No Simulated Shifts for Porsche EVs
As car makers experiment with methods to make driving electric vehicles more involving Porsche has confirmed that it won’t be introducing simulated gear selection.
Sim shifts are a feature of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, and can give the driver a sense of additional control, cutting power and torque briefly when the driver changes a virtual gear, but Porsche believes that its cars will be faster and more enjoyable without such software.
In an interview with Australian media Porsche development driver Lars Kern said: “Obviously, we look into what the competition does, but our perspective on this is always why should we make something worse?”
“The electric engine is better than an ICE, so we figured there’s no reason to simulate what has been in the past. We looked at it, but … I don’t see the point of using it to make it feel like a combustion engine because it’s not, so we don’t.”
“We drove the Hyundai N and had a look at it, and, obviously, there’s always people who think that’s a good idea and there’s always people think it’s a bad idea,” Kern told drive.com.au. “We came to the conclusion that that is not what we are looking for. We don’t try to make the electric car feel like a combustion engine, so that’s why we just didn’t follow up on that.”
Porsche has just refreshed the Taycan, its original EV, the electric Macan is now on sale alongside the previous ICE version, and the successor to the 718 Cayman and Boxster will arrive in 2025 with no combustion option.
Unlike some rivals Porsche isn’t completely all-in on EVs, however, stating, “The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago. Our product strategy is set up such that we could deliver over 80 percent of our vehicles as all electric in 2030—dependent on customer demand and the development of electromobility.”
That development clearly won’t include attempts to ape the past.
Makes sense…why go to the trouble and expense of making an electric car feel like something it’s clearly not? I assume Porsche will also not offer fake “vroom vroom” sounds for cars with no ICE.
Simulated shifts… simulated engine noise… ugh. I wish I was born 20 years earlier
Re:”Porsche believes that its cars will be faster and more enjoyable” Faster yes, but compared to a stick shift with an ICE, more enjoyable? Never happen.
Most cars, including most Porsches, sold today don’t have manuals anyway.
I find that the power delivery of an electric car reminds me more of a manual in the lower gears than an automatic. No, there’s no shifting of any kind, but the immediate sensation of slowing down when letting off of it, then the immediate sensation of accelerating if you dip back into the power is more akin to a manual with firm engine mounts than an automatic. I’d rather drive an electric car with… zeal than just about any auto I’ve driven.
That said, if I could get a nice daily driver with the proper gearing (really good gear ratios are gone thanks to EPA compliance) and tight motor mounts (gone because people seemingly like isolation pods) then that’d be head-and-shoulders above anything else.
No simulated shifts or simulated sounds for me. It reminds me of the useless Fartsonic Dodge system or the video gamey Ioniq 5 N.
Translation: CARIAD has illustrated that VW Group lacks any software prowess, so what should be simple bit of software to add a driver option/gimmick is a major engineering project for Porsche to execute successfully. It has echoes of previous Porsche protests that one-pedal driving was not for them (and that coasting is the only environmentally-blessed option); I wonder what their engineers privately said about Hyundai’s N-Pedal (0.6G regenerative braking) for track use.
Back in the 70’s Road & Track had a cartoon called the Cyclops that was about electric cars with vroom sounds in the racetrack. I thought it was very funny and now, over 50 years ahead of the times. Maybe Hagerty could do a column about, with permission from R & T and the cartoon creator, to show how ahead of the times the writers were.
“The electric engine is better than an ICE, so we figured there’s no reason to simulate what has been in the past.”
Sacrilege. Thirty lashes with a camshaft for you!
EVs are NOT ICE! It is what it is. Don’t make it what’s not. Porsche is right on this point. No simulated sounds, fake exhaust noise, etc. All gimmicky. Bring back more physical controls and less computer screen interface.