SUVs are useless for carrying stuff

[Gunk]

And would likely have killed you in a car crash. Modern cars have airbags, side impact bars etc etc to make the occupants safe. Those add weight.
Now that EVs are on the scene there is some incentive to try and reduce the weight of these things...

Get the safety stuff, but cars have just become substantially larger, the SUV fad means more bulk and far more weight, you end up with a heavier far less efficient vehicle.

 

[Badger_Boom]

I'm not sure I'd class it as an SUV but the main reason we both love the Discovery is because it is enormous inside as well as out. We've moved house with it, and carried all sorts of huge and/or heavy loads. Now we have the dog, it can carry his large travel crate and still leave enough space for enough luggage to maintain a Viking horde on a pillaging tour of the North East.

 

[Gillstay]

I'm not sure I'd class it as an SUV but the main reason we both love the Discovery is because it is enormous inside as well as out. We've moved house with it, and carried all sorts of huge and/or heavy loads. Now we have the dog, it can carry his large travel crate and still leave enough space for enough luggage to maintain a Viking horde on a pillaging tour of the North East.

Its large to you, but if you had a Berlingo (giving 50mpg) you would find it quite a small car.

 

[Jameshow]

And would likely have killed you in a car crash. Modern cars have airbags, side impact bars etc etc to make the occupants safe. Those add weight.
Now that EVs are on the scene there is some incentive to try and reduce the weight of these things...

Eva are generally heavier than ice!!

 

[Gunk]

And would likely have killed you in a car crash

I would have gone in style

 

[icowden]

Eva are generally heavier than ice!!

Yes, but not by as much as you might think...

 

[DRHysted]

My SUV boot takes the same as my old rather large estate. Yet unlike the estate it fits in parking bays as it’s a lot shorter and slightly narrower. The SUV is also much more stable which not only means I’m safer, it also means when I’m towing everyone around me is also safer.
So would I go back to an estate from an SUV? At this moment in time? no. If my needs change? maybe.

 

[bonzobanana]

Yup. Not sure it makes much sense though.

• An EV is not much heavier than a modern ICE, typically only a 200 to 300 kg. For example VW Tiguan (Hybrid) weights from 1620 to 1822kg. ID4 weight 1965 to 2239kg.
• Cars vary in height from about 1420mm to 1890mm. Where do you set the height limit? 1600mm? That will block a Tesla X or Y but not a Tesla S or 3. So there would be no benefit at all to using height as a measure to prevent heavier cars from going higher. Surely a scale would be a better way of doing it?

He doesn't want to be alarmist but has had nothing else to do for the last 6 months or so than be alarmist!!

I think it is just to get the average weight down on the higher levels and easy to implement but certainly not a perfect system. The weight of very large electric SUV's is pretty incredible so just catching those will be beneficial. This simple measure wouldn't care whether a car had a ICE or was an EV it is purely a height restriction to prevent taller likely heavier cars going to the higher levels. It's not going to block saloon and estate EV cars. However I'm sure it would have a significant weight saving on the higher levels. The whole implementation is basically a sign hanging from a chain and perhaps a few posters clearly indicating the height restrictions as you enter the multi-storey car park. Lots of normal car parks currently have height restrictions to prevent vehicles like large vans and motorhomes entering.

 

[icowden]

I think it is just to get the average weight down on the higher levels and easy to implement but certainly not a perfect system.

That seems a bit of an understatement. A Tesla S could access the high levels and weighs 2534kg. A Tesla Y is over 500kg lighter but would be restricted to lower levels. The height of a car has very little bearing on the weight of the car.

 

[Pale Rider]

An EV is not much heavier than a modern ICE, typically only a 200 to 300 kg. For example VW Tiguan (Hybrid) weights from 1620 to 1822kg. ID4 weight 1965 to 2239kg.

The problem there is both the hybrid and the full EV are very heavy for a car.

A better comparison is with a standard ICE hatchback, such as a Ford Focus which only weighs 1,167kg.

That's almost half the weight of your ID4.

 

[rogerzilla]

Is the last Focus really that light? Most hatchbacks in that class are now around 1.5 tonnes.

 

[fossyant]

Is the last Focus really that light? Most hatchbacks in that class are now around 1.5 tonnes.

1330 to 1500 kg !

 

[icowden]

A better comparison is with a standard ICE hatchback, such as a Ford Focus which only weighs 1,167kg.

How is comparing a larger car with a small car a useful comparison?

The current ford focus weighs from 1280 to 1543kg. The VW ID3 which is probably a better comparator is 1813 to 1936kg. So about 300 to 600kg difference depending on config.

That's almost half the weight of your ID4.

Yes, because it's a small car and not a medium to big sized car.

The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe)

C segment is "medium cars eg VW Golf. The ID4 is classed as an SUV, albeit a compact SUV.

We could compare to the e-golf which weighed 1485kg to 1615kg. Right in the middle of the weight range for the current Ford Focus. The battery in an e-golf weighed 318kg. The engine in a Golf weighs around 130kg but that doesn't include all the other bits and pieces in there that the car needs to run.

 

[rogerzilla]

The e-Golf was one of those shorter range EVs, though, only likely to be of interest as a second car to many people. 144 miles WLTP, so more like a real 120 in summer and 90-100 in winter.

The Mazda MX-30 is similar - 200kg heavier than a typical Mazda3, but it only has 124 miles WLTP range. Same goes fir the Mini e.

The EVs with 250+ WLTP miles, which is where it starts to become acceptable for most people, have to cart round twice as much battery.

 

[Jameshow]

The e-Golf was one of those shorter range EVs, though, only likely to be of interest as a second car to many people. 144 miles WLTP, so more like a real 120 in summer and 90-100 in winter.

The Mazda MX-30 is similar - 200kg heavier than a typical Mazda3, but it only has 124 miles WLTP range. Same goes fir the Mini e.

The EVs with 250+ WLTP miles, which is where it starts to become acceptable for most people, have to cart round twice as much battery.

Minimum range for me to consider an Ev as a main car would be 150 miles so one stop Leeds to Devon.