Revelations From a Visible Brake Light

Yes, there is definitely a learning curve when driving EVs, so adjusting how you drive them is the key.

Fossil-fueled cars have so much hysteresis in their drivetrains that you can apply full-on/full-off accelerator inputs and still get smooth outputs. With EVs, there's a much more direct relationship so you have to learn how to apply smoother accelerator inputs to get smoother outputs.

The accelerator pedal on the SE isn't a binary "I want to go" input; it's more like a continuous "how much I want to go" input. If you want to go "less fast", apply less accelerator--but don't let off completely, because that signals "I want to stop going". Once you have adjusted your driving style with that understanding, you can improve your skill by learning how to modulate the accelerator so the car coasts in the "Ready" zone (between accelerating and regen braking regions) when you are at your desired speed, adjusting the accelerator slightly as needed to speed up/slow down while cruising (which improves efficiency).

 

I've only test-driven a Bolt, but even with high regen didn't really find it much different than an ICE vehicle with a manual transmission. My guess is therefore that those who find driving an EV to be markedly different have only driven cars with automatic transmissions.

 

Grew up driving VW vans, so lots of downshifting. My egolf had different levels of regen (4?) w a sideways push on the shifter. My insight had 4 levels via paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Our Tesla doesn't have any options other than the last bit, to roll or not. I've been starting on low and then flipping to high regen to come to a complete stop, but I'm going to start on high and come to a more abrupt stop, so that I won't be flashing brake lights as much. Wish there were more levels. Feels closer to downshifting to me.

 

Also interesting that you never see anybody clamoring for it (or for brake lights to remain lit when the vehicle is stopped).

 

What do you mean, more levels? It has infinite levels that are adjusted on the fly with your foot! Just like a brake pedal but pull instead of push and attached to the accelerator pedal.

 

Am I the only one to experience leg/foot cramp when driving more than 20 min ?
Having to permanently keep your right foot in between two positions starts to be painful.
Indeed, lifiting your foot / lowering your foot just a little each time generates pain as my calf muscle is permanently tight.

What about you ?

 

No leg/foot cramps with my MINI SE here in Texas, and we often drive more than 20 min. because of great distances. On the other hand, we also often use the cruise control function too.

 

No different than driving an ICE vehicle on an open highway, and have never had a problem holding a steady speed.

Can't be due to any exceptional motor control on my part, as I once flunked out of a learning experiment in which you had to use two pedals to draw a triangle on an oscilloscope screen while your neural activity was recorded.

Is your heel resting on the floor so all that you need to do is pivot at the ankle?

 

I also use the ACC a lot and let the SE do all of the driving, I just take control of the steering wheel. And if I want full control especially around the bends which I really enjoy at speed, My legs don’t cramp.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

Nope, but I came from driving a 6sp mostly in city/suburban traffic. My legs rarely ever stayed in one spot.

 

I noticed this week, after 6,500 miles of driving, that my foot is now accustomed to the 'feel' of driving down the road and maintaining the needle in the ready zone. It was a long learning curve for me, but I'm finally there. Muscle memory established! I still use the ACC a lot for highway stuff, but around town I'm more skilled at keeping that brake light from coming on 'too much' and don't have to think about it.

 

@GvilleGuy Any chance you could mount that camera near your feet & get similar video of what the brake lights' status is at various levels of "slightly but not completely lifting your foot off the accelerator"? Or is that a little unsafe?

 

My wife is slowly getting the hang of backing off the pedal just enough to put the car into “coast” mode and not activate the brake lights. Prior to this she was coming off the pedal to much (as she used to in her gas car) when she wanted to scrub off speed and this was causing some regen and brake lights.
I was worried people might think she was brake checking them or would annoy them in some other way so I was keen for her to get this right. We’re not there 100% of the time but she is improving quickly. The fact she’s a relatively new driver with less than 3k miles under her belt doesn’t help.
For me it was no problem, but I drive manual transmissions for 25 years and have also been quite good at being smooth and gentle with my pedal movements to get better fuel economy etc.
I can understand why so many YouTube and website reviews of this car complained about the regen being too strong. It’s actually not, at least not compared to our Y, but it is very easy to activate it and the difference in pedal position for light vs heavy regen is slight.

 

After little over a week of driving, I think, I'm getting hang of one pedal driving. I could now "coast" and stop gradually in default regen mode, at stop signs and at red lights. However, its unclear to me whether or not break lights are on in first/lower regen zone or in second/high regen zone or in both ?

 

See the first post of this thread and this video by @GvilleGuy

Unfortunately the brakes are on with any regen (gauge below the "ready")

 

Then I guess the question is exactly how much does your foot have to let up off the accelerator before the needle moves to the regen zone? Clearly taking your foot completely off will light it up, but how small of a "let-up" does it take?

 

Depends on what driving mode you're in. Green/green+ have very large "coasting" zones before going into regen so you need to let off the accelerator further. Sport is very sensitive and a small motion will get you from power to regen. Mid is somewhere, well, in the middle

 

This is definitely a subjective phenomenon. We tried the Tesla 3 with our deposit last year, I LOVED the regen, which you couldn't change. My wife hated it, and combined with the crazy single touch panel for EVERYTHING we decided against. I haven't driven another EV since trying the MINI SE, and IMMEDIATELY love the strongest regen. I didn't even try the lower level. I loved the one-pedal driving. But not everyone likes it. I put that little car in Sport the whole time and didn't care about anything else. This all depends on what you need.

 

What @Carsten Haase said. I think a video would not be meaningful with the different driving modes. But the 'sweet spot' is definitely with the pedal pressed slightly in most cases.