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Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Trollbait, Jan 26, 2024.

  1. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    And lost safety as well as handling all the while increasing cost.

    But none of what you are critical of is because of the battery pack’s placement. It is due to design choices. And with the number of EVs growing every day, there are lots of choices.
    From the Mini Cooper SE, to the BZ4X, to the Hummer EV, Ford Lightning, world’s best selling Model Y, Ioniq, Polestar, BMW, GM, etc.
    And I am guessing every one of them shapes the seats a bit differently, but all(?) likely use the skateboard design.
     
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  2. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    Weren’t there recent articles about a guy running over something and nicking the low mounted battery pack shield enough to total the car, with a very large payment?
     
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I agree with you here.

    I realize that the design of anything is a bundle of compromises. I have no involvement in automotive design, so I can't know how hard they tried other possibilities before they settled on the skateboard arrangement.

    ...which usually means I'm overthinking it, and I should probably just leave it as a simpler lament: "Gosh, I wish one of them would get it right for my family's needs."

    Maybe someday...
     
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  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Since we are talking the Model 3, they couldn't. The Camry is actually a smidge taller than it, and the non-hybrid models have just 0.2 inches more headroom. Because of the ground clearance difference, the headroom isn't because of it being taller. It's because the Camry is 6 inches longer, and that allows extending the roof line further before slanting down. The battery has to go somewhere. The hybrid Camry ends up with less headroom in the back than the Model 3 cause of its tiny battery.

    Tesla could have giving the rear less cramped head space by extending the rear over hang some more, but the Model 3 wasn't made for the midsize family sedan segment. It's made for the sporty small sedan segment with the BMW 3 series, which is still a compact by EPA. The model 3 has nearly the exact same exterior dimensions as the BMW 3 series, but it has 3 more cubic feet of cabin space, and 6 more of cargo. That's what a BEV platform with the battery under the floor can do.
     
  5. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    Yes, it was an Ioniq I believe. Although I am not sure what it is they ran over, nor if qualifying it as a "nick" is correct. As I recall though, that is the term all the media used.
    Again though, this is not the skateboard design, but the engineering of the battery pack.
    Tesla showed their cars running over cinderblocks with no adverse effects.
     
  6. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    It could be the insurance company being overly cautious about potential fire risk. If the they can't tell if the cells are damaged, they'd rather replace the entire pack. A poster here had insurance insist on a new battery when mice chewed up the wiring harness.
     
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  7. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    Nick was my term in my writing, no media involved. It didn’t look like so much but later they found the battery indeed was intruded upon inside. My words from memory.
    Tesla? Doesn’t exist for me. He could have kept quiet and been an out of sight business man.
     
  8. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    I don’t blame you for dismissing the product. But Musk’s antics don’t mean the good engineering Tesla does, doesn’t exist.

    I am not asking you to buy one, just pointing out some companies don’t design well, while others do.
     
  9. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    It's a weird situation all right... I have feelings similar to @Mr.Vanvandenburg.

    I recognize that Tesla is way more than one person, and as a company they've done a lot right. Heck, there was even a fleeting moment that my business partners and I were looking at doing some corporate leases to give ourselves company car benefits.

    But there's been something of a value inversion, and now Tesla needs to throw out the baby and keep the bathwater, as it were.
     
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  10. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Son is a long legged 6'6" and bought a Y. Son who is NFL lineman like 6'4" 320 with short legs has ridden in it. I'm 6' and ridden in both front and rear seats of a Y and the rear of a 3 with no problem.

    My hybrid has a spare. I needed it in the first 6 months I owned it.

    Packaging for each person's needs/wants is next to impossible.
     
  11. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Good to know. My wife won't tolerate anything that could be mistaken for an SUV, so I have to factor that in as well.

    We aren't in any kind of rush; the tone of impatience on my part is meaningless really. Eventually we'll see one that is right.
     
  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The Y looks more like a wagon version of the Model 3 than a SUV.
     
  13. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I'd say we're deep in the realm of subjective interpretation there.

    If I were able squint hard enough to make a Model Y seem like a wagon to my own subjective tastes, I could probably use my eyelids to press out rusty ball joints. :ROFLMAO:
     
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    It ain't no SUV.:p Hatchback then.
    https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_cn/GUID-56562137-FC31-4110-A13C-9A9FC6657BF0.html
    https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/en_us/GUID-E47C4A6D-528E-419C-8C57-FD3864644C34.html
    Measurements of them.
     
  15. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I would have used the term "crossover" first, but I'm also comfortable with the idea that crossovers are essentially up-sized hatchbacks- so I'll meet you there. (y)
     
  16. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    Ya, I'm kind of in the same boat. When I think of these designs I see pros and cons, but nothing that says "Buy me because I have mostly pros and hardly any cons!" But I also probably overthink it.

    I do like the feel of being closer to the ground. It makes me feel more connected to the road.

    Another reason I like sedans is better access to the roof. While I like having an aerodynamic car, I also like having the option to add a cargo box on top for when it's necessary, instead of buying the bigger vehicle that's less aerodynamic all the time. (I'm also an amateur radio operator and like having an antenna I can change out or take off that's installed smack dab in the middle of the roof, but that's just me.)
    I'd describe the Y as a crossover coupé.
     
  17. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Look at the trunk and frunk comparisons of a Y with the Porsche Macron EV that are starting to hit the press. Granted the Macron has a hugely higher price. (It also has a bigger battery, longer range, huge acceleration.) But the Macron's size meets my personal definition of a useful size SUV as the haul almost everything car for a household.
     
  18. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The Model 3 and Y have a similar profile, and the difference in width and length is just inches. Takes more than a quick glance for my brain to register "it's the taller one". The Y is the 3 with a higher roofline and actual hatchback.
     
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  19. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    The Y looks like a bloated sedan. But that's just my personal opinion.
     
  20. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    That’s true. Why can’t he be quiet. Same here. Imperfect beings I guess.