What vehicles do you wish they made EV versions of?

@Puppethead, as usual, is right. You can't have both EV range and lightweight handling in 2021.

I made the above sign to put on my MINI Cooper SE at the recent Drive Electric Earth Day event (where, of course there were many Teslas, but just one MINI Electric, mine). It is an iteration of a brilliant cartoon I've been saving for 40 years:

 

The Mini is great but no, the range won’t do. You may be right about the weight/handling but how do you explain the Taycan?

 

Porsche used their engineering expertise to make the Taycan handle pretty well for a 2-1/2 ton car. However, after taking both cars for laps around a roundabout, the Taycan's weight penalty would be obvious. Who does laps around a roundabout you ask? MINI drivers seek them out.

 

You’ve driven both cars?

One can only hope other auto makers have engineers and expertise.

 

Many (German and American manufacturers, for sure) have the engineers and expertise, however, in order to understand why they aren't available today, you've got to start your thinking realizing that ICE manufacturers Don't Want EVs. Therefore, succumbing to pressure, they will reluctantly make a small number of a lame compliance EV. They do so in the hope that nobody will buy them so they can claim they tried but nobody wants EVs. However, without some strong motivation (ie Tesla clobbering their sales or draconian laws), they won't put any serious effort or expense (ie engineering and expertise) into making a good EV that might threaten their mainstream ICE business.
The BMW i3, FocusEV, and the Bolt are pretty much the poster child examples.
Of course, despite their attempts, with an electric drivetrain, all of these ended up being pretty satisfying cars for the majority of their owners.
It is perfectly possible to make a hot hatch EV, even one with a decent sized battery. The above principles, however, apply.
Maybe in a few years.

 

The Taycan can't be considered a hot hatch, even if it is a good handler. It's a sedan, more in line with a Model X. It also costs 5x the price of a Mini Cooper SE – $150,000 versus $30,000.

 

I completely reject that the Bolt and i3 are compliance cars. The Spark EV was a compliance car, the Bolt is the first serious ground up EV for the masses. Other than charging speed it still goes toe to toe with modern EV’s. And the i3 is way too much of an investment by BMW to qualify as a compliance car. Innovative materials, EV only design, they built a factory just to build that car. Completely agree about Ford Focus EV, Fiat 500EV and such, even the very nice VW Golf EV, those are compliance cars.

While it’s true traditional auto makers did not want to switch to EV’s I think the current offerings from Ford, GM, Hyundai, VW show that tide is turning.

I never claimed the Taycan was a hot hatch, merely an example of a great handling EV with a large battery. I also never compared it to a Mini so the pricing is irrelevant. However if you are going to cross shop at least compare the entry level price of both, $30k v $80k.

 

I initially replied to your post wishing for a hot hatch, pointing out one exists. I didn't intend to go beyond that.

 

I agree. However, neither are going to:

I do believe that both are good cars, and, if one understands their limitations, can do a lot. Hey, I put 100K miles on a 2011 Nissan Leaf but I had to work it to make it serve my 36 mile, each way, commute.
A Bolt is a great car but one will still need a backup for all but leisurely road trips and GM never tooled up to make more than 30K of them per year.
The i3 was an expensive, misguided mistake by BMW. It clearly is not in the same genre as anything else in the BMW lineup and that is not any accident. They didn't want to risk turning any of their existing customer base into EV drivers by making what they thought was "The Ultimate Eco Machine".
The reason I'm hopeful about the MachE is that, like Teslas, it really does compete against the manufacturers' mainstream. One could possibly use a MachE as one's only car, and still do pretty much as much as an ICE and almost as conveniently, save their unwillingness to commit to supporting a reliable fast charging network.

I certainly hope so. Things definitely appear to be looking up for EVs. They're still not there yet though. I'm not ready to declare victory yet though.

 

Yeah, no worries I can tell you Mini drivers love your cars. Many years ago I almost purchased an ICE version, loved my test rides and it’s styling it was just a bit too pricey for me then and I opted for the also very fun to drive Mazda3.

The Mini is right up my alley for a fun to drive car but I’m done with short range EV’s for now, my Kona has really spoiled me. I would have purchased a e-Golf if they had better range, for a compliance car it is a hoot to drive.

So I’m hoping in a few years I’ll get my ideal hot hatch.

 

The vehicle I would love as an EV is the Mazda MX5 ( Miata ) , same as the Ford Mustang convertible as there is no affordable sports cars as EV's.

Dan

 

I often tell people that only if Mazda built a Miata EV would there be a fun competitor for the MINI Electric, which now has the compact, sporty EV niche all to itself. Elon's mythical Model 2 might fit that niche some day, depending on how large and heavy it turns out to be.

Why are there are no drop-top EVs at any price? It's too bad VW canceled their dune-buggy EV, the ID.Buggy. I assume that like the ID.Buggy concept, every convertible EV would need a roll-bar to support the weight of the battery in a roll-over crash. To make the MINI Cooper SE Hardtop safer, the door sills and A-pillars of that model received additional reinforcement. I wonder if the all-new 2024 MINI Coopers will be engineered to allow an EV convertible version?

 

Don't get your hopes up. We only buy what would be considered enthusiast vehicles. We test drive a Mach-e premium for an hour. The car is horrible. The dirtiness of the steering just off center is awful. The feedback on steering and braking was also terrible. There is no way to actually drive the car smoothly, must less in an aggressive and fun manner. We were hopeful to buy our first EV but this won't be it.


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Porsche is logical company.

The new Macan EV will be sold alongside the gasoline-powered model, so we think the next-generation Boxster and Cayman could do the same.


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The first convertible electric car has already come and gone, the Smart 453 electric came in a convertible model. Can’t get them new anymore but I’m sure used ones can be had.

 

huh?
The post 2000 modern era started with convertibles but it wasn't the Smart.
https://evannex.com/blogs/news/75692101-from-tzero-to-model-s-how-ac-propulsion-was-a-catalyst-for-tesla-motors
It would be great to see more fun cars coming but let's not get revisionist on our history discussions.
I will say from personal experience that there is no car experience more thrilling than an electric convertible on twisty mountain roads with the top down and the only sound around: the wind and the tires.
I do hope that another, hopefully more affordable, electric convertible hits the market eventually. Tesla is still leaving that market segment open but, as usual, the rest of the industry refuses to seize the opportunity.

 

Oh yeah, forgot about the Roadster. Not being revisionist, simply an oversight.