How much does Horsepower matter in an EV

Redhenrun

Thinking of purchasing an EV. Debating between an ID4 with 174 horsepower or ID4 with 204 HP. The former is coming in cheaper of course but will it make much of a difference if I opt for a lower HP?

the_amazing_raisin

Well if HP matters to you in a petrol car then it'll probably matter in an EV as well 😁

So I guess it's kind of down to what you want. More HP in an EV will give you better acceleration. This can be pretty handy when you're merging onto a motorway or doing a quick overtake

Other than that it's about as much use as more HP in a petrol car, that is to say, not much. It's rare you get to (legally) use a car to its full capacity, so being able to go fast is fairly superfluous unless it's something you really want

To put it another way, a BMW M3 isn't any faster than a Toyota Yaris in a traffic jam

Having said all that, I've the 150kW ID.4 (sorry, I can't wrap my head around imperial for very long) and while it's no slouch, you can definitely feel the weight of the car when accelerating. The lower power version might feel a bit slow off the line

If possible you should try to test drive the lower power one and see if you're happy with it

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058249658/how-much-does-horsepower-matter-in-an-ev

Is there a 176?

isn’t it 148, 204 and 299?

I’ve the 148 and find it’s got plenty of power. No issue with a full load going up hill , and plenty of power on motorways etc.

cython

I can't comment on the ID.4 specifically, but I've an eNiro which is 150kW/201hp and the difference as compared to the diesel i30 that preceded it is appreciable. On paper the 150kW ID.4 is a second slower than the eNiro for 0-100km/h, while the lower power ID.4 has a similar 0-100km/h time to the i30 at 10.5 seconds. While I'm not one for driving the bag out of it (the Niro being FWD makes it quite prone to wheelspin if you try to push it too hard anyway), I definitely appreciate the added acceleration for merging and overtaking, and I'd miss it were I to go back to the i30.

Obviously with an EV the power delivery is quite different to ICE, and it may not make as much difference overtaking at speed in the ID.4 as a result, but there is a risk that you'll be underwhelmed by the lower power one compared to some accounts of EV acceleration, so as the previous poster said you should really seek a test drive to assess it for yourself.

brownej

You'll have lots of time to consider it anyway as it will be next year before you will get your hands on a new ID4.

zg3409

Firstly if the car is front wheel drive only and in "sport" mode, grip comes into play even on dry roads and particularly on damp or wet roads. From a stop you can easily spin the front wheels on any EV due to low speed torque which can be quite dangerous on junctions and roundabouts.

Most dedicated EVs are rear wheel drive and then optional 4 wheel drive. With rear wheel drive it's much harder to spin on takeoff and with 4 wheel drive you have 2 sets of wheels gripping.

Typically the car will be in "normal" mode not sport, so you won't have access to full power anyway and many EVs actually hide some of the power from a standing start.

All EVs are incredibly fast at low speeds around town. Where you tend to notice the lack of power is at high speeds overtaking on single lane roads at say 80km/h to 100km/h. Often the motors and gearing are designed for efficiency at high speed not raw power. In these cases you may notice a heavy EV is quite slow to overtake compared to say a typical petrol high power car. In these cases more power helps. However often the higher power versions of EVs have a slightly lower range and in my case I would prefer the range over the overtaking speed. I switch from EV to petrol to diesel cars daily, but for about town the EV definitely has more performance up to say 80km/h. Personally I would not pay the extra, particularly if the range you can go is reduced.

raher1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058249658/how-much-does-horsepower-matter-in-an-ev

What 174 horse power is it 1.7 ?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120482208#Comment_120482208

Nah 174 is bigger than 1.7 😉

Maybe a little more explanation would be good?

Also, did this thread need resurrection or would a new thread be better?