[RahulNagaraj]

According to media reports, Porsche initially had plans to put a simulated gear shifter on its sporty electric vehicles. However, the company later dropped the idea, deeming it counter-intuitive.

Porsche does not see the need to adopt fake gear shifters on its performance EVs, similar to those found on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Lars Kern, Development Driver at Porsche, stated, "Obviously, we look into what the competition does, but our perspective on this is always why should we make something worse?"



He added that the carmaker doesn't see the point of making an EV feel like a combustion engine-powered vehicle because it simply isn't. Kern stated, "I mean because, in like just how it translates power or how power is applied? The electric engine is better than an ICE [internal combustion engine], so we figured there's no reason to simulate what has been in the past." He further added, "We don't want to fake the combustion engine because we still produce combustion engines, so we don't we don't see the point of doing it."

The development driver also confirmed that Porsche stopped exploring the fake shifter concept at its idea stage. Hence, it didn't build a prototype of its own simulated gear shifter. Kern even mentioned, "We drove the Hyundai [Ioniq 5] N, and had a look at it, and, obviously, there's always people who think that's a good idea and there's always people I think it's a bad idea."

He stated, "We don't try to make the electric car feel like a combustion engine, so that's why we just didn't follow up on that."

Source: Drive.au

Link to Team-BHP news

[d3mon]

Good on Porsche to keep it real, and not keep wanting to hang on to their ICE legacy. After all, it's not like they are slapping on fake Turbo badges on their electric cars, right?

[androdev]

To be fair, "turbo" has come to mean generic performance boost (CPUs, Air conditioners, etc.)

The really interesting thing is that companies like Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, etc. would be able to carry their massive brand cachet from ICE world to EV world even though lesser brands are able to very much meet or exceed their usual tom-tommed claims like horsepower, 0-100 times, etc. I think companies from China and S.Korea are not far from EU brands when it comes to tech capabilities. What remains to be conquered is the branding and positioning. They need to buy Hollywood as a starting point, lol!

[Cresterk]

Damn if only there was a way to press a button and have the car behave differently, whether like a conventional ev or like a car that has shift points. Maybe it could be called comfort and sport mode or something. Too bad such a thing doesn’t exist /s

[GTO]

I don't agree with Porsche on this one. The way Hyundai has designed it, it is F-U-N. And anyway, the experience is optional. If you don't like it, keep it switched off.

Sharing a video for the uninitiated. This would make an EV 5X as much fun to drive for me. The sound & shifts are very convincing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSIguemKIbQ

[PreludeSH]

People wanted automatics to be smooth as possible with gear changes to be non-perceptible. Now they want it back

This might be for current generation of drivers. Later generations, people might not realize what they are missing.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

People wanted automatics to be smooth as possible with gear changes to be non-perceptible. Now they want it back

This might be for current generation of drivers. Later generations, people might not realize what they are missing.

May be the two group of people; those who want smooth gear shifts and those who want the feel of a manual are two different set of people. I myself do not want an ICE automatic ever. Never drove it and never want it. This is because if at all I drive an ICE it will be for the fun part of it (I do not think I will ever buy an ICE car again).

Having said all this I too feel that having fake gear shifts is a backward move. Not just in terms of comfort but even "philosophically" --- If we want the so called mechanical connect, we should feel the realistic dynamics of the drive train and not a simulated dynamics.

On the other hand I see some use of the (optional) sound effect provided it is done well. Lack of audio inputs can be really disorienting at first. But again I think it is not some really important feature. One quickly gets used to the silence and now I find it a bit irritating siting inside an ICE car, unless I am in the front right seat of course and the transmission is a stick shift .

[Mitadru]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

People wanted automatics to be smooth as possible with gear changes to be non-perceptible. Now they want it back

This might be for current generation of drivers. Later generations, people might not realize what they are missing.

True. It's like people wanting their ICE engined cars in the 1920s to sound like horses, or people wanting that starter handle even on cars equipped with electronic ignition. That's why Henry Ford had said " If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said that they wanted a faster horse" . I agree that the the shifting of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has won the heart of many enthusiasts , but then again people buy an EV to get rid of those noises( I don't believe people buy EV's for environmental reasons). I also don't like the sticking of fake Turbo badges. It reminds me of those ubiquitous "Turbo" badges which used to be seen on every car including a Maruti 800 What designers can instead do is try to reduce road and wind noises in the cabin since that ICE engine is missing.

[Samarth 619]

I admit that electric cars don't actually need gearboxes and in this sense, Mr. Kern is right. However, this segment is about fun and user preference, so if you can offer a choice on something at least a few people like, then nothing like it.
In this sense, Mr. Kern's statement seems more like a purist pleasing statement, and in isolation, I sort of love what he said.

My idea is that, there should be a hyper-efficient gearbox offering a choice of say, 2-4 ratios on EVs (actual drive ratios, not fake/ simulated).
And they should be used such that you don't change gear while driving/ riding, but change it before a ride.

For example, you're commuting, choose a short ratio. Going on a tour? Choose a long ratio before the drive/ ride, but don't change it during the ride. It will be real and useful both.

My reasoning is, since you're including a false system which weighs and costs something anyways, why not just make a real one which people can experiment with, or leave it alone if they so prefer?

[alphahere]

I am also part of the group that thinks EVs do not need fake shift points. The need to change gears are a weakness of ICEs. They can't operate without shift points whereas EVs do not need them (at least the current breeds). It's all a relentless push to whatever speed you need to get to. Some Nissan CVTs had fake shift points as well and even paddle shifters from few years back. Why do CVT's need to shift at discrete points when they can continuously vary the ratio? I think it's all in the mind of consumers and the makers are trying win the hearts of consumers who may be resistant to changes.

I also think introducing fake shift points will dull the performance offered by powerful EVs. The power needs to be tapered to bring in the feel of shifting and this costs time. In real numbers it may look insignificant but from the feel factor it does make a big difference. Case in point I own a Volvo EX30 Twin Motor (438hp) that is solely focused on pushing the maximum output and minimize times. It does ~3.5s to 100kph. The single motor (272hp) which I test drove is also quick at ~5s to 100kph. A difference of 1.5s to 100kph seems small on paper. But the feel that is offered by the twin motor is nothing short of explosive, the single motor feels tame in comparison. And an EV is just so easy to use, no torque steer, no scrambling for grip, no slipping clutch, just pure unrelenting acceleration from the word get go. There are currently extremely few cars on the road that can keep up with the EX30 twin. This includes M's and AMG's with upwards of 500hp and it is quite easy to see that these do get bogged down during the shifts and the EV keeps accelerating during that time. Why say no to that?

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by Samarth 619

My idea is that, there should be a hyper-efficient gearbox offering a choice of say, 2-4 ratios on EVs (actual drive ratios, not fake/ simulated).
And they should be used such that you don't change gear while driving/ riding, but change it before a ride.

There is absolutely no need for this. The reason is simply the torque rpm characteristics of the electric motors. Even with the motor of a nexon (can spin at 16000 rpms with virtually no change in torque) you will reach supersonic speeds (yes you read that correctly) with 1:1 gear ratio. So EVs usually have a single speed under drive transmission and Porsche Taycan has 2 speed (both of them under drives).

There is no question of overdrive gears for EVs in any case.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't agree with Porsche on this one. The way Hyundai has designed it, it is F-U-N. And anyway, the experience is optional. If you don't like it, keep it switched off.

Sharing a video for the uninitiated. This would make an EV 5X as much fun to drive for me. The sound & shifts are very convincing.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=DSIguemKIbQ

That seems to be very well implemented and looks like a lot of fun. Do you think it is patented by Hyundai and Porsche is just making up excuses to prevent paying the patent fee while developing their own version?