It's 1.5L with no turbo that's 10 years old (toyota yaris hatchback). I can floor it, it revs noticably, but it's so underpowered that I have zero chance of losing control because while it sounds like it's working hard, there's barely anything behind it.
I get that EVs are the future. They make more sense. But a small childish part of me will miss the "experience" of hammering under-powered petrol engines.
It's my lame safe way of having a little bit of fun. Certainly quieter than all the trucks on the road, and slower than a lot of the SUVs.
People often complain about electric (particularly motorcycles) not being “loud enough”. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t noise, or that there’s not anything to be in tune with.
This isn’t a problem yet because these cars are still a few years out from being affordable by those drivers and they are still in good shape.
Remember what happened to those kids in the 90s that drove souped up M3s or Nissan Skylines?
> But a small childish part of me will miss the "experience" of hammering under-powered petrol engines.
Well they are small, light, and pack about 105hp into a modern efficient engine developed by one of the great auto engineering staffs in history. Why not have a little fun with it?
Many ICE cars already artificially pump in the sound of an older, nosier engine when you put them into sports mode.
My 4 cylinder diesel GTD sounds like a V8 when I floor it (unless I have the windows open of course. In which case I can actually hear the engine and like all diesels it just sounds like a tractor).
You'd just need to add some kind of engine response curve to the EV throttle[1] to simulate hitting the correct rev band/gear change.
1. Even that word is a retro throwback in an EV, as is "driver" when you really think about its etymology.
Really wish we could have gotten a decent GT version in the US. But Toyota is what Toyota is.
The Yarris with its little go-kart wheels handled it like a champ, even if I'd bottom out almost every single time. Even climbed up it fine provided you kept it above 25km/h all the way :) Took to a mechanic later and he said the suspension and undercarriage were fine.