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Designing an electric car has a lot of different design tradeoffs than a gas car, so cars that are designed from the ground up as electric are going to perform
by cameldrv 6y ago
Designing an electric car has a lot of different design tradeoffs than a gas car, so cars that are designed from the ground up as electric are going to perform better than gas cars that are electrified.
The biggest two factors are that the battery is large and heavy, but is flexible in the shape it assumes. For good handling, you'd like to have this weight as low on the car as possible, and close to the center. The almost universally accepted solution is the skateboard design, where the batteries sit under the passengers, spread out over a large area.
The electric motors are also small and you can do away with a lot of systems like the transmission, exhaust, starter motor, alternator, gas tank, various pumps, pollution controls, etc. This means much less need for under hood space.
Once you take these factors into account, the designs of various EVs make a lot of sense.
- outside1234 6y agoBut Tesla's cars are exactly this - they are largely gas sedans that look normal and are electric. People don't want some dorky looking electric car like Volkswagen's or BMW's. They want a normal car that's electric.
- internet2000 6y agoYou forget all the handwringing over the fake grill-less nose when the Model 3 came out.
- Tagbert 6y agoTeslas are not “gas sedans”. They are purpose built EVs. They are sedans and are one of the few sedans that are still selling. Most other manufacturers had seen their sedan market evaporate to the point that they have dropped those models entirely. Since the current EV market is still very small, manufacturers target the most popular body style to maximize their sales. That is currently an SUV/CUV in the US and in many markets. It is to be hoped that, once the EV market gets large enough, there will be room for different body styles such as sedans or smaller hatches. Personally, I would prefer something closer to the ID.3 but that is not something I expect to see in the US any time soon.
- geoelectric 6y agoThe pseudo-fastback sedan actually wasn't nearly as popular until around the time the model S came out. Then I started seeing it in a lot more cars, especially luxury, where the rear window comes down almost to the edge of the trunk. I'd always credited the S with kicking off the trend.
- Tagbert 6y agoThe 4-door coupe body style became popular in 2007/8. Mercedes and VW both brought out new models with that profile with the fastback rear roofline tapering down to the the trunk.
- plank_time 6y agoNo. You probably have never driven one if that’s what you think. A Model 3 is inherently different.
- boatsie 6y agoWhat’s interesting is that Tesla succeeded in spite of its dorkiness. Yes, you may think it is a “normal” looking car now, but sedans were dying, hatchbacks were dying, and you would be made fun of mercilessly if you had a spoiler on your SUV. But Tesla made cars like that and then succeeded in spite of those design cues and now Tesla owners are trying to make those things cool again. Tesla might as well come out with a minivan and a wagon, they could probably make people think they were cool.
- pa7ch 6y agoA cyber mini-van and a wagon is all I could ever want from Tesla.
- boatsie 6y agoThis is all completely orthogonal to the exterior styling and cladding. If you look at many of these electric vehicles, they have odd two-tone color schemes (eg i3), strange C pillars (Leaf, Prius, Bolt), and some twisted attempt by the designers to make them look “futuristic”.