What’s the performance of EVs like?

Anyone who’s been in a Tesla will already know that electric motors can deliver breathtakingly fast acceleration.

That’s why Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and others are turning to electric motors to boost performance.

Less performance-focused and more affordable EVs provide acceleration similar to the cars we’ve become accustomed to. Similar, but not exactly the same…

Electric motors are strongest at low revs, from standstill. And their response to the accelerator pedal is instant. Petrol and diesel engines need to rev up to before they make a lot of power, and this means there’s always a lag in response.

Where EVs aren’t brilliant, at least the less costly ones, is at higher speeds. Acceleration above 100km/h or so usually isn’t impressive. This is partly because nearly all EVs use a single-speed transmission instead of the multi-speed gearboxes that fuel-burners need.

And because driving really fast uses so much energy, affordable, efficiency-focused EVs have electronic speed limiters. These will typically prevent the vehicle exceeding 150km/h or so.