(One off challenge) To EV or not to EV?, that is the question

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

:star::star::star:

  • 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,

  • 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.

  • 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.

:star::star:

  • Safety, modern cars mean modern five star crash results. Don’t skimp out.

  • Reliability, again new cars should just be reliable it should go without saying.

  • 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.

:star:

  • Environmental resistance, Carla’s old car is at leat 50% rust, she doesn’t want to have a new car with this problem.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Techpool limit is a combined $50m

  • 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

And why not an ai generated ev driving in oxford

14 Likes

I’m not sure if Carla has a preference for an (advanced) automatic over a manual, but it’s likely that, for drivability’s sake, she’ll take the reliability hit and go for the former, considering the era we’re in.

*reading priorities…*

Make an econobox with a CVT, got it! :smile:

6 Likes

Hmm, to re-imagine one of my existing econoboxes, or make something with a heavy departure from anything I’ve made yet. Decisions, decisions…

2 Likes

Im join

EV!? What in da BLAZES!

Kay so… how would I even go about this… would be helpful to have pointers in simulating your EV.

i think theyre looking for an ice car that can compete with the ev experience

4 Likes

In short, make something so efficient and smooth that it outdoes a contemporary EV.

3 Likes

Quick couple of changes, I’ve added power, torque and performance for the EV cars.

I have changed some inspirations and got rid of the smallest cars

I’ve also hoped the price limit to hopefully not get really small shitty cars now

Well dam, I was just about to send in a really small shitty car. Time for tunink™

1 Like

Minimum door requirement? Or are we free on that


Zephorus Autos

Presents

GO! HCVT



These cars are not a real product of any manufacturer, any likeness or other similarities to real brands is purely coincidence. Actual model may change in final submission.

22 Likes

PRIMUS Publica 1.2 Select

There is something interessing about base models. They show the essence of a brand and the DNA of it´s models. The entry into the world of this well-known brand shows reasonnable performance, exciting design, high quality and sophistication, as you can expect from something having the Primus badge - now with a new logo, as the Publica stands for a leap foward into a time with more and more expectations from our customers.




Primus. The first choice.

8 Likes

Nice interior, I like that blue accent. Although the gear level is quite bulbous :smiley:

1 Like

YANGWOOOOOOOOO

GLOBAL WARMING IS COMING

CATCH IT

WIND POWER IS THE FUTURE MOTHERFUCKERS

YANGWOO

BE VEGAN

CONSUME SANDWICH

SOOBWAY

DON’T BE A COMMIE

SUPPORT AMERICAN BUSINESSES

BLASPHEMY

SHE DOES NOT SUPPORT AMERICAN BUSINESSES

REJECT MODERNITY

EMBRACE YANGWOOOOO

TRUST ME BRO IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN AN SUV BRO TRUST ME BRO

BRO

DRIVE YANGWOOOOOOOO

THE PERFECT HATCHBACK FOR EVERYONE

PERFECT HATCHBACK FOR STANDING STILL

PERFECT HATCHBACK FOR HIT AND RUNS

PERFECT HATCHBACK FOR ORANGE SEATS

THAT’S YANGWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FOR YOU

26 Likes

Absolutely peak

5 Likes

lol love it. I can feel music even im Deaf

2 Likes

Sorry to be late to the party - is there a min techpool value (if only to prevent negative techpool…)?

1 Like

I can’t believe I overlooked that, I’m glad you asked now before I finalised the rules

Let’s say minimum +2 everywhere, even if you aren’t using a turbo it still needs +2 on the turbo section. Otherwise people using turbos are being penalised a bit

You could give -10% off SVC to people using turbo, instead of penalizing people who don’t use turbo.

Hell, even -12,5% or -15% could work. I think +2 as base TP is fine, but if I’m not using turbo I’m going to want to use that 2 TP elsewhere. So what I suggest is, +2 TP minimum unless you’re running an NA engine. In that case +2 everywhere except turbo, turbo can have 0 TP. But turbo engines get a set percentage SVC cut.

1 Like