Hi Peter, summer 2017 actually sounds good to me as it will allow me to sell my Lotus at peak time to fund the EV3. Ideally I will get a better feeling for build dates before summer and can sell the Lotus late spring.
Hi RoadsterBoy, I am also intrigued by the ideal of a dual motor, but will reserve judgement until I drive the launch edition of the EV3.
After my experience of the 3-Wheeler, I do not think it is a car which is all about driving with your hair on fire all the time and I suspect 60 in less than 9 seconds will feel quick enough. Bearing in mind that for me performance is gauged against the Mk2 Fiesta XR2 which in its day was a respectable hot hatch with 0-60 of 9.2s. (Guess my age yet?). You also need to remember that with full torque from 0 rpm it will be much faster off the line than the pure numbers suggest. A Nissan Leaf feels very frisky indeed at town speeds.
The EV3 does seem to be in a class of it’s own though, it’s closest rival I guess would be a tuned Renault Twizy (which you have to rent the battery for), and the EV3 trounces it in all areas apart from having a roof.
I feel that the combination of the EV3’s low weight and a respectable battery pack (remember the Mk 1 Nissan Leaf has 24kWh) is what will keep it unique. So I would be tempted to resist adding extra weight unless it really enhances the overall package of what could make an electric wheeler such a fun toy to live with.
The Ashwoods motor fitted to the EV3 looks to be quite chunky so I suspect would add a fair bit or weight.
Here are a few numbers I have managed to find to compare the two cars sorry about the formatting
Battery:-------Twizy: 6.1 kWh EV3: ~20 kWh Range:--------Twizy: 62 mi EV3: ~150 mi Length:--------Twizy: 2.32 m EV3: ~3.2 m (3 Wheeler) Width:---------Twizy: 1.19 m EV3: ~2.33 m (3 Wheeler) Curb weight-Twizy: 450 kg EV3: ~450 kg Power--------Twizy: ~25bhp* EV3: 62 bhp 0-60-----------Twizy: 36s* EV3: <9s Max speed--Twizy: 71mph* EV3: >80mph
* The actual Twizy performance above quoted with a tuning box from Norway fitted. I extrapolated the power from the quoted torque improvement. See video below for the actual run:
Even with its reduced performance the Twizy does look fun so the EV3 should be fantastic fun! See a Twiizy owners video below. (This one is also tuned)
The Twizy would not work for me as the range is way to low, and the EV3 looks so much nicer.
