To clarify, most EVs (I’ve never driven a Tesla) can drive like any other automatic on the road, with the same two pedals you are used to as well as Park, Reverse, Drive, and Neutral.
However most (all?) EVs have the ability to switch to one-pedal mode if you like. In one-pedal mode when you let off the accelerator pedal, regenerative braking automatically kicks in. Depending on the setting (our Equinox has 3 or 4 levels of regenerative braking intesity) the car may decelerate very quickly or rather gently. At the highest setting you would only need to use the brake pedal in an emergency stop.
I have experience with two different EVs that approach one pedal driving differently.
Tesla: (To me) true one pedal driving. Press the right pedal to go, release the right pedal to slow down (regenerative braking) and eventually stop, and press it just a little bit to only go a little bit (“coasting”). A setting adjusts how hard the car slows when releasing the right pedal. There is also a left pedal that controls the brakes. Press it to engage the friction brakes. If regenerative braking is not slowing the car as quickly as desired then use the friction brakes.
Volvo: This can be put in a mode where it behaves exactly like the Tesla. It has another mode where it tries to behave like it has a traditional automatic transmission, complete with coasting and creep. In this mode, when the right pedal is released, the car very gently slows down. If you want to slow down more, then use the left pedal. Pressing the left pedal a little bit will use regenerative braking to slow the car. Press the left pedal more, and the friction brakes will engage. The computer seamlessly blends regenerative and friction braking.
The big advantage to me of the true one pedal mode is that it maximizes regeneration. The Volvo (because I’m not the primary driver) is usually kept in “automatic emulation” mode. When I press the brake pedal, I have to watch the screen to know if I’m only regenerating (good) or have started to convert speed to heat (bad).
Additional point to argue with me about: One pedal driving is safer. The instant the driver’s foot is off the right pedal, the car begins slowing down. In an emergency situation, that extra fraction of a second of slowing can be the difference between hitting and not-hitting the bicycle that for no apparent reason has just veered out of the bike lane directly in front of the car.
Typical foot-off regen braking is more like downshifting in a manual transmission. Not like coasting down with an auto transmission. You’re being actively retarded, just not very vigorously.
The key thing with single pedal driving is that there’s no coasting. You are either accelerating or braking. To keep a constant speed you must be just on the accelerator a bit to actively maintain. To coast to a stop like you would in an automatic you’d need to back off the pedal just a bit more than you would to maintain speed.
Huh? Your joking. No brake pedal? If I want to put on the binders, I want to put on the binders. I also want to coast and take my foot completely of the gas for a little. This is nuts.
Is there an equivalent of cruise control, where you can set your car for a speed and it maintains that speed without you needing to keep your food on the pedal?
Thanks, had me worried. I will probably end up with an electric car. I really don’t know about to retire. The amount of driving I do has gone down about 90%.
If you wish to reduce speed from 60 to 30, then coasting down will move the kinetic energy of the car to kinetic energy of the surrounding air.
If you use regen, either by using one pedal driving, or gently using the brake, a portion of the kinetic energy removed from the vehicle will be put back in the battery.
Wife and I had ‘22 Models Y and 3. As delivered they had 2 or 3 levels of regen. Later this option was taken away in a software update, after which there was only one moderate level of regen. Normally the updates add features, so I’m puzzled as to why this adjustment was taken away.
My ‘24 Model 3 Performance has a track mode in which the regen can be adjusted all the way from none to heavy.
Isn’t this dangerous as hell? If you are used to driving in a certain way, and suddenly your brakes don’t work the way they should?
I’m scared of EV cars because after 60 years of driving experience, I know how to drive a “normal” car, and it is intuitive. I know how hard to step on the brake pedal when I want to slow down a little, or a lot, etc.
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When I switch to an unfamiliar car such as a rental, it only takes me 60 seconds for a short test drive in the parking lot to make sure that I have the “feel” for driving safely.
If I ever buy an electric computer car, I will have to learn how to drive from scratch, like a teenager. But once I get used to it, and I have set my new EV to my preferences , it seems very dangerous that I might wake up and suddenly discover without warning that my brakes don’t work the way they did yesterday.
I get royally upset when my cell phone or my computer suddenly make me helpless because a software update changes a menu I am familiar with. But suddenly becoming helpless at 50 miles per hour doesn’t just upset me–it scares me.
I have a non-Tesla EV and it does not do those types of over the air updates. Note some would consider that a flaw, though I would not.
I have set the regen to feel more like I want. It doesn’t feel much different from the last ICE I drove, i.e. it doesn’t brake hard anymore when I let up on the “gas”.
And whether or not that practice is more efficient, I’m getting 25-30% more efficiency (or at least range) than advertised when I bought it, so I’m not complaining.
Totally understand… I would (and do) have the same fear. But that’s mostly a Tesla thing. They could afford to be “innovative” / “risky” because they were the first movers trying to create a new market, and their buyers were generally willing to be experimented upon.
Decades later, the other brands’ EVs can be much more conservative and familiar — in drive feel, yes, but also things like having regular door handles and glove box latches.
We’re boring regular drivers too, and recently got a Toyota/Subaru EV. It drives pretty much like any other combustion car. The regenerative braking is set to 1/5 to by default, meaning when you lift your foot off the pedal, it will do only a little bit of regenerative braking while still allowing a coast to stop. It feels like a normal car. If you don’t want that at all, you can set it to 0/5 with a button push. Or experiment with higher levels to emulate the Tesla feel (we didn’t like that, so set it back to 1/5).
There were a few things that did take a bit of getting used to (just in terms of driving experience):
It accelerates much faster than a combustion car. All EVs have this advantage, and it feels great once you’re used to it, but the first week or two takes some getting used to. Whereas before, it was hard to ever pass anyone or merge into a highway, it was all too easy with an EV. My partner and I would catch each other accidentally speeding without realizing it, between the crazy acceleration and the quiet cabin (they’re much quieter than combustion cars, especially at low speeds).
More than the regenerative braking, there are newfangled safety systems that auto-brake for you if you’re getting too close, gently nudge the steering wheel back if you’re about to drift out of a lane, etc. Those also took a bit of getting used to, since the car has a mind of its own. However, 1) you can turn any/all of them off if you don’t want them (we turned off the steering wheel nudger, leaving only a vibration warning) and 2) these systems are found in most new cars anyway, not just EVs.
Ours has no rear windshield wiper, which is really annoying since we live in a dusty and snowy area. Apparently, many smaller EV hatchbacks and crossovers don’t, but some of them (Hyundais?) might be getting some next year. There are also aftermarket wipers. But it’s really annoying not having one.
