Electric vehicles have always used the ‘instant torque’ point to their advantage while debating against combustion vehicles. After all, none of the combustion vehicles can match the instant torque that any of the electric vehicles produce. This helps electric vehicles get a much better launch than combustion vehicles. The quarter-mile timings of electric vehicles prove this. The Lucid Air Dream Edition broke the 10-second mark two months ago, managing a 9.9-second timing. To put things into perspective, hypercars like Dodge Challenger, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport and Ferrari LaFerrari are less than half a second faster.
But as they say, every coin has two sides. Instant torque may have its merits on the dragstrip, but it can prove to be a hazard for new owners. One such new owner found this out in the wrong way yesterday. A video has surfaced on Twitter, showing a Porsche Taycan driver losing control of his/her car and ending up smashing into two other cars while parking a brand new vehicle on his driveway.
Disclaimer: Things get really bad, really fast.
What Really Happened
The video apparently was captured by a CCTV camera across the street in a quiet neighborhood in the United Kingdom. It starts with the Porsche Taycan driving towards the driveway, taking a U-turn to get onto it, and then begin the upward slope towards the house.
After having scaled the slope around halfway, the Porsche stops. It is stationary for a few seconds, but that is just the calm before the storm. The drama begins with the driver suddenly letting go of the brakes and giving throttle input. Porsche’s instant torque takes over and takes the car headfirst into an SUV parked in front of the adjacent house. The momentum wasn’t arrested there, and after smashing into the rear part of the SUV, it swerves along the elevated driveway and jumps onto a car parked on the road, at a lower level.
The impact saw the roadside-parked car get pushed into the middle of the road. The Porsche, on the other hand, finally came to a halt in the most unnatural of positions. The two left wheels were left on the driveway at a higher level, while the right wheels were resting on the road. Fortunately, no pedestrians were nearby, and the driver escaped unhurt too. The driver, unnamed yet, had reportedly bought the car just five days ago, for £83,000. Now, this is something the insurance company is definitely going to hate.
Speculation Behind The Reason Of The Crash
The video went viral on the web, and someone also posted it on the Taycan Forum. Many experts have had their say on the matter, and there is one common theory. The driver is most probably new behind the wheel of an electric car. He/She is not used to the instant torque that an electric vehicle provides. Because of this, they were unaware of the car’s behavior, and not well-experienced. They did not know how much throttle input would be sufficient to take the car up the slope, and hence lost control of the vehicle.
Our Opinion
This is a very good lesson for all those who are making or thinking about making the switch from a CV to an EV. There are features in electric vehicles, such as instant torque, launch control, and regenerative braking which are new for any CV driver. Even if you are an experienced driver, you will need time to get used to it. Inexperience with regenerative braking might cause you to brake a bit too hard, which can be hazardous in traffic. Similarly, lack of experience with instant torque will cause something of this sort. Of course, the slope makes it much more difficult if you are a new driver. All this is just part of some basic training for yourself, as your instincts get used to these features.
This kind of videos may be found in reels or something like “America’s Funniest Videos”, but one also needs to understand the serious part behind it. It is better to be careful when you are a new driver, or when it is a new car, or both. To put it more simply, stay cautious, stay safe.
