"Mass is still the enemy here, and EVs typically have lots of it. Factor in bigger brakes and wheels, and the result is an increase in unsprung mass. That puts the springs and dampers under more pressure, which results in an increased amount of energy that needs to be managed, and unwanted oscillations when a car hits a pothole, for example."
"A car also wants to pivot around what's known as the center of yaw. If you can locate as much mass as possible close to that point, then the car will rotate in a more agile way. (That's why the Evija's 93-kWh battery pack sits in the middle of the car, which helps imbue it with more traditionally agile Lotus handling. It's still heavy, though.) As clever as it all is, it still feels like you're chasing your tail."
"That's arguably brand-appropriate, but still excessive. WIRED has sampled the new all-electric Range Rover, a car on which the brief was to stick as close as possible to the ICE car's formidable capabilities: an imperious character, with effortless performance. No neck-snapping acceleration here, then, but the same team of experts is currently calibrating the new Jaguar using the same set of tools."
EVs add significant mass from batteries, larger brakes, and wheels, increasing unsprung mass and placing extra load on springs and dampers. Increased unsprung mass raises the energy that suspension must absorb and can produce unwanted oscillations over road imperfections. Placing mass near the center of yaw improves rotational agility, so mid-mounted battery packs can help handling despite overall heaviness. Manufacturers respond with heavy chassis tuning, substantial battery and motor configurations, and throttle-mapping strategies. Instant electric torque necessitates pedal scaling and mode-specific filtering to prevent sudden surges and to preserve the desired driving character.
Read at WIRED
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