Your definitive guide to an Electric Car Performance and Acceleration

Electric Car Performance and Acceleration-Your definitive Guide

The old adage that “electric cars are boring” has well and truly dissipated; most of the UK’s leasing demographic are aware that the instant torque and responsive steering is leading to some interesting e-performance options being offered. Enough to encourage petrol-headed Lamborghini, Ferrari or Bentley owners away?

Well, maybe some hard line combustion fans will keep in their engine derivatives (which is fine!) but some will already be considering a transition to electrification with the ability to enjoy some blistering 0 - 62 times, hefty top speeds while enjoying reasonable running costs, tax advantages for business / salary sacrifice customers and forming part of the Green revolution.

With the Government pushing for a “net-zero with end of sale of new petrol and diel cars by 2030”  there will be number of automotive segments which need salient solutions. The performance and driver-experience fanbase will need equally joyous experiences.

But want does kWh and kW mean on the car - is that the power or speed?

For many customers, we use BHP or PS to denote to the power of any vehicle. However, with the onset of EVs, and EV data, some customers have been left feeling confused about how to interpret the updated information and quantity how this translates in terms of performance.

Using the Polestar Performance “fastback” shown here, the 350kW and 78kWh are contained within the description BUT which one is power or speed? The kW, or Kilowatt, is effectively the car’s power and the measurement you should be using (one kilowatt = 1000 watts). In the same way, a charge point will also have a corresponding power i.e. 7kW for a domestic charge point or 150 kW for a rapid charge point - the bigger the figure, the higher the output speed.

On any EV you can ask your leasing broker, dealership or finance company to provide a conversion for you, as we do appreciate that this is not yet wholesale for us all. While you can work this out yourself - Kilowatt = 1.34 mechanical horsepower - our e-car website does set this out for you too. In addition, our EV EPC© also presents this in a more salient fashion, which you will see below. Will kW ever really replace BHP or PS?

It’s difficult to say at this early stage but there may well be a move away from traditional measurements. But, to simplify matters, the higher the value for kW, the higher the power will be on the vehicle BUT the less efficient your EV will be (if comparing to exact EVs by virtue of kWh but with different kW). As we will set out below, the kWh has no immediate indication on power or vehicle speed.

Converting kW on an EV to BHP via the EV EPC©

So what does the kWh mean on an electric car or van?

The kilowatt-hour reference is made in relation to battery capacity in a similar way to CC on a combustion engine. You will note that certain cars, like the Polestar 2, will have a number of derivatives like 69 kWh / 78 kWh / 82 kWh etc etc.

Effectively the stated battery capacity, or the usable battery capacity, will help a customer understand storage capacity (the bigger the battery the longer the range - in general!) and the cost to fuel. As the purported cost of living crisis has shown, we need to be more cost conscious about certain elements in our life.

The running cost, or Whole of Life costs, are now integral to affordability for consumers or businesses. Now in an EV this is pretty simple to calculate, with the cost per kWh (shown in pence) being used to multiply against the total kWh of the battery and therefore the full charge cost.

When you compare the total cost to charge against the range of the EV (temperate and condition dependent) you have a cost per mile. Simply build in the insurance, your dedicated home charge point installation and you can quickly ascertain your EV’s cost; and cost-certainty is a precious jewel at the moment!

While longer range vehicles will often have a higher kWh (look for an EV with a 70-75 kWh+ battery configuration), there’s are elements like vehicle weight, aerodynamics, power (kW) and alloy size which influence this. As our definitive EV comparison guide shows the “energy efficiency” is not all about battery size, due the elements mentioned. Some smaller EVs, with lower weight and steel wheels, will produce more miles per kWh. And also note that batteries are often the biggest cost within the EV - the more you need, the more expensive it will be! 

The great news for personal and business car leasing customers is that there is a litany of amazing performance electric car options to decide from. In the more luxurious category you can enjoy the Porsche Taycan, the Lotus Eletre, e-tron GT, the Mercedes EQE and EQS plus the BMW iX. However, there are some more affordable options for company car users like Tesla Model 3 and Y Performance, the Kia EV6 GT and BMW i4. All of these models have a 0 - 62 mph of 4 seconds of lower! What you can quickly ascertain is that going all-electric can lead to a fun driving experience and will not be anything other than a compromise. Want to know more? Just check the definitive Electric Car Performance and Acceleration set out below.

In terms of the car shown, Polestar 2 Fastback 350kW 78kWh LR DM [Performance] 5dr 4WD Auto (Pure Electric Vehicle), this is based on the following configuration:  

•  Magnesium Metallic Paint
• Embossed Textile cloth - Charcoal with 3D Etched deco
•  20" 4 Y Spoke black polished forged alloy wheels
•  Type 2 Mode 3 charge cable 1P, 230V, 32A, 2.3kW- 7m
•  Type 2 Mode 3 charge cable 3P, 230V, 16A, 11kW- 6m 

And to clarify, this model of Polestar will offer 350 kW or 476 BHP (in old money). This translate to a 4.4 second 0 - 62mph time and top speeds of 127mph.