[Packard V8]

On a performance ICE forum, we were discussing BEV versus ICE performance. I said:

The Bolt is a revelation as to how much fun and how easy everyday driving can be. The one-pedal driving makes anything else obsolete.

He replied:

That is something you can explain to people and until they drive a Bolt they won’t understand. When my company tested the Bolt we were impressed and upset as to how far behind we were. The regen braking programming in the Bolt is spot on. Our engineers were left scratching their heads as to where to start. :lol: I just laughed as their statements before the car arrived were derogatory.

jack vines

 

[BoltFan]

Awesome! I'm watching gas nearing 4 bucks per gallon here is Calif. But you know what? Whenever I think back on all the reasons I had to get a Bolt ... those thought just seem to fade into ... this is just the most fun car I've ever owned. It's such a wonderful experience to drive electric and GM really nailed it. Thanks so much for posting such an encouraging and interesting topic!

 

[redpoint5]

It probably takes more than just a quick test drive to appreciate 1-pedal driving. I tried it for an hour and constantly made the mistake of simply lifting my foot entirely any time I wanted to coast, which is very frequently. It takes more than an hour to learn with precision where the coast point is, and therefore more than an hour to appreciate the feature.

That said, I'm willing to prefer 1-pedal driving, but skeptical considering I like finer control. I prefer manual to automatic transmissions for instance, and there's reports on here of 1-pedal driving being dicy on snow.

 

[PhilR]

It probably takes more than just a quick test drive to appreciate 1-pedal driving. I tried it for an hour and constantly made the mistake of simply lifting my foot entirely any time I wanted to coast, which is very frequently. It takes more than an hour to learn with precision where the coast point is, and therefore more than an hour to appreciate the feature.

That said, I'm willing to prefer 1-pedal driving, but skeptical considering I like finer control. I prefer manual to automatic transmissions for instance, and there's reports on here of 1-pedal driving being dicy on snow.

This is exactly why you would love 1-pedal driving the Bolt. "Finer Control" is a great way to express it. I agree it takes a bit to acclimate but it's an entirely enjoyable learning curve. Now when I have to drive an ICE car I feel out of control. There is SO much slop in the drivetrain and when I let off the accelerator it just goes flying along on it's own! Totally unacceptable.

 

[redpoint5]

I wonder if there's been accidents avoided due to 1-pedal driving where someone falls asleep at the wheel, their foot comes off the pedal, and the car stops?

Regarding control though, it's more natural that absent any input, a thing continue doing what it's doing. From a safety perspective perhaps it's better that absent any input, a thing come to a stop.

My preference is mostly from an efficiency standpoint, where coasting is more efficient than regen, which is more efficient than braking. Granted, the differences in efficiency between coasting and regen are probably miniscule.

My guess is I will end up preferring 1-pedal driving considering that's the vast consensus here, and I won't worry about the tiny efficiency stuff since it's probably not measurable, and EV itself represents a massive improvement over my ICE vehicles.

 

[Tokodave]

I've been using 1 pedal driving pretty much full time since about day one, 16,000 miles and 16 months ago. I'm a nordic skier and I've driven up to Homestake Pass and Homestake Lodge pretty much every day to ski so I'm doing some winter driving almost every day all winter long. I'd seen the discussions of 1 pedal driving in dicey winter conditions but with good winter tires I've had no issues at all. On the few days when it was sheer ice in town it really didn't matter whether you were in D or L....it was slippery either way to the point even the anti-lock brakes struggled. If you were not monitoring the road conditions you would have had trouble, period.

 

[Sean Nelson]

This is exactly why you would love 1-pedal driving the Bolt. "Finer Control" is a great way to express it. I agree it takes a bit to acclimate but it's an entirely enjoyable learning curve. Now when I have to drive an ICE car I feel out of control. There is SO much slop in the drivetrain and when I let off the accelerator it just goes flying along on it's own! Totally unacceptable.

Yep, this is exactly right. The one pedal driving experience feels as if the car is just reading your mind. You want go faster, so your foot applies more pressure and the car goes faster. You want to slow suddenly, so your foot releases a lot of pressure and the car slows down pronto. Descriptions don't do it justice.

 

[Vertiformed]

Regarding control though, it's more natural that absent any input, a thing continue doing what it's doing.

So, with the steering wheel, if you turn it left and let go, it shouldn't return to center? It would be more natural for it to stay where you left it?

One pedal-driving feels absolutely natural to me and most Bolt drivers. It's a perfect blend of control and connection. The car smoothly matches your will.

My preference is mostly from an efficiency standpoint, where coasting is more efficient than regen, which is more efficient than braking. Granted, the differences in efficiency between coasting and regen are probably miniscule.

You're thinking like an ICE driver. In an EV, the best thing to do is avoid extremes; don't accelerate or regen hard. Drive smooth. In one-pedal driving is all about smooth.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

Trust me. I'm experiencing that right now.

I had to explain to a coworker today: "You don't realize how much conscious effort you have to put into pressing the brake pedal. I didn't used to have to except in the case of emergencies. Now I'm back to having to press the brake pedal regularly when driving."

She just looked at me: "Wow. Really? You don't have to use the brake pedal in your car?"

 

[Vertiformed]

From my recent trip where I (a little reluctantly) drove our Golf TDI after not driving it for a year (my spouse used it for occasional errands). Bear in mind that I considered the Golf to be a pretty fantastic fun-to-drive car before we got the Bolt.

• “It vibrates!”
• “It doesn't GO.”; “Come on, you can do it, get up to speed!”
• “OMG, it's changing gear again. There goes all the power!”
• “It's not going to stop. I've got to push the brake!”

I did get used to pushing the brake and the need to be more aggressive with the gas pedal.

However, at one point I was parked in a (pull-in) parking space on a slight incline. Returning to the car after lunch, I put it in reverse and eased back controlling my backward speed with the brake pedal but the steering felt incredibly heavy and wrong. I was freaked out, until I realized that I'd turned the key to turn the car on, but not actually started the engine. Of course, reversing in total silence didn't clue me in to the error.

 

[redpoint5]

I accidentally slammed on the brakes in an automatic when I had been used to driving a manual. The automatic transmission didn't up-shift when I would have, and I went to hit the clutch to shift, but caught the double-wide brake pedal of an automatic instead.

Muscle memory makes you very good at the thing you do often, and very poor at everything else.

So, with the steering wheel, if you turn it left and let go, it shouldn't return to center? It would be more natural for it to stay where you left it?

Turning is a constant change in vector, so it makes sense that a steering wheel straighten when let go. Lack of input should keep the vehicle on a constant vector and velocity.

 

[Vertiformed]

Turning is a constant change in vector, so it makes sense that a steering wheel straighten when let go. Lack of input should keep the vehicle on a constant vector and velocity.

So, the most “natural” steerting wheel would snap back to center instantly when you let go to keep your vector constant?

And you must think a manual transmission car in second gear is incredibly “unnatural”. Take your foot of the gas and the car slows significantly (a lot like a Bolt in L!).

 

[Packard V8]

My preference is mostly from an efficiency standpoint, where coasting is more efficient than regen, . . . . Granted, the differences in efficiency between coasting and regen are probably miniscule.

It's good you almost answered your own question. The complete answer is forget that last-century ICE hypermiling/coasting paradigm. BEV one-pedal regen is always more efficient than coasting, even if some won't accept it as fact.

Redpoint5 - It probably takes more than just a quick test drive to appreciate 1-pedal driving. I tried it for an hour and constantly made the mistake of simply lifting my foot entirely any time I wanted to coast, which is very frequently. It takes more than an hour to learn with precision where the coast point is, and therefore more than an hour to appreciate the feature.

That said, I'm willing to prefer 1-pedal driving, but skeptical considering I like finer control.

As some have already mentioned, there's never been anything automotive which delivered finer control of rate of motion than does the Bolt, once the driver adjusts to the L mode.

My guess is I will end up preferring 1-pedal driving considering that's the vast consensus here

For true; it just takes some longer than others. My wife, who's not a tech/car person at all, took to the one-pedal instantly.

jack vines

 

[GJETSON]

BEV one-pedal regen is always more efficient than coasting, even if some won't accept it as fact.

I'm with you on this one.

 

[hatchy]

Redpoint5 will prefer D mode. I'm calling it now, any wagers?

 

[Vertiformed]

Redpoint5 will prefer D mode. I'm calling it now, any wagers?

Nah, @redpoint5 will hang out on the forum for years, opining on one topic or another, without ever actually owning an EV.

 

[hatchy]

Which btw I'm perfectly happy with. Or I'll catch him on ecomodder.. And my last post was based on the fact that our backgrounds are very similar. That being motorcycles and manuals. My last daily was a manual, and it was not easy to find it. They must have not made many in that model.

So, the most “natural” steerting wheel would snap back to center instantly when you let go to keep your vector constant?

And you must think a manual transmission car in second gear is incredibly “unnatural”. Take your foot of the gas and the car slows significantly (a lot like a Bolt in L!).

You do you get noticeable "engine braking" effect in D mode. Its not quite as extreme as L, but D does it too. L just desensitizes you to the engine braking you get in D. Just as with an ice manual left in gear, you need to give Bolt a little gas in D to coast. D is closer to an ice manual in practice than L. Being a gear or two off, that is like L engine braking. Very extreme. Thats why they named it L.


Yes a wheel should go back to center... maybe not immediately but its pretty normal. I've been crossed up, spinning out, and in a well behaved car you can almost let go of the wheel completely, the car will do a lot of the work getting you back in control. If you let it.

 

[redpoint5]

Nah, @redpoint5 will hang out on the forum for years, opining on one topic or another, without ever actually owning an EV.

I did join a Spark forum in 2015, and have yet to purchase a Spark EV.

However, I did join an Acura forum in 2008, and purchased an Acura in 2010. Then I joined Priuschat in 2013 and bought a Prius in 2015.

You never know when I'll get 'round to it.

 

[jms]

I also used to drive a manual and I prefer D mode and I do switch to neutral to coast when I know I'm going to do it for a while. I have a 2 mile run that I routinely coast through and maintaining a perfect balance of pressure on the accelerator seems like a lot of work.

 

[Packard V8]

I also used to drive a manual and I prefer D mode and I do switch to neutral to coast when I know I'm going to do it for a while. I have a 2 mile run that I routinely coast through and maintaining a perfect balance of pressure on the accelerator seems like a lot of work.

And cruise control wouldn't work for that run why?

jack vines, who has driven manual transmissions for sixty years and loves L mode and one-pedal.