The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N offers three sound themes and the simulated feeling of gear changes. Hyundai
Some car companies believe that artificial engine noise will make drivers choose an electric car.
Hyundai and Dodge have both introduced electric cars where the exhaust noise is faked outside the vehicle.
Electric cars are inherently quiet.
This is a machine translation of an article by our US colleagues at Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor. We welcome feedback at the end of the article.
A recent video unveiling Hyundai’s latest high-performance car shows the new Ioniq 5 N hurtling across a racetrack and through city streets while rumbling loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. Typical car ad.
The clip wouldn’t be so strange – if the Ioniq 5 N had a motor.
But Hyundai’s sporty new SUV is an electric car, so it’s inherently quiet. And the sound is a dummy generated by ten internal and external speakers to imitate the experience of an internal combustion engine. Hyundai and some other manufacturers are betting that motorists will be more willing to drive an electric car if it sounds and feels the same as the gas-powered car they are outperforming.
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In addition to the three different sound themes, the Ioniq 5 N simulates the building and jerking feeling of gear changes while driving. And that despite the fact that, like almost all electric cars, it only has one gear. Hyundai hopes this combination will provide a smoother driving experience and help buyers feel comfortable despite the new fuel source.
(For a pure EV experience, drivers can also turn the sound off entirely.)
Dodge, which is phasing out its thundering, gas-powered muscle cars and gearing up for an electric future, is taking similar steps. Last year the brand showed an electric concept vehicle with a multi-speed gearbox and a fake exhaust sound that mimics a supercharged V8 engine. The exhaust should reach 126 decibels and thus almost as loud as a jet engine.
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept is a preview of the American brand’s upcoming electric muscle car. Bill Pugliano/Stringer/Getty
The brand itself acknowledged how insane the idea is in a press release: “While most BEVs embrace their virtually silent electric motors, that just wouldn’t be possible for Dodge… Yes, Dodge added an exhaust to an EV.”
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Toyota is working on a simulated stick shifter for electric vehicles that will allow drivers to pretend to shift gears manually. The system can even shut down if the driver messes up a shift, a Toyota spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. Electric cars don’t need multi-speed gearboxes like regular cars, so that’s just kidding.
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“Automakers are responding to concerns among some enthusiasts that electric cars have no souls,” Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific, an automotive research and advisory firm, told Business Insider.
But he said things like artificial engine roar and unnecessary gearboxes are unlikely to catch on in the long run. Buyers love quiet cars and can be put off by artificial things, he said.
“I don’t know if we’ll still see something like this in ten years’ time,” he said, “I think many drivers are looking for an authentic and genuine experience.”
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There’s only one reason you should buy Tesla stock — and it has nothing to do with electric cars
Food for thought: Maybe blasting fake engine sounds onto the road isn’t a huge selling point for electric cars, but what if doing so could increase pedestrian safety?
Research has shown that pedestrians are more likely to misjudge the speed and distance of a quiet, oncoming electric car than an approaching petrol vehicle. Perhaps the gap could be closed by giving e-vehicles the acoustic signature of conventional cars.
Read the original article in English here.