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You shoulda seen the rabbit I drove up behind. He was about 2 metres away when he finally turned and saw the car. Jumped STRAIGHT up in the air, shaking crazily, then took off at a dead sprint- looked like a cartoon!! Very funny, and testament to genuine hush.
That's hilarious! I've had birds not even hear me coming.
On that hybrid Prius and Camry note, those hybrids seem to make a noisy whirring sound when running in electric mode. Must be how their drivetrain is set up but the Tesla is definitely more quiet than them. When it drives down the street, in a normal quiet car you'll hear a wind rushing sound even if you don't hear the engine but with the Tesla it's like nothing. Just tire noise when it slows down.
but isnt returning to a nice cool car on a 40 degree day just the best feature ever!
Here is a question: Does anyone believe that there should ever be an audible warning system for electric cars?
I've read about it a while back with some people believing that EVs should always emit some sound via external speakers for pedestrians, especially coming over hills and things like that. I personally don't think it will ever happen. I believe people should be more aware of crossing the road and walking around parking lots. Watching dash cam videos, most people walking across the road never see or even react to someone running the red light. But it should also be an EV driver's responsibility to be a little more cautious and to assume that people have not heard them. But that is my two cents.
+1 to TesAus's comment
Here is a question: Does anyone believe that there should ever be an audible warning system for electric cars?
Relevant zombie pedestrians: Dangers of texting - GfycatNo noise! Pedestrians have a responsibility too! Enough with the nanny state.
and you thought Oz was the nanny state...Unbelievable. The whole idea of electric is to have silent cars. Not just zero emissions. The sound of rumbling motors are annoying and distrupt the peace in a quiet suburb or basically anywhere.
It is a legitimate concern though. I remember on my test drive in Brisbane going from the Next Hotel, which is a laneway with pedestirans often on the road, and how annoyed I was that they just ambled along and didn't get out of my way, until I realised they couldnt hear the car at all.
I think it is a generally bad idea. Perhaps something at slow speeds, similar to a truck's reversing warning; perhaps something similar to a horn that can be manually activated by the driver; but not always-on, fake engine noises. Can you imagine living next to a noisy highway, looking forward to the reduction in noise from EVs - only to find all the EVs are now making artificial engine sounds?
At speed the tyres are making noise. The cars are only silent at very low speeds on smooth surfaces like concrete car parks.Nissan LEAF has audible ‘augmentation’ that can (at least here in Australia) be switched off at low speeds…go over maybe 30 km/h and it’s always on. It sounds like a high pitched turbine - fairly inoffensive. Obviously Nissan researched extensively to find a sound that was effective yet unobtrusive. Effective? I think so although I’d probably find it intrusive if I couldn’t switch it off. Bottom line: I know I’m driving a silent vehicle so I need drive way more cautiously around pedestrians, especially backing out of driveways.