I don't want your electric car.
I don't want your e-initiative i-mobile green-tech tron-car.
I want one of your actual cars, just electric.
I don't want an ID.4 - I just want a Passat. I don't want the polestar e-initiative i-concept - I just want a V90 wagon. I don't want a future space truck, I just want a Silverado - but electric.
God. Dammit.
The biggest two factors are that the battery is large and heavy, but is flexible in the shape it assumes. For good handling, you'd like to have this weight as low on the car as possible, and close to the center. The almost universally accepted solution is the skateboard design, where the batteries sit under the passengers, spread out over a large area.
The electric motors are also small and you can do away with a lot of systems like the transmission, exhaust, starter motor, alternator, gas tank, various pumps, pollution controls, etc. This means much less need for under hood space.
Once you take these factors into account, the designs of various EVs make a lot of sense.
People don't want some dorky looking electric car like Volkswagen's or BMW's. They want a normal car that's electric.
Since the current EV market is still very small, manufacturers target the most popular body style to maximize their sales. That is currently an SUV/CUV in the US and in many markets. It is to be hoped that, once the EV market gets large enough, there will be room for different body styles such as sedans or smaller hatches. Personally, I would prefer something closer to the ID.3 but that is not something I expect to see in the US any time soon.
Tesla might as well come out with a minivan and a wagon, they could probably make people think they were cool.
To make space for the battery they had to use up a chunk of the bootspace. Additionally the massive extra weight means the eGolf handles rather differently (particularly cornering) from a regular Golf.
An ePassat would maybe look like a normal Passat but it wouldn't be as practical, it would have barely any range and wouldn't drive like one.
Much more aerodynamic, lighter, different frames for lower centre of gravity, different controls, dashboards, etc. (I am not a car designer). So a car designed from scratch will complete these much better than a simple conversion.
I would classify the Chevy Bolt (which we own) as the latter .
Now, for the e-initiative, it's an e-initiative all right. A $86 billion over 5 years e-initiative (https://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-strategy-idUSKBN2...) :-)
ID.4 is based on an entirely new VW platform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MEB_platform) which is already used for 6 models and it will probably be used by 60+ in 2 years' time.
It's practically VW's future. They're betting the farm on it.
I think that if there is any real difference, it's really minute and not worth arguing about...
Not saying the i3 is the ideal electric vehicle, but I strongly believe a full-electric vehicle designed as one from the ground up will be better than a electric retrofit.
VW did that for a while; the eGolf. The (rather similar-looking, in fairness) id.3 that replaced it seems to be doing a lot better.
Also weirdly Polestar is also falling into this EV design pitfall. They release a petrol car and it's gorgeous. Then they release an EV and it's misproportioned and ugly.
But they have a different problem - they are now making some "trendy" design changes that are screwing all their models equally. No physical buttons, virtual cockpit, "futuristic" styling of the dashboard that makes it look like a glossy fridge door, the replacement of B&O with Sonos, etc.
The most hilarious is that this van still has the fuel-tank hatch. Complete with springs, locks, rubber etc. Just that there's no hole to put fuel in, when you open it.
Probably one of the most literal interpretations of 'I want my Foo to be electric. Give me an eFoo'.
I presume this tank-hatch is there because changing the factory lines that deliver the plate work, is too costly.
This is a curse of the classic auto manufacturers. Look at the pricing discussed for the all-electric Ford F-150. Somewhere around US$100K. Where the gas car makers have come out with electric cars in a gas car product line, they've usually had about twice the base price.
Electric power is priced as a super-premium trim level. "More car per car".
This provides a huge opening for Chinese automakers, who don't seem to have that hangup. It ought to provide an opening for Toyota, if they ever get off their hydrogen fixation.
It's like the designers got free rein, and they didn't know how people actually interact with their car.
"But it looks cool!" That's the sizzle, where's the steak?