:
Leon R said:
The answer is no because it is literally impossible to miss what you've never had / experienced.
This assumes that the people who they will be a"hit" with are us.Original hot hatches weren't really aspirational for sports car drivers, they were aspirational for cold hatch drivers. I imagine that EV hot hatches will be aspirational for ICE cold hatches owners in the same way.
You cannot miss something you have never had, I cannot miss driving a McLaren F1 because I have never driven one....
I agree that if someone has only ever driven a Nissan Leaf and their next car is a model 3 performance then there is nothing to miss.
Neil1323bolts said:
Darinz said:
Max_Torque said:
I've already got one, it's brilliant !
1,200 kg, 180 bhp, rwd, carbon tub, with a hatch at the back ;-)
I think I've got that one too ;-) although it's more like 1350-1400 KG with the later batteries anyway. 1,200 kg, 180 bhp, rwd, carbon tub, with a hatch at the back ;-)
Hot hatch EV I'd have any day of the week. I've been wanting a Renault Sport ZOE since the Zoe came out and although it doesn't seem likely, the news is clear that Alpine (with help from Lotus?) will bring out an EV hatchback... given their fondness for light weight that is very encouraging and would be of real interest. Hopefully the price tag isn't toooooo premium!
I am beginning to think an electric hot hatch may actually work , as most hyper hot hatches are automatic only anyway, an electric version would be very similar in concept, dual motor /4wd and very high bhp . As others have mentioned fake engine noise is piped into ICE cars already , a good B road would be eaten up by a electric hot hatch , but would it be fun ? Minus the manual gear change it would be very different animal ,for me anyway, but my idea of a hot hatch is about 200-250 bhp and as lightweight as you can make it , which maybe some way off just yet for an electric vehicle.
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