Are EVs fun to drive?
That’s a bit like asking if playing chess is fun, or if wine tastes good. It’s entirely subjective. But in the case of ‘fun to drive’ there is a way to remove some of the subjectivity.
One aspect of ‘fun’ is challenge-reward, the difficulty of operation and seeing how close you can get to perfection, a mental and physical challenge. This is why I prefer windsurfing to jetskis, and gliders to power aircraft. It is also why I like my sports cars to be manual.
On this measure, EVs are less fun than ICE, even automatics, because there is no gearchange to worry about, and not even a torque curve to manage or engine temperature to consider. This makes the car easier to drive….but also, less fun on a challenge-reward basis. And it makes automatic ICE less fun than manual. It’s not even about sports cars – I used to enjoy hustling my Defender TD5 through bends and that’s a long way from a sporty car, but it certainly provided the challenge I enjoyed, from conserving every last iota of precious momentum to anticipating which sort of ‘steer I’d get mid-curve.
It is important that the challenge is one which brings the right kind of reward. This is subjective, but wrestling with a recalcitrant gearshift is not my idea of fun, but shifting a long-travel truck shifter just right is.
Then we come to sensation. ICE cars are noisy, and that to many is part of the attraction. We like the rumble of a V8, the burble of a flat-four, the whine of a supercharger. In contrast, electric offers whisper-quiet, seamless motion. On this measure, there is no ‘better’.
So what does an EV offer over ICE? Instant torque and impressive, seamless acceleration. That’s definitely an attraction to many, me included. But I will say that outright acceleration is not the final measure of a car’s fun factor. Consider making a list of the five most fun sports cars, ever, any era, any price. I guess models like the MX-5, Elise, Boxster and S2000 would make many people’s top five, and none are noted for straight-line speed. And I guess Nissan’s GT-R maybe wouldn’t figure in anyone’s top 10.
Overall, I’m going with EVs as, in my opinion, less fun than ICE because of challenge-reward and sensation. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy driving EVs because I very much do, int the same way that I generally prefer white wine, I’ll also happily drink red. I would not argue with anyone who said they preferred EV or ICE, but I will disagree with absolute statements that spoke for others either way. Enjoy whatever you drive.
