RonDawg wrote:Most electrics tend to run out of "oomph" at highway speeds anyway; you notice this when trying to pass a car doing 55 or so MPH when the speed limit is higher. Teslas are the significant exception to that, but you pay for it.
Most of the perceived power of an EV is down low due to a relatively high torque rating combined with a very flat torque curve. I've always told people that while the car does 0-30 very well, by the time it gets to about 60 it's mostly run out of breath.
Comparing my former Leaf to my current eGolf, while the Leaf was definitely easier to get in and out of, it definitely doesn't handle as well as the VW, and feels much more appliance-like. My 2012 with its greater use of aluminum definitely had a "tinny" feel to it when closing the doors.
Yeah, test driving both a 2011 LEAF and a 2017? e-Golf, there's no doubt which one I prefer from a ride/handling perspective, and the LEAF sort of elicited a shrug from me. It would be fine for no thought tooling back and forth to work, but engaging to drive it wasn't. But then I've always preferred more performance-oriented driving dynamics, and I expected the VW to be better in that area - German cars usually are compared to the typical Japanese car, even ignoring hotted-up variants like the GTI/R (there are exceptions, of course - Mazda and nowadays to a lesser extent Honda tend to emphasize performance and 'feel' across the line more than Toyota or Nissan). Surprisingly to me, the e-Golf's initial accel also felt kind of weak - it wasn't bad, but compared to a Bolt or a Spark it was unexceptional. If that meant that VW was using a taller gear ratio so it didn't feel breathless at passing speeds, that would be fine with me.
RonDawg wrote:I think Inside EV's is taking the CR report a bit harshly when they say they're "not impressed." The quote (from CR itself) says the issues they bring up are mostly minor. I think they're looking at it from a "value for money" standpoint and the pricing of the SL trim level they tested makes it uncompetitive with the Bolt even if there is more included features with the Leaf. That's probably why they're advising to wait for the larger battery to come out.
Agreed. Of course, for those of us who care about performance, a
real 60kWh Nismo LEAF, not just the badging exercise the upcoming Nismo LEAF seems to be, would be just the ticket.