Driving test in an electric car

Yes, the criterion is the existence of a clutch. No clutch (or automatic clutch) and it's classed as an automatic.

Theo

No gearbox, nothing (*) rotating while not moving, so no need for clutch or gearbox. QED must be 'auto'.

(*) apart from electric pumps for ABS etc

Not all 'hybrids' are auto though.

Can you engage lane keeping, auto stop, auto keep within the speed limits, etc?

Lots of cars will park themselves. Is that allowed?

I wonder how many people who take tests in electric cars will regret doing so if they ever need to drive a manual hire car, spouse's car etc.

Even if I'd thought that I'd never drive a manual, I'd still have taken my test in a manual because then I'd be covered if the unforeseen happened. As it happens, I've never had the slightest inclination to drive an automatic out of choice, because I like to be in control of when and if I change gear. I find that I "fight" automatics: I press the accelerator a small amount and the damn thing changes down so I have to adjust the throttle to give the acceleration I want rather than a sudden surge of power because the engine is more lightly loaded in a lower gear.

It's a shame there isn't a mini-test for someone who's been driving automatics for years and simply needs to prove that they can cope with a clutch, and don't need to demonstrate that they can drive safely around other traffic.

I wonder how many drivers who have been driving for many years would pass a modern test first time, and how many would fail for having got into bad habits in the n years between passing originally and being tested now.

I've recently bought a hybrid, with continuously varable transmission. I have driven manuals for 54 years.

CVT pretty well avoids that, although if you kick down it will of course surge as the electric motors kick in. The 30-60 time is about half what the equivalent vehicle is with manual transmission.

In most scenarios, the engine runs at a constant speed (typically about

I live in a town which has lots of hills and is infested with speed bumps. I'm more than happy to let the car make those decisions, even though I could select manual "sports" mode.

NY snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote

Most don't anymore.

I used to feel that way, but with modern cruise controls, its much more convenient not to have to do that anymore.

You don't get any sudden surge of power with the best automatics.

Depends. Certainly some avoid parallel parking when it involves parking between two already parked cars with just one space between them.

And many more would have got a lot better with practice.

I use the paddles on my DSG if necessary.

yes just for fannies that can't handle a stick ....

funny how it doesn't matter in the states and you are left to learn a stick s*it on your own....much better system.....

Given that they have no clutch and no gears, I doubt many folk thought otherwise.

Tim

That depends on what features are built into the car rather than the drive train. Generally though, those features are available (as many seem to be a legal requirement in new cars these days).

By whom? Have you any reason to think that it’s illegal?

Tim

You must either have a heavy right foot or driven some very odd automatics. In the ones I have driven, it is necessary to apply a noticeable additional force to kick down. You can, of course, still choose the gears yourself in an automatic, although the need to do so is rare.

In the context of the thread, I assume those questions are about what features you can using during the driving test. I suspect that the answer is none of them.

I was lucky in taking my test in Manchester, where there were no significant gradients. In other places a smooth hill start would be trivial in many modern vehicles.

Chris

took my tests in 1968 and 1969 in Renfrew were there were no traffic lights...tee hee

Likewise. I've driven and owned autos of all shapes and sizes  for 40 years, never had too 'light' a kick-down mechanism.

I've not driven an electric yet. I'm told it's a slightly different experience to a fossil fuel auto ?

BEV autos don't generally use transmissions. Manual or automatic. They have a fixed reduction gear.

There is a torque/horsepower curve on the following web page, that explains why.

The Porsche Taycan is an exception. It has a two speed transmission.

One reason for using a transmission on a BEV, is because of the motor rev limit. The Tesla with the "Plaid" performance rating, the motors on those go about as fast as a Dremel. The motor is made from materials that can take the forces involved, of spinning at high speed. So the gearing in that case, is just 1-speed. The motors in some other BEVs, aren't quite as adventurous in terms of max RPM. That is why some BEVs, just barely meet expected highway driving speeds.

When you buy a BEV, you can get them, with "big wheels" or "small wheels". You would want to check, whether the max speed varies with those two choices, or whether a different reduction gear is used in the two car models. Those two car types, do differ in terms of "range rating". Big wheels wastes some range, so there had better be some other improvements to be had from such a wheel choice. A smaller wheel, might use cheaper tyres :-)

Paul

Mine was in North London, plenty of hills, narrow roads lined with trees for the three point turn and sneaky service roads that need to be treated like a crossroads when turning left into a side road.