Tag: cars

6 Common EV Myths and How to Debunk Them

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The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it, all manner of uncomfortable conversations with relatives who think they know a lot about a lot but are in fact just walking examples of Dunning-Kruger in action. Not going home is always an option—there’s no reason you should spend your free time with people you can’t stand, after all. But if you are headed home and are not looking forward to having to converse with your uncle or parent over heaped plates of turkey and potatoes, we put together some talking points to debunk their more nonsensical claims about electric vehicles.

Charging an EV Takes Too Long

The number one complaint from people with no experience driving or living with an electric car, cited as a reason for why they will never get an EV, is that it takes too long to recharge them. On the one hand, this attitude is understandable. For more than a century, humans have become accustomed to vehicles that can be refueled in minutes, using very energy-dense liquids that can be pumped into a fuel tank at a rate of up to 10 gallons per minute.

By contrast, batteries are not at all fast to recharge, particularly if you plug into an AC charger.

Even the fastest fast-charging EVs connected to a fast DC fast charger will still need 18 to 20 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent state of charge, and that, apparently, is more time than some curmudgeons are prepared to wait as they drive from coast to coast as fast as they possibly can.

The thing is, an EV is a paradigm shift compared to a gasoline-powered car. Yes, refueling for that gas car is quick, but it’s also inconvenient, particularly if you live somewhere where all the gas stations keep closing down.

Instead of weekly trips to the gas station—or perhaps more often in some cases—EV owners plug their cars in each night and wake up each morning with a full battery.

I Can’t Charge It at Home

The second-most common reason that people won’t buy an EV is actually a pretty good reason. If you cannot reliably charge your car at home or at work—and I mean reliably—you don’t really have any business buying a plug-in vehicle yet. Yes, you could just treat your nearest fast charger location like a gas station and drive there once or twice a week, but using fast chargers is very expensive compared to plugging in at home, and repeated fast charging is not particularly great for batteries. DC fast charging is for road trips, when you don’t have enough range in your car to get to your destination. But for most daily driving, that just isn’t the case.

But don’t worry, there are plenty of efficient parallel hybrids you can pick from that will serve your needs.

An EV Is Too Expensive

Unfortunately, the promised reduction in the cost of lithium-ion batteries to a point where an electric powertrain is at price parity with a gasoline powertrain has still not arrived. This means that EVs are still more expensive than their fossil-fueled equivalents. But gasoline cars don’t qualify for the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, and in their eagerness to sell EVs, many car manufacturers are offering incentives to customers who don’t qualify for the credit.

Beyond incentives, while it seems like every new EV that gets released costs $80,000 or more, that simply isn’t true. There are at least 11 different EV models to choose from for less than $40,000, and 17 that cost less than the average price of a new car in 2024 ($47,000).

What’s more, 75 percent of American car buyers buy used cars. Why should that be any different for EVs? In fact, used EVs can be a real bargain. They depreciate more than internal combustion engine vehicles thanks in part to the aforementioned tax credit, and there’s now a used EV tax credit of up to $4,000 for buyers who qualify. We’re even expecting quite a glut of EVs to arrive on the used market in a year or so as leases start to expire.

What Happens When It Rains or Snows or I Have to Evacuate a Hurricane?

The problem of inclement weather and EVs is another commonly heard talking point from naysayers and FUD-spreaders. First off, charging an EV in the rain or snow is no less safe than refueling a gas car in the rain. And while you will lose some range in very cold weather, guess what? So does every other car and truck on the road, it’s just that those drivers don’t keep track of that stuff very closely.

The potential need to evacuate an area due to extreme weather like a hurricane also causes plenty of concern among the EV-naive. And again, this is a misplaced concern. If there’s extreme weather on the way, make sure to charge your car fully beforehand, just like you’d make sure to fill up your gas tank. Yes, if the power fails, the chargers won’t work anymore, but neither will any of the gas station gas pumps, which also run on electricity. And as long as there’s electricity the chargers will still work—those gas stations will need regular deliveries of fresh gasoline to serve new customers.

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November 16, 2024
Watch autonomous cars do doughnuts and drift sideways round corners

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Driverless cars can now do doughnuts and drift like stunt drivers, skidding sideways around corners while maintaining control, which might help the cars recover from dangerous situations

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November 14, 2024
Kia EV3 Review: Price, Specs, Availability

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The brand’s latest small SUV with a big range confirms that both EV tech and design leadership now reside in South Korea.

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November 12, 2024
Alpine A290 Review: Price, Specs, Availability

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The idea of boosting the performance of otherwise normal cars has always had its appeal. Bootleggers in the American West would modify their pickup trucks in the 1930s prohibition era to outrun the police. The result was the birth of the hot rod.

Boosted saloons in the 80s were the result of racing homologation, which required manufacturers to produce a certain number of road car versions of their racers in order to compete. Hot hatches, too, were born from rally homologation, with tricked up versions of daily hatchbacks offering cheap thrills as well as practicality.

While American muscle cars will always be popular in their homeland, and German performance saloons continue to sell well, hot hatches have died out. The rise of SUVs, the lack of demand for smaller cars, and electrification are all key factors in this. But with the new A290, a modified version of the new Renault 5, Alpine is bringing it back, albeit in EV form.

The A290 is Alpine’s first new car in seven years, and the first model in its entirely new lineup of all-electric machines. It will be followed by the larger A390 crossover, and the new A110, an EV version of the French brand’s acclaimed low-slung sports car. The A290 is “the hot hatch of the electric age”, according to Alpine, and it’s easy to see the appeal. It’s built on Renault’s new AmpR Small platform, which it shares with the new Renault 5. It’s got 220 hp in GTS form, and weighs 1,479 kg. Its nearest rival, and another electric hot hatch, is the upcoming Mini Electric John Cooper Works. That’s got 254 hp, but it also weighs 1,670 kg, a significant 191 kg difference.

Ride Overhaul

This is felt in the way the A290 drives. While it shares the basic underpinnings with the Renault 5, including its thin battery that sits low underneath the car, Alpine has completely overhauled the suspension and braking system. The dampers have hydraulic bump stops, which help offer comfort as well as responsiveness, and the motor’s sub-frame has been created from scratch, too, made from aluminium to help keep the weight down. There are also front and rear anti-roll bars, developed by Alpine, while a multi-link rear axle offers further stability and precision.

This all combines for a smooth ride that is firm enough to feel sporty but not too harsh. It absorbs bumps well, and you get plenty of feedback through the steering wheel. In Sport mode the steering has pleasing resistance and feels surprisingly natural. The steering lightens in Comfort and Save mode, for easy cornering around town. When pushed there is of course understeer, being front-wheel drive, but lifting off mid corner allows the back end to move slightly, giving the car a playful character when under duress.

The Alpine’s 220 hp gives a good initial punch out of corners, but it fades away quickly and lacks a real surge of excitement. The 52 kWh battery is the same used on the top spec R5, but the sound is very different. For the A290 there is ‘Alpine Drive Sound’, which Alpine has developed with French audio brand Devialet. Essentially, it’s a whirring electrical noise that is said to be an enhanced version of the natural sound the electric motor makes. It’s not particularly inspiring, but does give good aural feedback, in the same way an engine does, letting you know where the grip is as you accelerate and decelerate.

When it comes to electric range, the Alpine has up to 236 miles with the 180 hp model, and 226 miles with the 220 hp motor. The Mini JCW offers slightly more with 251 miles.

Assertive Aesthetic

Design-wise, the A290 looks aggressive without being overly shouty, and is different enough from the Renault 5. The Renault is softer and leans more into its cult 80s aesthetic, but the A290’s wide body, flared arches and angled lines allude to its sporty credentials. The ‘X’ headlights reference classic rally cars, while the squat silhouette and faux side strakes give it a muscular appeal. It is bulkier than it could be, but in a world of cut-and-paste car design, it stands out.

Inside, the steering wheel feels suitably sporty. Its flat-bottomed design is said to be inspired by F1, as are the ‘RCH’ and ‘OV’ buttons, which can be found on Ocon’s and Gasly’s F1 car. The former is for adjusting the levels of brake regeneration. It is far more satisfying to use a twisty button than press a touchscreen. Simply click it left for one-stop increments of less regen, and right for more.

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November 7, 2024
Trump Won. What Will Happen to Electric Vehicles?

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Donald Trump picked up 15 electoral votes when he won Michigan on Election Day, another big win that helped to hand the Republican candidate his second presidential term. Both he and the Democratic nominee, US vice president Kamala Harris, spent a lot of time this fall campaigning in the critical swing state.

One consequence of this electoral quirk is that the candidates have said plenty about electric cars, and dropped lots of hints about how the electric revolution might fare during their administrations. Detroit is Michigan’s largest city, the center of the American auto industry, and the spiritual home of the American auto worker.

Now Trump—with the backing of at least a Republican US Senate—will retake control of the federal government, and it’s clear that his administration will take a different approach to electric vehicles than his predecessor, complicating the industry’s position as it attempts to electrify.

EVs aren’t going away. But their future is much murkier than it was yesterday.

What Trump Has Said

The president-elect has made conflicting statements about electric vehicles. During his nomination speech in July of this year, Trump pledged to “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” a reference to the Biden administration’s goal to convert half of all vehicle sales to EVs by 2030. The move would, Trump promised, save the US auto industry from “complete obliteration,” and slash US car prices by thousands of dollars. (EVs are by and large still more expensive than internal-combustion cars.) Trump has called federal spending on electric vehicles and their chargers a part of “the Green New scam,” a play on the US Congress’ bipartisan “Green New Deal” funding package. Earlier this year, he told a Michigan audience that the industry’s emphasis on electric vehicles would make it easier for China to take over the global auto industry.

But Tesla CEO Elon Musk has proved a reliable supporter, adviser, and moneyman for the president-elect. Trump, a transactional politician, seems prepared to repay him. “I’m for electric cars,” Trump said in August. “I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly.” Tesla’s share price soared by 13 percent Wednesday.

Then there are the positions of the conservative Heritage Foundation. The right-wing think tank’s Project 2025 transition plan has been disavowed by the Trump campaign, but it may still provide scaffolding for the administration’s policies. In a brief focused on the Department of Transportation, the organization criticized EV subsidies, including tax credits, and new fuel economy standards that attempt to reduce vehicle emissions over the next decade.

What Could Happen

It will likely prove difficult and time-consuming for Trump and his allies to undo four years of EV support. Because so many climate-related policies are enshrined in federal law, he will need help from Congress to nix them. Electric vehicle tax credits might be an easy first target. Republicans didn’t like those. But the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation’s stronger greenhouse gas emissions rules, finalized this year, have received support from the auto industry. Industry-friendly Republicans might not help Trump out there. Any funding for the factories that build electric vehicles and batteries that’s flowing into red states won’t easily be yanked.

The Trump administration will have control over funding from the Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act that has yet to be handed out. Targets there could include what remains of money that’s been promised for a nationwide electric vehicle charging network.

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November 6, 2024
Automakers Are Hot for Extended-Range EVs. They Hope Buyers Like Them Too

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EREVs have some manufacturing advantages, too, says Steven Ewing, who directs editorial content at Edmunds. Specifics on Scout production are scant, but at least the Ramcharger is using components and technology that Stellantis already puts in other cars. “You’re not introducing this giant new propulsion system,” Ewing says. On the EREV (and PHEV) con side: It’s always going to be expensive to put two powertrains into one vehicle.

An Emissions Win?

Some climate advocates, who hope the world transitions quickly to battery electric vehicles to stave off the worst of climate change, say EREVs could be part of a cleaner transportation system, even if the design still uses gasoline.

“The future is fully electric,” says Kathy Harris, who directs the clean vehicles policy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. “But many drivers are worried about going fully electric. While the country continues to build out a robust charging network, EREVs can be a good choice for some of them.”

EREVs might prove less emissions-intensive than their PHEV cousins because drivers cannot simply choose to skip charging and drive on gasoline alone, a phenomenon that some researchers worry is degrading the real-life emissions output of many plug-ins.

Other researchers are less convinced by automakers’ “bridge technology” arguments but say EREVs might be helpful anyway. EREVs are showing up on heavy vehicles like trucks and SUVs because those need more battery power to move, especially when they’re hauling or towing. The tech might obviate the complaints of, say, some Ford F-150 Lightning owners, who say they want to use their all-electric trucks to do work and charge tools but can’t get enough done on one charge. Full battery electric might never be a fit for every person.

“For those drivers who live in rural areas or who have driving patterns where they go long distances every day, a range extender with a very efficient generator may be a great technology,” says Gil Tal, who directs the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. “I think that will be the way we get to 100 percent electric.”

Older Tech, New Interest

Technically, the Chevrolet Volt, which in 2010 represented General Motors’ first modern foray into EV tech, was an EREV, though it was marketed as a PHEV. Jaguar intended a 2010 concept car, the C-X75, to go into limited production in 2013 but canceled the project amidt the Great Recession. (A C-X75 appeared in the James Bond film Spectre, and a design firm turned out a gas-powered conversion, but otherwise the car never saw the light of day). A few years later, the BMW i3 EV came with a range-extender option, with a very small generator giving drivers a few extra miles to get to a charger, stat. But that choice didn’t prove popular with buyers, according to Edmunds data.

The EREV story began to change in China. The Chinese automaker Li Auto was a global outlier in 2019 when it unveiled its first model, the Li One, a range-extended SUV. That year, EREVs accounted for 1 percent of all PHEV sales, according to the research firm BloombergNEF. But by 2023, Li Auto had led EREVs to a 28 percent share of PHEV sales—accounting for 9 percent of all electric vehicle sales in China. That’s not a huge share, but the tech has “been transformative in a pretty short amount of time,” says Corey Cantor, an analyst with BloombergNEF who covers electric vehicles. The world might be learning from that experience.

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November 3, 2024
Model Y Is Getting a Mutt Makeover, Joining the List of Cars Designed for—and by—Dogs

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“No Model Y ‘refresh’ is coming out this year,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this year. “I should note that Tesla continuously improves its cars, so even a car that is six months newer will be a little better.”

Aside from the constant software updates, expect a substantially updated Model Y to land in Q1 of 2025. Efficiency and performance will be enhanced, and new damping will improve the ride. Inside, more of the primary controls will be moved to the touchscreen—including the gear selector—360-degree acoustic glass will be introduced, and rear passengers will gain entertainment screens for streaming content, gaming, and climate control.

All of which will be dissected and debated in that manic manner peculiar to Tesla adherents. Not everyone, however, who ends up in a Model Y has a voice. Point of fact, some of them can’t even speak. Yet they’ve exerted a powerful influence on the car’s design, and concerns for their well-being have reportedly contributed to the delay in the car’s rollout.

The Tesla Model Y is being redesigned with a bigger third row, making it more dog-friendly and thus potentially more popular in China.

Photograph: Courtesy of Tesla

Yep, apparently the car’s “cramped third row” is being redesigned to make it more dog-friendly and thus potentially more popular in China, where domestic rivals have roomier interiors. This is an unusual admission and one that raises a question: How many carmakers actively consider canine needs when developing new models?

Pooch Purchasing Power

“Our approach is to be function-agnostic. We try to make a great car that people will then find uses for,” says Andrew Wheel, director of production design and quality at Jaguar Land Rover. “We’ve always been cognizant of the fact that versatility and flexibility are key USPs.”

There isn’t a single carmaker that’s not fixated by its products’ “lifestyle” attributes. Some of this is marketing flimflam, of course, but plenty of us number dogs among the family unit, and the bigger breeds definitely crave space.

On which basis, there have been some interesting innovations. Tesla offers a “dog mode” that allows owners to maintain a comfortable cabin temperature while owners leave their vehicles. That’s monitored via a mobile app and a live camera feed, while passers-by are mollified by the cabin temperature shown on the car’s main display screen alongside an explanatory graphic. Note that the electric windows won’t work in dog mode, to avoid accidental pressing of the buttons, though that’s taking the idea of canine sentience a bit far.

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November 2, 2024
How a ride in a friendly Waymo saw me fall for robotaxis

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Waymo self driving taxi driving in downtown San Francisco

Shutterstock/Iv-olga

I took my first ride in a Waymo robotaxi last month, and now I’m obsessed. I have taken five autonomous car rides since, and even convinced two reluctant friends to do it too. Here’s how I went from a hater to a cautious friend of robot cars in five weeks.

Waymo’s parent company Alphabet – which also owns Google – recently launched a pilot programme in San Francisco. When I was ready to hail one, I simply downloaded an app that closely resembles a rideshare app and pushed the call button. Within minutes, a white Jaguar…

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October 30, 2024
Renault 5 EV Review: Specs, Price, Availability

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Credit where it’s due, former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn—the man who was later smuggled out of Japan in a double bass case—was quick to identify electrification as the key paradigm shift in the 21st-century car industry. Cue the cute Renault Zoe, forward-thinking in terms of design and propulsion, but perhaps too aloof to capture hearts and minds.

The new Renault 5 EV is unashamedly nostalgic in look, mining a design trend that’s been around so long that retro is almost retro. Yet when you see it in the flesh for the first time resistance is futile. Here, surely, is the electric car that will demolish any lingering preconceptions, a surprisingly sophisticated conduit for all-round feel-good vibes that’s packed with big-car tech.

Current Renault boss Luca de Meo is certainly bullish. “Some products are magical,” he notes. “You don’t have to hold endless discussions, everybody is always in agreement on what needs to be done. And they do it. There’s no inertia.”

Courtesy of Renault

As one of the masterminds of the noughties Fiat 500 revival, De Meo has solid instincts on this stuff. Even if you’d never driven one, you knew what the classic Cinquecento stood for. The same applies to the Renault 5: It arrived into an early ’70s world in which the Middle East was in convulsions, energy was suddenly scarce, and conspicuous consumption was unfashionable. Context matters, and this one has a distressingly familiar feel.

Design Winks

The new R5 aims to brighten your day via its candy colors, and an exterior and interior design that prompts an expertly executed Proustian rush. The silhouette might be familiar, but the new car has fuller proportions and imaginative postmodern touches galore.

There’s a cheeky little four-corner graphic in the headlights that “winks” as you approach. The fog-lights below mimic that motif, while the vertical taillights are another echo of the original. They’re now designed for a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that would have boggled the minds of Renault’s engineers back in the day.

The chunky wheel arches call to mind the mid-engined R5 rally car, and the new car’s roof can be had in a variety of treatments. It’s a five-door car but the rear door handles are cleverly hidden away. And the old car’s hood vent reappears here as a state-of-charge indicator. Each strip represents 20 percent of the available energy.

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October 26, 2024
Bentley Continental GT Speed Hybrid 2025 Review: Prices, Specs, Availability

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Somehow the idea of the grand tour prevails. Its roots may lie in the aristocratic 17^th and 18^th century campaign for self-improvement, but we know it better as a two-letter abbreviation affixed to the rump of an elegant car: Gran Turismo. Ettore Bugatti dismissed his great rival Bentley’s early efforts as fast lorries, but the name is synonymous with a lavish and borderline hedonistic attitude to life.

Since its arrival in 2003, the Continental GT has set the bewinged nameplate on a lucrative new trajectory. With almost 100,000 cars sold, the stakes are high. So this latest incarnation doesn’t mess too much with the post-modern aesthetic. As per Ettore’s waspish observation, a century on from Bentley’s Le Mans 24 hours-winning behemoth, the Continental coupe and convertible retain a certain heft.

It was actually 1952’s R-Type Continental that provided the design inspiration, and this fourth-generation car maintains the strident grille, elongated bonnet, and the flamboyant sweep of the rear fenders. A strong sense of opulence is underpinned by a steely commitment to high performance.

The proportions remain intact, but some of the details have been changed. The headlights now feature a questionable horizontal “eyebrow”, with a dazzling crystal cut diamond effect on the top, and matrix lamps that incorporate 120 separate LED elements. Crystal and diamond in one set of headlights is no mean feat.

At the rear, the bumper, tail-lights, trunk lid and exhaust pipes have all been redesigned. The trunk lid is also more aerodynamic in form to obviate the need for a spoiler while still delivering the appropriate levels of downforce. A form as voluptuous as this needs big wheels to do its best work—and the Continental GT Speed gets new 22-inch rims with a “turbine” effect. It’s all very dashing.

Hybrid, With EV Mode

Photograph: Bentley Motors

But the real juice here is in how Bentley has amplified the technology story. Out goes the stentorian old combustion W12, in comes an all-new powertrain—an “Ultra Performance Hybrid” in Bentley parlance.

It combines a 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 that’s good for 584 bhp with an electric motor that adds a further 187 bhp. That means a peak system output of 771 bhp, 738 lb ft of torque, and enough wallop to deliver a top speed of 208 mph (335km/h) and a 0-60 time of 3.1 seconds. These are heady numbers for a car that was always heavy, but now weighs an athletic human under 2.5 tonnes. Sheesh.

Incidentally, this also makes the Continental GT Speed the most powerful production car in Bentley’s long history.

Happily, the new car is more nuanced in how it deploys its firepower. It really does have a magnificent and carefully engineered bandwidth. While Bentley prepares an all-new pure-electric car—that’s due in 2026—the hybrid takes on a greater significance than was initially forecast. “The plug-in hybrid was viewed as a transitional vehicle,” Bentley says, “but is playing a bigger role now because of changing consumer habits.”

To paraphrase, high-net-worth individuals with multi-car garages aren’t especially enamoured of high-end EVs, regardless of how extreme their performance might be. Ferrari’s long-awaited BEV lands in 2025; perhaps that’ll be the one that finally moves the needle.

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October 1, 2024