To EV or not to EV?, that is the question
Oxford, UK 2015
Carla is our buyer for this challenge, she has recently got a new job and it includes the option of a brand new company car. this means she can finally retire her 1998 Courageux Pixie which has been pretty much on it’s last legs.
Here is a quick rendition of the car, and also the stats that she has been living with for the last three years.
Now for the new car, the company has a wide range of choices, from petrol cars, hybrid and full ev’s. Carla really has her heart set on an ev, her thinking being if i’m going to get a new car then why not something really quite different to the old shitter she already has. She also likes the idea of driving something a lot cleaner for environment than she currently has.
Carla’s best friend Sarah however has been trying to convince her that maybe it’s too early for going from an ice car to a battery vehicle in one jump.
This is where you come in, the challenge here is to try and build something that can compete the best with the ev driving experince. and will be the one car Sarah will use to convince Carla.
Priorities
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Drivability, the main fight really. This is more than just the stat, you are attempting to compete with shiftless no gear driving, one pedal or regenerative braking,
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Fuel economy, one of Carla’s benefits to getting an ev is the lack of emissions. Making a petrol car that uses the least fuel while also having low emissions can certainly help sway things. Another benefit of good fuel economy means the car can go much further, something that a 2015 ev is definitely fighting against.
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Comfort, why have a new car if it’s like driving on a park bench? The Pixie is basically terrible so you’d be hard pressed to be worse.
Exhaust noise, engine smoothness and gearbox choice will roll into here too as they all play a part in ev similarities. -
“Realism” try not to be too silly to gain certain stats. i’m aware hybrids and ev’s can’t be made in the game so this is a fun little experiment to see what can be done to get a similar driving experience.
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Safety, modern cars mean modern five star crash results. Don’t skimp out.
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Reliability, again new cars should just be reliable it should go without saying.
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Design, some semblance of design coherence would be nice. If the car could somehow give off the look of “green-ness” that would be great too. Looking like a 7 litre v8 muscle car won’t really fly.
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Environmental resistance, Carla’s old car is at leat 50% rust, she doesn’t want to have a new car with this problem.
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Purchase and service costs. These are one star because the company is paying for the car so the actual budget isn’t life or death but as ever if two identical cars have different prices the cheaper will do better. Service is slightly more important as it shouldn’t be completely stupid.
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Practicality and utility, Carla is mainly using the car to travel to work and then leisrue activities for herself. The ability to take friends out shouldn’t be passed upon however.
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Performance, the target here is to be the same or slightly better than the ev choices listed below. The car doesn’t need to be fast as it will mainly be driven either in the city or on 60mph A-roads. Bear in mind however ev’s have a lot of torque available instantly so a gutless engine will stand out in a road test.
Things like a sporty suspension tune and performance brakes matter much less than in gear acceleration times and overall braking distance.
Techpool
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Techpool limit is a combined $50m
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Minimum of +2 on everything, including turbo even if you are naturally aspirated.
Rules
- Trim and Variant years set to 2015.
- WES11 emissions and 95ron premium unleaded fuel.
- No “race” anything in any part of the car.
- Minimum of 4 full seats, 2 front and 2 back. Can be more if you think it will help stats and/or realism.
- No legacy body mods or open wheel mods. Would someone have a Caterham as a company car?
- Radial tyres only
- $19,000 max price
The EV choices.
Nissan Leaf
80KW, 280NM, front mounted motor,11.3 0-100km/h
BMW i3
125KW, 250NM, rear mounted motor, 7.2 0-100km/h
Renault Zoe R240
68KW, 220NM, front mounted motor, 13.2 0-100km/h
Smart ForFour electric drive
60KW, 160NM, rear mounted motor, 12.7 0-100km/h
Kia soul ev
81KW, 285NM, front mounted motor, 11.5 0-100km/h
VW e-Golf
85KW, 270NM, front mounted motor, 10.4 0-100km/h
Petrol/hybrid inspirations.
Submissions
- Naming: Family and Model named TEV - “forum username”
- Rules discussion until 1200 7 July 2024
- Submissions open 1201 7 July 2024
- Submission close 1200 4 August 2024
Changelog
- Changed the inspirations to more accurately apply to the size and style of car wanted.
- added power, torque and performance of ev’s.
- Upped the price limit from $17,000 to $19,000 to discourage shitboxes
- Added to comfort and performance notes in priorities
- Added minimum techpool rule
