My first electric car was a Prius. They seemed to go to great lengths to make it simulate an ICE car and so the regen braking with foot off the pedals was extremely light. The Prius actually regenerates the battery when you actually apply the brake lightly. It also has a gear stick that you can put in B mode (for braking) which simulates low gear - useful for going down hills.
Then I got the i3, and the regen braking is extremely severe. There is no regen braking when you apply the brake, that just makes you stop quicker (and you never use it). The regen braking is so severe when you take your foot off the accelerator that it will actually bring the car to a complete stop very quickly. And there is no creep mode on the i3. When the car comes to a complete stop by itself (no foot on any pedal) - it stays stopped unless of course it is on a steep hill which naturally overcomes the strength of the regen braking - and even then it moves slowly.
I test-drove a Tesla twice. The regen braking is also severe but not as severe as the i3. I put that down simply to the fact that the Tesla weighs 2.5 tonnes but the i3 is as light as a feather (made out of plastic).
Anyway, Tesla (being the first) has introduced a whole new way of driving - some people call it one pedal driving. So you never use the brakes. Just press to accelerate, hold to cruise and lift to brake. This whole new way is extremely easy to adapt to and I believe is the preferred method of driving. So much so actually that when people start driving an ICE car after they have been driving their EV for a while, they really miss the fact that the car doesn't slow down when foot is off the accelerator. It almost feels dangerous. (You have to hand it to EVs - they not only speed up quickly, they slow down just as fast! That is a terrific advantage I believe).
However, unlike the i3, the Tesla gives you the option of actually turning off the regen braking. So my question here is, "Does anyone actually turn off the regen braking?"
If so, why? Is there ever a reason to turn it off and on according to circumstances? What circumstances are those? I am prepared to bet that most people would actually prefer that the regen braking was even more severe. Any takers on that one?
For that matter, does anyone drive with creep mode on or off and why? I have come to like the no creep mode on the i3. It leaves you perfectly in control of the car. Yes even for reverse parking. I am intending to leave creep off on the Tesla. But that is all subject of course to real life experimentation. What have you folks found?
Then I got the i3, and the regen braking is extremely severe. There is no regen braking when you apply the brake, that just makes you stop quicker (and you never use it). The regen braking is so severe when you take your foot off the accelerator that it will actually bring the car to a complete stop very quickly. And there is no creep mode on the i3. When the car comes to a complete stop by itself (no foot on any pedal) - it stays stopped unless of course it is on a steep hill which naturally overcomes the strength of the regen braking - and even then it moves slowly.
I test-drove a Tesla twice. The regen braking is also severe but not as severe as the i3. I put that down simply to the fact that the Tesla weighs 2.5 tonnes but the i3 is as light as a feather (made out of plastic).
Anyway, Tesla (being the first) has introduced a whole new way of driving - some people call it one pedal driving. So you never use the brakes. Just press to accelerate, hold to cruise and lift to brake. This whole new way is extremely easy to adapt to and I believe is the preferred method of driving. So much so actually that when people start driving an ICE car after they have been driving their EV for a while, they really miss the fact that the car doesn't slow down when foot is off the accelerator. It almost feels dangerous. (You have to hand it to EVs - they not only speed up quickly, they slow down just as fast! That is a terrific advantage I believe).
However, unlike the i3, the Tesla gives you the option of actually turning off the regen braking. So my question here is, "Does anyone actually turn off the regen braking?"
If so, why? Is there ever a reason to turn it off and on according to circumstances? What circumstances are those? I am prepared to bet that most people would actually prefer that the regen braking was even more severe. Any takers on that one?
For that matter, does anyone drive with creep mode on or off and why? I have come to like the no creep mode on the i3. It leaves you perfectly in control of the car. Yes even for reverse parking. I am intending to leave creep off on the Tesla. But that is all subject of course to real life experimentation. What have you folks found?
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