Who can remember that famous episode in Father Ted where they recreate the scenes from the film ‘Speed’ on an electric milk float? As funny as the episode was, it’s not nearly as funny as the notion that EVs are slow!

As untrue as the notion is, it’s still something that is widely believed. But as anyone who owns or has driven an EV knows, that effortless acceleration really packs a punch! The sensation is completely different from a combustion engine. Let’s look at some of the reasons why this misconception is completely wrong!

Electric Motors

An electric motor is a far simpler piece of engineering than a combustion engine. You’re not relying on thousands of tiny explosions to drive pistons. Instead, an electric motor applies torque that in turn rotates the wheels.

No Gears

Many people ask if electric cars are automatic. This is another aspect of EVs that some people struggle to get their heads around. With a very small number of exceptions such as the Porsche Taycan, EVs only have one gear. The motor spins, and the faster you go, the more the motor spins.

It is this point that leads us on to the reason that EVs simply aren’t slow. In a typical combustion engine, you have your peak power, let’s say 100hp. But that is only available when the engine is within its optimum power band. That’s why if you want to overtake someone on a National Road, you will have to drop back a gear or two to get the engine revs up. Even in an automatic, there is that initial delay as the car finds the right gear…and then moves you forward. Of course, some extremely expensive, high-end performance cars come close to closing the gap. But for the vast majority of EVs, they’re streets ahead in terms of responsiveness. In an EV, you always have maximum power available. You get 100% of the torque and power available 100% of the time.

Effortless Acceleration

For highly trained racing drivers, and even for many track enthusiasts, the intricacies of gear changes and clutch control are integral to the experience. But the vast majority of us don’t sweat over RPM too much. We like to know that there’s a bit of power there when you need it, but that’s about it.

The electric motor gives a smoother drive than any comparable combustion car, and yet you have all the power there for when you need it. You don’t have to find the right gear before you overtake on a country road. You don’t have to build up the revs while waiting to merge lanes on the M50. All it takes is a simple press on the accelerator. This effortless acceleration and introduction of power is what EV drivers love. Most would tell you that it’s hard to go back once you get used to it!

So let’s take a look at some examples, and draw some comparisons to some of Ireland’s most popular combustion cars.

The Oldie – The Nissan LEAF 30kWh

The Nissan LEAF has been around for a decade now. It went through a refresh around 2018, but let’s even go back a little farther to the earlier models. They had an 80kW motor which put out 108hp and 187lb-ft torque. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, and it’s not really. But it could do 0-100kmh in 11.5 seconds, which was plenty of power to keep up with, and even beat, a lot of similarly sized combustion cars with engines around 1.8 litres. The 62kWh LEAF that is on the market today has double the power of the original, with about 216hp!

MG5

Let’s take another example of what is possibly the best-value EV on the Irish market. The MG5 estate has plenty of space in the back and some impressive range. But it is also surprisingly quick off the line. It has 156hp, 260Nm torque and will do the 0-100kmh sprint in seven and a half seconds. And it’s not just the speed, but the sensation, as the car accelerates with no jerking from gear changes or noise from a roaring engine! And just to give you some perspective, that’s more than a second faster than the higher-end 2.0 TDI Skoda Octavia.

Model 3 Long Range

The Model 3 Performance is an absolute beast of a car. It’s got two motors, one at the back and one at the front. For those that care, it’ll do the quarter mile in just over 11 seconds. It’ll take off from the line faster than all but the most expensive supercars. But even the modest entry-level Model 3 has about 325hp on tap and will do the 0-100kmh sprint in 6.1 seconds. For some, the sweet spot is the Model 3 Long Range. It has a bit more range than the performance but has a good bit more power than the entry-level. It has about 460hp and will do the 0-100kmh sprint in 4.4 seconds! Wow!

Model S Plaid

Now let’s indulge ourselves and look at the Tesla Model S Plaid. The Model S was always fast, but when they released the Plaid in 2021, things changed. Horsepower took a leap just above 1,000. It can do the 0-100kmh sprint in 2.1 seconds. That is faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo, Bugatti Veyron, and every one of those supercars you can think of!

Rimac Nevera

Although not in customers' hands yet, the Rimac Nevera is likely to be slightly faster than the Model S Plaid. It will do the Quarter mile in 8.5 seconds, and possibly less with a little bit of performance enhancement! With 2,000 horsepower, it is hard to comprehend just how powerful this car is!

Summary

So you can see how quick EVs really are. It is easy to give statistics on speed and acceleration. However, what sells most people on an EV is the sensation, and there is no better way than to take a car out for a test drive.

View all New Electric Vehicles | View all Used Electric Vehicles