Rethinking Speed: Why More Power Doesn’t Always Mean More Fun
Flip through our latest road test results, and you might be surprised. We gave the sensible little Renault 5—a humble electric supermini—an impressive 4.5 stars, yet the supposedly thrilling Porsche Macan Turbo Electric and Maserati Granturismo Folgore only managed 3.5.
Has Autocar lost its sense of fun in its old age? Or are all electric cars just, well… boring?
Neither, I hope. What this really highlights is a crucial shift: carmakers need to rethink how they approach performance in the electric era.
More Power, Less Excitement?
It used to be simple—faster meant better. Think back to the 1990s BMW 3 Series. The car you really wanted was the full-fat 328i, or if your wallet allowed, the legendary M3. The lower-tier four-cylinder versions were a bit gutless, and the smaller sixes, while smoother, still didn’t set the world on fire. Meanwhile, the M3’s high-revving motor gave it that extra motorsport magic.
But today, electric performance models follow a different formula: just add more motors and crank up the horsepower.
That might sound exciting, but is it? Sure, all-wheel drive is great if you’re climbing a snowy mountain or hauling a trailer out of a muddy field, but on regular roads? Not so much. If your car needs four-wheel drive just to handle all that power, maybe it has too much power to begin with.
And then there’s the character—or lack thereof. A ‘90s M3 didn’t just have more power than a base 320i—it had a totally different personality. In contrast, a 600bhp EV just feels like a more extreme version of its lower-powered sibling, without much extra engagement.
Take the Macan Turbo Electric. More expensive, more powerful… and yet, somehow, less enjoyable than the cheaper models. Why? Because, unlike the combustion-powered M3, it doesn’t give you anything new in return for its higher price—except reduced range and higher running costs.
The Future of Fun: Beyond Horsepower
It’s time to break our addiction to raw power and find joy elsewhere. Renault gets it—the upcoming Alpine A290 isn’t just a faster version of the Renault 5. Instead, its chassis has been meticulously tuned to make it sharper, livelier, and more fun.
Hyundai nailed this philosophy with the Ioniq 5 N. They took a comfortable, lounge-like EV and turned it into a proper driver’s car. Not by simply adding horsepower, but by completely rethinking how it feels to drive. The chassis has been transformed, the handling is engaging, and Hyundai even played around with artificial sound and torque distribution to create something truly unique.
EVs actually have the potential to make rear-wheel drive mainstream again, but most manufacturers seem afraid of letting cars be too lively. Instead of harnessing the precision of modern traction control to refine balance and steering feel, they keep throwing in extra motors for all-wheel drive.
The best EVs of the future won’t just be about speed—they’ll be about character. There’s still an untapped world of chassis tuning and driver engagement waiting to be explored.
Enjoy Petrol While You Can—But Look Ahead
Yes, combustion engines still have a few years left, and we should savor them while we can. But at the same time, we need to push carmakers to rethink what makes a great performance car in the electric age.
Because the truth is, real driving pleasure has never been just about horsepower. It’s about connection, feedback, and personality—and that’s something EVs can deliver if we stop chasing bigger numbers and start chasing better experiences.