Mazda purposely limited its new EV ‘to feel more like a gas car’
Mazda not only limited the range of its first EV, the MX-30, it also took some of the fun out of it on purpose, too. The automaker said it tuned the electric motor’s torque to feel less like an EV and more like a gasoline-powered car, according to Autocar. With 192 pound-feet of torque, the EV will take a leisurely nine seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph — not bad for a gas car, but far slower than EVs like Tesla’s Model 3.
Even though it’s producing the MX-30, Mazda seems less than enthusiastic about electric cars. It recently said that it made the MX-30 with a relatively small 35.5 kWh battery because long-range EVs are worse for the environment than diesels — a claim that’s based on a number of questionable assumptions. As a result, the MX-30 is only expected to go up to 120 miles or so on a charge, based on EPA figures.
Mazda said that it will never offer “big-battery” electric car, and plans to offer a hybrid version of the MX-30 with a rotary engine range extender. It could be pinning most of its hopes on that vehicle, as its PR efforts around the all-electric MX-30 have not generated much enthusiasm to date.
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