What does everyone think of one-pedal driving in EVs?
- Thread starter KurisuAya
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- audi porsche regen braking
had Been driving EV for last 8+ years until we moved to Lucid few weeks ago. I absolutely love the way one pedal driving works in this car and automatic hold assist. I don’t have to shift my feet to brake at all, IMHO this is best designed for one pedal driving. On my earlier car model s, it was great too but had to use brake to come to complete stop and hold. I tried removing creep and auto hold from settings and didn’t find it as convenient as with them on.
Today marks 10 months, and about 7700 miles, since I got my Air. It's my first EV, and there has been some learning curve to one-pedal driving. I do keep my regen at high, but I'm probably an outlier in that I don't have brake hold enabled. I can stop more smoothly without it.
- Normal driving on surface streets with light to moderate traffic: either way works for me. In the Air, I'm comfortable with backing off the go pedal just enough to coast with light regen when the situation warrants. In our RAV4 Hybrid, I can just step off the go pedal and light pressure on the brake pedal increases regen without engaging the brakes. I think I've come to prefer one-pedal driving in this situation.
- Driving on surface streets with heavy, rush-hour traffic: I used to dislike one-pedal driving here, as I would let off the go pedal too strongly when cars braked ahead. I've gotten better at that and now somewhat like that I can react to changes in the speed of cars ahead without taking the time to switch pedals. It has made me a better, smoother driver. But it took time and patience to learn.
- Highway driving: more learning curve here too. On other cars where the entire go pedal's travel is focused on go (and there's a bit less go available at the top end too), it's easier to maintain a desired speed precisely, and it took months for my right foot to get sensitive enough to be almost as good at it in the Air. Similar situation when disengaging cruise control. In general, on the highway, I still prefer two-pedal driving because the control I'm looking for there is usually that precise speed control. But when the traffic turns into stop-and-go, I lean back toward one-pedal driving now. I also learned that a finely-tuned ear, to listen to the pitch of the motor, helps with speed control.
- Fun driving on twisty mountain roads: one-pedal driving FTW!!! What a game-changer. More fun, more efficiency, and less brake wear.
- I can't speak for winter driving on snow and ice. I grew up in Chicago and back then I appreciated the value of being able to coast to help the car settle itself. I haven't had the opportunity to drive in those conditions in the last few years.
- I worry about letting anyone drive my car who hasn't had experience with one-pedal driving. I do wish there was a way for them to have a familiar driving feel, and gradually acclimate to one-pedal driving.
The first time I drove with one-pedal driving was a Tesla Model 3 from Turo. The owner was kind enough to give me a quick intro when he dropped off the car for me. He told me to accelerate in a parking lot and just fully take my foot off the pedal. I don't know if it's because I was mentally prepared for it having read a lot about EVs, if it's because I'm relatively young and mentally malleable, or what. But while that first time was jarring, it only took me maybe an hour to get relatively comfortable with it and a day to get fully used to it. Driving off in the Air at delivery with regen on high, it was like riding a bike. It just felt right immediately.
Anyway, my advice is to do what that Turo owner did for me. Let new drivers try it out in a wide open parking lot or something to get a feel for it. I bet they'll be comfortable fairly quickly as long as they're not under pressure or in danger of running into something right off the bat.
RE: regen/brake useage: Here is a question from a Mechanical Engineering / physics / heat transfer exam. “In terms of energy, what is the purpose of automobile brakes?” Correct answer: they convert kinetic energy into thermal energy (aka heat).…all of which is lost to the atmosphere. Remember conservation of energy? Regen braking is one of the more elegant systems in an EV. I very rarely use the brakes on my Lucid at all, why throw that energy/efficiency out the proverbial window (or wheel wells) and wear out the brake pads?
Steveinarizona
Active Member
I don't do one pedal driving but that decision is based on the GV60P having a blended braking system. So when I step on the brake it will initially go to regen and only go to friction if I press harder or faster. That lets me use minimal regen, coast and drive like I have driven for 60 years. But if I had the Lucid, I would probably do one pedal driving since the Lucid brake is a pure friction brake.
