It wasn't the most sensible or logical thing I've ever done, entering my Renault 5 long-termer in the Watergate Bay Sprint, a Cornish motorsport event on a closed public road between Newquay and Watergate Bay, about a month ago.
I mean, how well could a brand-new, bog-standard baby EV be expected to do in a proper, Motorsport UK-approved competitive event against 70-odd conventional cars, many of them developed over years for this very purpose?
Three reasons. First, this is the big-battery, 148bhp version. Its acceleration off the mark is much more impressive than that of a similar-power petrol car, because its generous maximum torque of 181lb ft is available from step-off.
As well as being invaluable in the traffic, such grunt is ideal for rapid start-line departures and for slingshotting you off start lines and out of slow corners and chicanes (of which Watergate Bay's 930-yard course has three).
Second, I reckoned the Renault's small size would help in a September sprint when the weather might be iffy (it was). And third, I figured the Pop Yellow colour would look great in photos (it did).
Debacles aren't often fun, but this event was one of the exceptions. The weather - rain and high winds - combined to make our clifftop perch about as exposed as it could be.
Extreme wet, mud on the track and an early competitor's accident (including a very big oil spill) combined to limit our number of runs to three (one practice, two timed) for the day, instead of the half dozen we had hoped for. Yet the car was terrific.
It ran a best time of 39 seconds - nothing special but no disgrace. It felt safe and quick, with positive steering and total wet-road stability. Even with rivers of water running down the middle of the track, I felt it could easily have used more power.
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Enthusiastic though I am about EVs, I think cruising speeds can still be an issue (due to the square law between speed and energy consumption). So when Steve talks about cruising at 65 to 70mph, does he mean speedometer measured or actual? There can easily be a 5mph difference between the two - so if you are cruising at a real 60mph and everyone else is travelling at 70, well that can seem rather slow!And I know that I frequently travel slower in my EV than my petrol car simply to eek out a bit more range and avoid a laborious recharging stop, which would considerably lower my average speed. From experience cruising speed and wind direction and strength can have a massive effect on energy consumption - much more so than a petrol car which is basically inefficient at all times!
Don't you mean everyone else is cruising at 65, actual.
How would you know what 65 miles an hour feels like, actual or not - you drive a Dacia Spring....
Dacia or Not at least I can drive.
I too have a Dacia Spring and it will easily do an indicated 70mph give or take a bit of wind noise! But I'm happy to travel a bit slower which considerably extends the range. It's a great little car btw provided you accept it as a second car and accept some limitations. Even the performance is fine with plenty of low speed torque offsetting it's modest power. Of course I have a proper car for when I need to travel further and faster....