[RahulNagaraj]

In a recent interview, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, stated how the quick overtaking ability of EVs, mainly due to their blistering acceleration, is a safety feature.

Defending his statement, Tavares mentioned a situation where this would be useful. He stated, "I am living on a farm in the deep countryside of Portugal, and I often drive on the small roads around here. The acceleration power is first a matter of safety. It is first a matter of overtaking in safe conditions, making sure that you can change lanes, you can overtake a truck on a two-lane road. So, it is not necessarily about speed. It's about acceleration power to overtake in safe conditions, and we are very happy that the electric vehicles carry that kind of capability."



Coming back to EVs and their acceleration, Tavares stated, "And there is nothing more difficult than starting to overtake a truck and then having to jump on the brakes because you just discovered that the acceleration of the car you’re driving is not good enough to overtake in safe conditions. So, you jump back on the brakes, and you go back behind the truck. The acceleration capability for us is first a safety measure. The more acceleration you have, the safer the conditions under which you overtake can be, and from that perspective, the BEV technology is great as we all know.”

The statement comes following the unveiling of Stellantis' all-new STLA Large platform. The new EV platform can accommodate dual-motors, all-wheel-drive powertrain, which will be able to achieve a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of just 2 seconds.

Source: TopGear

Link to Team-BHP news

[PearlJam]

He's making a virtue out of a general characteristic, isn't he?!

It's like saying, the roof, door, and windshield are safety features.

[anshumandun]

I actually agree with this. My daily commute is a humble Tiago EV but the overtaking decision of "go for it or no" has become a lot easier because of the instant torque. I assume that the brain needs to work less when it knows how quickly the overtake can happen.

With a lethargic engine, you need to abort overtakes frequently which takes a toll on your overall patience level and chances of making an impatient mistake increases.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

In a recent interview, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, stated how the quick overtaking ability of EVs, mainly due to their blistering acceleration, is a safety feature.

I agree with the above statement, the quick acceleration of an EV helps in safer overtakes especially on undivided highways.
I have had instances where I was able to safely and quickly overtake vehicles which would not be possible in a ICE car. Also the lack of any gearshifts makes it much smoother.

[Quicksilver85]

On a separate note unrelated to this post, the SUV looks damn nice I wish this to be future design direction of Jeeps being a proud owner of one.

[ssateesh]

Clever marketing for sure with a known feature in ICE which is basically better BHP/Torque figures

[GeeTee TSI]

It does seem that EVs (even the average joe EV) has acceleration rivalling ICE cars 2 segments above. I would rather call it democratisation of performance

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

He's making a virtue out of a general characteristic, isn't he?!

What you call general characteristic is the strongest point of EVs. My monthly running is only 500 kms. And yet I am buying an EV soon. Not for environment, not for economy. Just for acceleration.

My worst nightmare is driving an under-powered car in traffic where you can't shoot forward to overtake when the window of opportunity opens up and closes in the blink of an eye. I see people only talking about top speeds or cruising speeds of 140-150. To me acceleration is much much more important than top speed as that is more usable in traffic than top speed. Even an under-powered hatch will reach 140. It's a different matter that it takes minutes instead of seconds to get there. The frustration will drive me nuts. I am a big sucker for acceleration. In a toss-up between a car with only 120 kph top speed but with blistering acceleration vs. a car with 200 kph top speed with a crawling acceleration, I will take the former any and every time.

Originally Posted by anshumandun

I actually agree with this. My daily commute is a humble Tiago EV but the overtaking decision of "go for it or no" has become a lot easier because of the instant torque. I assume that the brain needs to work less when it knows how quickly the overtake can happen.

With a lethargic engine, you need to abort overtakes frequently which takes a toll on your overall patience level and chances of making an impatient mistake increases.

Exactly. My daily drive is Scorpio AT and the other car is 2005 Accord V6 3.0 AT(torque converter). Probably the best kept Accord V6 in my whole state. I am horribly spoilt by its acceleration. I will have to spend a princely sum to get a petrol/diesel car rivalling this one. Don't even ask me how I feel jumping into Scorpio, after a drive in my Accord. Hence, I am exploring EVs to replace my Scorpio.

And, I fully agree with you on patience levels. I see loaded commercial vehicles not slowing down at intersections because these vehicles take forever to get back to cruising speeds of 80-90. Their drivers take chances and don't brake until last moment because they don't want to lose speed and work their way back up through the gears to get up to speed. Hence the high-rate of accidents among commercial vehicles.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by ssateesh

Clever marketing for sure with a known feature in ICE which is basically better BHP/Torque figures

Speaking in the Indian context, I would say it is not a prominent feature of most mass market cars. Unless you have a good turbo petrol engine, whose boost kicks in at a low rpm, you wont be able to overtake effortlessly with confidence. With EVs it is a different proposition for obvious reasons. And above all else, personal driving ability and confidence matters.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Everything comes with it's negative and positives.

It is easier to make the overtaking decision in certain cases, but also difficult in certain cases.
The kind of overtakes I undertake and encounter daily on the highway will also make certain overtakes in a EV more dangerous and more time consuming.

We do not always overtake a lone vehicle in India. We overtake a vehicle to find another one ahead. This involves overtaking and then slowing down.

If I overtake with a sudden acceleration, my car should also be able to handle sudden deceleration. It's tyres and it's brakes should supercede its ICE counterparts, which is missing in the Indian scenario.

[electric_eel]

I have primarily switched to sports mode in my Nexon EV Max for this uncompromising acceleration alone. People who know me (my driving rather) are often surprised in seeing me use sports mode and then drive slow (defensively is what I like to call it). However when there are a lot of EVs on the road, I think this can become a serious problem particularly with the discipline (lack of it) of the average Indian driver.

[arunphilip]

He's definitely got a point, that quick overtakes become easier with EVs.

But I'm not worried about the nuts and the bolts, the wires and electrons that make up a car.

No, my concern is the meatbag that drives the car.

Make it idiot-proof, and someone will make a better idiot.

The Dunning-Kruger effect will come into play, and people will still end up misjudging an overtake, or attempting one when it is not prudent or possible to do so.

And as pointed out above, it's the whole package - man and machine - that needs to be capable of handling a faster overtake, and faster linear acceleration is just one facet of that.

[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Everything comes with it's negative and positives.

It is easier to make the overtaking decision in certain cases, but also difficult in certain cases.
The kind of overtakes I undertake and encounter daily on the highway will also make certain overtakes in a EV more dangerous and more time consuming.

We do not always overtake a lone vehicle in India. We overtake a vehicle to find another one ahead. This involves overtaking and then slowing down.

If I overtake with a sudden acceleration, my car should also be able to handle sudden deceleration. It's tyres and it's brakes should supercede its ICE counterparts, which is missing in the Indian scenario.

If you drive with a high level of Regen then braking is better and automatically slows down between overtaking maneuvers when you take your foot off the accelerator.

I do this on the highway and definitely find it safer. In my rare drives on the highway in an ICE, I find it more dangerous and cumbersome overtaking cars due to lower power.

I suspect most mid size EV owners who drive on the highway will prefer EVs to ICEs.

If you haven't tried it yet, please do try using sports mode with regen 3 on the highway. It is a wonderful combination. Not for better range but for your safety and driving experience.

[RD410]

Well in the same way, quick deceleration of EV's due to regen braking can be considered a safety hazard for vehicles behind. Most EV's slow down much quicker without any indication (brake lamp not illuminating since the driver has not pressed the brake pedal). The danger is more in city limits where EV drivers depend a lot more on regen braking. After a few heart in the mouth situaitions, I am now really cautious while following an EV from behind. You never know when the would suddenly slow down.

[Divya Sharan]

Fun for EV drivers, not so fun for others.
When an EV suddenly accelerates behind me, they're parallel to me often trying to attempt a nasty overtake in tight spots, all within a second or two! They were in my RVM only a second ago. And EVs are driven very harsh. So, quite a few complaints there.

Same for in city regen braking. Brake lights do not light up.

Therefore, for me - both acceleration and deceleration are safety hazards for the public because people inside EVs seem to want to greet their makers in a hurry!