Electric cars might be selling like hot cakes, but blind enthusiasm for EVs risks ushering in a silent danger that has nothing to do with the fact they make less noise than petrol and diesel vehicles. In fact, the absence of engine noise at very low speeds has been legislated against. Since July 2021, all new electric vehicles registered in the UK have had to include a sound generator.
The silent danger associated with EVs is their weight. Increased mass adversely affects handling and braking, but, more importantly, poses an increased threat in the event of a collision.
The heavier the car, the more damage it causes in the event of a crash
It’s one of the reasons the current fashion for SUVs contributes to road danger, and it’s a threat to safety that’s about to become worse as large 4x4s go electric. The problem is set to be particularly acute in America where there’s an appetite for supersized vehicles.
For example, the new GMC Hummer EV, weighs in at over 4 tons – equivalent to more than two Range Rover Evoque SUVs. In fact, it’s so heavy that here in Europe you need a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) licence to drive one. You don’t need a physics degree to understand how in the event of a collision with a four-ton car, the other vehicle acts like a crumple zone. The advent of a new breed of super-heavy battery powered SUV may well prompt drivers of smaller cars to buy bigger in order to offset this risk.
The new electric Hummer weighs the same as seven classic minis
Bringing these leviathans to a stop isn’t the problem you might think as regenerative braking systems can compensate for the additional weight. In fact, some of the brakes on EVs outperform their internal combustion engine counterparts. However, it’s likely the braking performance of large electric SUVs will be more than offset by the danger associated with their rapid acceleration, heavy weight and poor driver visibility.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The additional weight of batteries would be less of problem if car makers weren’t continuing to churn out electrified SUVs.
While they’re not currently considered a serious option by most drivers, it is possible to buy small, lightweight electric vehicles like the Citroen Ami. Limited in speed to 28mph and legal to drive on a moped licence, these diminutive EVs are ideally suited to the way most people a car most of the time – 25 per cent of car trips are under 1 mile, and 71% under 5 miles…and most of those with only one or two people onboard.
The Citroen Ami is slow and light – perfect for the way most of us use our cars
They make for cheap motoring too. The Citroen Ami costs £20 per month to own (based on £2,600 deposit) and new kid on the block Squad Mobility has a rival vehicle that recharges itself via built-in solar panels and will cost about the same.
The ethical choice
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Penny Price
This must be an SUV problem, and weight is just one symptom of this, the size of them inherently uses far more resources than a standard car. My I3 by contrast is so light even with its battery that I have to take great care on motorways in high wind, more so than I had to with my trusty VW polo.
We need to wean ourselves off these massive cars: the extra capacity we need for holidays and the occasional trip to the tip needs to be managed differently. Pool large vehicles for occasional communal use perhaps? Drivers need to be reassured that smaller cars are really safe, can you blame people using these SUV tanks for long journeys when they feel so much safer?
Andrew Currie
SUV’s are not just inefficient and less stable, their height and shape makes the roads less safe for everyone. Ironically, many people choose them because they believe ‘they give a better view of the road’. Nonsense – their roof height hides adult pedestrians and their bonnet height hides children. Compared to when I started to drive (when all cars had bonnets and boots that drivers of other cars could see over – and no tinted windows) the shape of modern cars are a significant problem in busy urban areas. They are completely pointless; their boots are not that big, excess headroom inside and extra ground clearance are unnecessary. If my 97 year old mother can get in and out of a relatively low hatchback, then most people can!
Keith
“can you blame people using these SUV tanks for long journeys when they feel so much safer?”
Yes, because it results in a bloody arms race: this bogus safety argument means that everyone needs a bigger car than everyone else, and this is the result.
The fact is that well-built cars OF ANY GIVEN SIZE are generally as safe as each other; and it’s primarily the intellectually lazy and the gullible who are suckered into this never-ending “bigger = safer” nonsense.
Roger
I’m not a fan of SUVs. I’ve always considered them to be purely a status symbol driven by non-enthusiasts who want to impress. Perhaps they need a larger car to accommodate their inflated egos. What possible justification can there be for driving a 4 ton electric Hummer (which incidentally would be exempt from ULEZ charges). I believe these ‘Chelsea Tractors’ should be very heavily taxed, with a tax structure based on fuel consumption, rather than emissions, where for example 100mpg + vehicles are tax free.