Not all cars should be EV, but these would be seriously great with some
electrification.
Automakers seem to be on a mission to turn every car in their lineups into a hybrid or EV. Sometimes enthusiasts like to complain that certain cars should never include electrification. For example, we think that the Lamborghini Aventador would be worse if it was an EV. Part of what makes that car great is the sound and savage gear changes. This isn't the case with all cars though. There are certain models that we think would be much better if they had an EV drivetrain instead of a gas engine. Here are our top five cars that would be better off as EVs.
Rolls-Royce recently revealed its all-new Phantom VIII. This amazing flagship luxury car will pick up right
where the previous Phantom left off by offering a buttery smooth 6.75-liter
twin-turbo V12. Even though this engine produces 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque
while barely making any noise, we think that the Phantom would be even better as
an EV. This way, the car would be perfectly silent instead of just very silent.
An EV drivetrain would also eliminate gear changes all together and give the car
the smoothest acceleration possible. Rolls-Royce may build the most luxurious
car, but it could still learn a few things from Tesla.
On a very similar note of luxury, we think that the new Audi A8 could benefit
from an EV model. We could have easily included rival German sedans like the BMW
7 Series and Mercedes S-Class on this list as well. These cars are all at the
top of the technology pyramid in the auto industry. It would make sense that one
of these cars should go electric and have incredible smoothness and performance
that would match the high-class character of this segment. We chose the A8
simply because it is the newest of the three and features the most autonomous driving technology that
would pair well with an EV drivetrain.
The Lexus LS is the last luxury flagship on the list that we think should
become an EV. We could also make a similar argument with the smaller Lexus ES
sedan. Lexus has been trying to catch up with the German automakers by offering
sporty, RWD cars with very good handling. This effort has been good, but we
think that Toyota needs to go back to what has helped it succeed:
electrification. Toyota and Lexus hybrid models were once at the forefront of
technology, but have since turned into an afterthought compared to Tesla. We
think that Lexus could reinvigorate the market with an EV model that would help
it leapfrog its German rivals.
The Range Rover Evoque is a bit of an oddball on this list. We chose the
Evoque because we have always thought that this model never lived up to its full potential. The Evoque is
extremely beautiful, but offers a very average 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder
that seems out of place in such a futuristic-looking car. We think that the
Evoque would be perfect as the first EV model from Land Rover. Not many people
actually use the Evoque off-road anyway, but we have seen in the past that EVs
can succeed off-road. Turning the Evoque into an EV would give more people more
of a reason to gravitate to it, instead of just loving the Range Rover
badge.
The Q60 is a very important car for Infiniti. The old G37 was a very popular
car, but the 3.7-liter VQ V6 was getting a bit long in the tooth. Enter the new
Q60 with its available 400 hp twin-turbo V6. We thought that this new engine
would be what Infiniti needed to get back in the spotlight. However, it turns out
that this new engine doesn't have a whole lot of character and neither does the
Q60. We think that Infiniti needs to do something different in order to stand
out. There is currently no sporty, affordable EV coupe on the market today. If
Infiniti could turn the Q60 into a fast EV coupe, it could have a huge market
advantage over cars like the BMW 4 Series, Mercedes C-Class coupe and Audi
A5.
Automakers seem to be on a mission to turn every car in their lineups into a hybrid or EV. Sometimes enthusiasts like to complain that certain cars should never include electrification. For example, we think that the Lamborghini Aventador would be worse if it was an EV. Part of what makes that car great is the sound and savage gear changes. This isn't the case with all cars though. There are certain models that we think would be much better if they had an EV drivetrain instead of a gas engine. Here are our top five cars that would be better off as EVs.
Rolls-Royce recently revealed its all-new Phantom VIII. This amazing flagship luxury car will pick up right
where the previous Phantom left off by offering a buttery smooth 6.75-liter
twin-turbo V12. Even though this engine produces 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque
while barely making any noise, we think that the Phantom would be even better as
an EV. This way, the car would be perfectly silent instead of just very silent.
An EV drivetrain would also eliminate gear changes all together and give the car
the smoothest acceleration possible. Rolls-Royce may build the most luxurious
car, but it could still learn a few things from Tesla.
On a very similar note of luxury, we think that the new Audi A8 could benefit
from an EV model. We could have easily included rival German sedans like the BMW
7 Series and Mercedes S-Class on this list as well. These cars are all at the
top of the technology pyramid in the auto industry. It would make sense that one
of these cars should go electric and have incredible smoothness and performance
that would match the high-class character of this segment. We chose the A8
simply because it is the newest of the three and features the most autonomous driving technology that
would pair well with an EV drivetrain.
The Lexus LS is the last luxury flagship on the list that we think should
become an EV. We could also make a similar argument with the smaller Lexus ES
sedan. Lexus has been trying to catch up with the German automakers by offering
sporty, RWD cars with very good handling. This effort has been good, but we
think that Toyota needs to go back to what has helped it succeed:
electrification. Toyota and Lexus hybrid models were once at the forefront of
technology, but have since turned into an afterthought compared to Tesla. We
think that Lexus could reinvigorate the market with an EV model that would help
it leapfrog its German rivals.
The Range Rover Evoque is a bit of an oddball on this list. We chose the
Evoque because we have always thought that this model never lived up to its full potential. The Evoque is
extremely beautiful, but offers a very average 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder
that seems out of place in such a futuristic-looking car. We think that the
Evoque would be perfect as the first EV model from Land Rover. Not many people
actually use the Evoque off-road anyway, but we have seen in the past that EVs
can succeed off-road. Turning the Evoque into an EV would give more people more
of a reason to gravitate to it, instead of just loving the Range Rover
badge.
The Q60 is a very important car for Infiniti. The old G37 was a very popular
car, but the 3.7-liter VQ V6 was getting a bit long in the tooth. Enter the new
Q60 with its available 400 hp twin-turbo V6. We thought that this new engine
would be what Infiniti needed to get back in the spotlight. However, it turns out
that this new engine doesn't have a whole lot of character and neither does the
Q60. We think that Infiniti needs to do something different in order to stand
out. There is currently no sporty, affordable EV coupe on the market today. If
Infiniti could turn the Q60 into a fast EV coupe, it could have a huge market
advantage over cars like the BMW 4 Series, Mercedes C-Class coupe and Audi
A5.