EV general discussion

lordrobs said:
I've never driven an EV and maybe I'm missing something completely obvious but why can't all that be done automatically via the brake pedal?

So basically no regen so the car can 'coast' but when braking the braking effort is translated to X amount of regen right up to the point where the physical brakes have to join in. From what I've read about the amount of regen available in one pedal driving it sounds like by just driving normally there would be enough retardation through regen alone to do the bulk of the effort.
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It is also done automatically via the brake pedal - one of the reasons reviewers often describe inconsistent brake feel on electric cars

The paddles or settings just set up how much retardation is achieved on throttle lift off - it's better to slow down through regen only, rather than using the brakes which can happen if you smash the brake pedal. Basically it encourages you to slow down more gradually rather than risk using the brakes and 'wasting' energy
 
jpaul said:
that begs the querstion of how important regen paddles are -
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Have you tried driving an EV with and without the paddles, or driving an EV at all for that matter?

I much prefer the paddles for the uncertainty of if I need to bring the car to a full stop, rather than just slowing down when coming up to the back of traffic, or entering certain roundabouts, it offers way more control and granularity of energy recovery vs. friction braking alone or automatic regen in a single mode. I am so used to one pedal driving for 95% of the time using a foot brake feels almost wrong, maybe even clunky to some extent.
 
lordrobs said:
I've never driven an EV and maybe I'm missing something completely obvious but why can't all that be done automatically via the brake pedal?

So basically no regen so the car can 'coast' but when braking the braking effort is translated to X amount of regen right up to the point where the physical brakes have to join in. From what I've read about the amount of regen available in one pedal driving it sounds like by just driving normally there would be enough retardation through regen alone to do the bulk of the effort.
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that’s what I do in the IPACE now, low regen as I don’t like it on high. (First car to do WLTP without needing friction) but I’m having times where I just put the car into neutral as it’s easier than balancing throttle to the zero point of no regen or power. Ie down motorway hills etc.
 
lordrobs said:
I've never driven an EV and maybe I'm missing something completely obvious but why can't all that be done automatically via the brake pedal?

So basically no regen so the car can 'coast' but when braking the braking effort is translated to X amount of regen right up to the point where the physical brakes have to join in. From what I've read about the amount of regen available in one pedal driving it sounds like by just driving normally there would be enough retardation through regen alone to do the bulk of the effort.
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Because it's a lot easier, and way more intuitive to press down on one pedal for 'go faster', and let off for 'slow down'. Driving an ICE or BEV where I have to actually brake now feels weird and primitive.
 
One pedal driving is the future. Its great on cars which will come to a complete stop. Some manufacturers (Merc looking at you), even on the highest recup setting will never come to a complete stop so you have to use the brake.
 
@Jonnycoupe Are you driving the facelifted I-Pace now? Did you have a pre-facelift before?

If so, is the facelift a noticeable improvement? I see that it includes the very latest infotainment system from the Defender which should be a good thing.
 
Obliter8 said:
Because it's a lot easier, and way more intuitive to press down on one pedal for 'go faster', and let off for 'slow down'. Driving an ICE or BEV where I have to actually brake now feels weird and primitive.
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Greebo said:
One pedal driving is the future. Its great on cars which will come to a complete stop. Some manufacturers (Merc looking at you), even on the highest recup setting will never come to a complete stop so you have to use the brake.
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Not sure… it’s quite nice to be able to coast actually. The paddles are a good idea because you can turn it on and off as needed. On our Passat GTE I find myself going between D and B modes quite regularly
 
chanjy said:
Not sure… it’s quite nice to be able to coast actually. The paddles are a good idea because you can turn it on and off as needed. On our Passat GTE I find myself going between D and B modes quite regularly
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It's obviously personal preference, but not how I feel - in 'coast' you need to move your foot and depress a pedal to change speed. In one-pedal, your foot is always on or slightly off the accelerator, just at the level you need for the speed you are doing.

In any event, I would think people would relish the opportunity to save money by not using the brakes!
 
Obliter8 said:
It's obviously personal preference, but not how I feel - in 'coast' you need to move your foot and depress a pedal to change speed. In one-pedal, your foot is always on or slightly off the accelerator, just at the level you need for the speed you are doing.

In any event, I would think people would relish the opportunity to save money by not using the brakes!
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But pressing the brake pedal lightly uses the same regen as lift off so there’s no saving there

Totally agree personal preference though, that’s why paddles are good. Without the paddles you end up having to go into a menu to change it and it’s impossible to do on the fly
 
I've been the owner of Tesla M3LR for two months now and the one pedal driving / Hold way of driving contribute massively to making driving much easier. Its made a huge difference together with pilot and adaptive cruise to my fatigue after long journeys. Doing around 350 miles a week and working a full day each day used to leave me really struggling by the Friday trip home. Driving in traffic is night and day even though I had a very good auto car before.

I thought I would struggle with the regen braking and how it varies depending on battery state and conditions but your brain kind of just kicks in when you need to brake, I suppose it no different to approaching a junction downhill or uphill in that you let off and brake as you need without really thinking about it.
 
It's down to personal preference but as an EV owner who has tried both methods, I much prefer the coasting method with regen paddles than the one pedal driving. Though I tend to do more motorway driving than town driving where coasting is more beneficial. As for one pedal driving saving the brakes, EVs setup with brake pedal = regen until you really need it already don't use the brakes 99% of the time.
 
Regen braking still catches me out a bit (I come off the throttle too late or early) if haven't driven the car for a while but I've only done 6 or 700 miles since Feb so not using it regularly. I soon get used to it again once driven it a few miles.
Heading towards 6 months with the i3 now and still glad I made the move to an EV after previously having some reservations. Not got bored of it either. Enjoy driving as much as before and the ease of driving an EV has helped I think. I still find it amusing when pulled away and a car is beside me and then seeing it disappear as the driver changes gear, and I'm just pulling away normally but surprising how much time ICE cars lose during a non-rushed gear change.

Just picked up an OBD device out of interest really, to see how the SoH does and battery temp etc and will use it with ABRP so it can use live data from the car rather than estimating based on the make/model selected.
 
ICDP said:
It's down to personal preference but as an EV owner who has tried both methods, I much prefer the coasting method with regen paddles than the one pedal driving. Though I tend to do more motorway driving than town driving where coasting is more beneficial. As for one pedal driving saving the brakes, EVs setup with brake pedal = regen until you really need it already don't use the brakes 99% of the time.
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But thats why paddles is the best choice. You can then have it how you want and change quickly between town and motorway driving.
 
Trying to get my wife out of the Zoe and into something with better range so I can sell the Passat. Thoughts so far:

XC40 Recharge she loved it (I did too) but it's a ridiculous price
Tesla M3 LR felt too big when she drove it and hated it instantly :(
Q4 etron after the Tesla she sat in it and went 'nah' too big so we didn't even test drive lol
ID3 might be onto a winner here - but the range is on the edge of being sufficient for the only car in the family but it does have fast charging. She enjoyed driving it after we put all the settings in comfort/eco
Kona electric she like this as it's sufficiently small, we are test driving it tomorrow. Has much better real world range than the ID3 but is a lot more 'old school' inside I guess
 
It’s worth testing the Nero if the Kona checks out ok.

I’d buy a used one tough as they are a bit dated and Kia/Hyundai are in the process of launching their full EV platform.
 
chanjy said:
Trying to get my wife out of the Zoe and into something with better range so I can sell the Passat. Thoughts so far:

XC40 Recharge she loved it (I did too) but it's a ridiculous price
Tesla M3 LR felt too big when she drove it and hated it instantly :(
Q4 etron after the Tesla she sat in it and went 'nah' too big so we didn't even test drive lol
ID3 might be onto a winner here - but the range is on the edge of being sufficient for the only car in the family but it does have fast charging. She enjoyed driving it after we put all the settings in comfort/eco
Kona electric she like this as it's sufficiently small, we are test driving it tomorrow. Has much better real world range than the ID3 but is a lot more 'old school' inside I guess
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I was thinking straight away the Kona. It's smaller than a 2008. Should be good for 250 miles.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
It’s worth testing the Nero if the Kona checks out ok.

I’d buy a used one tough as they are a bit dated and Kia/Hyundai are in the process of launching their full EV platform.
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The e-Niro is a weird one... the prices are a bit stronger and the kit you get for the price isn't quite as good as the Kona plus using the same drivetrain the range is slightly worse - plus the additional size is actually a minus for us

The new E-GMP platform is producing amazing looking cars but all the reviews say it's not achieving very good efficiency despite being a dedicated platform so the IONIQ 5 range is actually no better than the Kona

Obliter8 said:
This should help.


My missus is scared of my M3P's size (lol!), so is looking at ID3. You could get the 77kWh version (the Tour)?
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:D it's not particularly big but the one we test drove had white leather and I think it was really in her peripheral vision and making it feel really wide but now her mind is set even though I said we could get it in the black interior.

If we go ID3/Kona going to try and keep it under £35k to make it a lot cheaper.

So the ID3 Family 58 kWh Pro Performance or the Kona 64 kWh Premium

TheOracle said:
I was thinking straight away the Kona. It's smaller than a 2008. Should be good for 250 miles.
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Looked at the 2008 but I don't think it has the range. Nice interior though, I do think Peugeot are smashing it in terms of design
 
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