[kurokawa]

Hi -

Question is as per the subject - which of the popular EVs at the moment has what they call "one pedal driving" - from what I gather this means that you can set the regenerative braking to such a level that the car will completely stop on its own if you are driving smoothly and anticipating the stopping distances correctly?

Also - does this mean the brake lights come on automatically when you have this enabled as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator?

I thought all EV can do that?
at least on my old i3, there are no setting, only 1 level of regen, only way to adjust the regen is my right foot. (i.e. no cruising available)
As soon as I lift the pedal the car slow down, and when the regen force pass certain point the brake light turn on. It will come to complete stop if I time and judge correctly. Will not hold the car if the decline is too steep.

 

[Cheshirecat]

Isn't it just the Leaf that has true one pedal driving?.. Perhaps the latest Kia/Hyundai do too but I think a lot of cars have a strong regen mode that gets called "one pedal". I've heard the Zoe B mode referred to as "one pedal driving" which it absolutely isn't.

On our e-Niro in level 3 regen, or the Zoe in B-Mode you can do most of your driving without touching the brake pedal. However when actually needing to stop, the brake pedal is required. Both cars creep like a traditional automatic. It's notable the regen on the Kia is much 'stronger' than the Zoe and it always takes me a moment to re-adjust when swapping between them, so not all cars will feel the same.

I haven't driven a Leaf but my work did try a Kangoo EV demonstrator with one pedal mode and I loved it. No creep, came to a standstill by automatically, gently, applying the friction brakes. Showed the brake lights as you'd expect. Really what all EVs should have and I find it baffling that they don't.

If you pull and hold the left paddle on your eNiro it will come to a complete stop

I use the auto hold on mine also to stop it "creeping"

 

[EdH]

True one pedal driving is what you get in the Nissan Leaf Tekna, and possibly some other models. If a car has it there will be a pushbutton labelled e-pedal to activate and deactivate it. I found it a nuisance particularly in reverse. Also it gets a bit annoying to have to keep your foot on the pedal at all times. After trying it a few times, I switched it off.

 

[Crypto_Kid]

Hi -

Question is as per the subject - which of the popular EVs at the moment has what they call "one pedal driving" - from what I gather this means that you can set the regenerative braking to such a level that the car will completely stop on its own if you are driving smoothly and anticipating the stopping distances correctly?

Also - does this mean the brake lights come on automatically when you have this enabled as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator?

From personal experience of ownership ;

BMW i3 , Nissan Leaf 40kw , Tesla model 3. All work fine and nice and aggressive regen. Tesla will also bring the car to a complete stop if you dont touch the go pedal, cant remember fully what happens in the others.

 

[Mrklaw]

I have my Tesla set not to come to a complete stop. While convenient at traffic lights, it slows to a crawl anyway, similar to an automatic car. Simple to use the brake to stop. And a hard press of the brake will out it in hold mode which is good for traffic lights
Mainly I didn’t like it stopping when parking. I had auto cars before so I’m used to letting the creep move my car at a safe speed and hovering over the brake to control and stop. I just don’t feel comfortable using the throttle for that in tight spots. If I’d come from a manual probably a lot less of an issue

I am curious about pedals though. Tesla only has one regen level but it varies depending how much you let off the throttle - so you can coast or heavily regen based on that. So why do other cars use settings? Is it so you can just drop your foot fully off the throttle and have a preferred level of regen?

 

[Jeremy Harris]

As well as having the option to have creep on or off (a regen control in effect) the Model 3 also varies regen a fair bit depending on temperature and state of charge. If it's charged to 100% for a long trip then you have to put up with not having any noticeable regen at all for a few miles. Same happens in very cold weather. Caught me out the first time, as our drive is pretty steep, so I lifted off, expecting the car to slow down and it didn't, just kept accelerating down the slope.

 

[idiotzoo]

If you pull and hold the left paddle on your eNiro it will come to a complete stop

I use the auto hold on mine also to stop it "creeping"

Sure... but you have to do something other than just lift off the go pedal, so it isn't one pedal driving. Auto hold does stop creep after using the brake pedal, but requires you to do that.

True one pedal driving is really so much better imho. The brake pedal becomes something you only need to use in an emergency, or during spirited driving.

 

[idiotzoo]

I suppose a key point for the OP is that lots of cars have a heavy regen option that gets referred to as "one pedal" but isn't. You could better name it "you don't have to use the brakes very often driving" but that's not quite as snappy.

 

[Nebulous]

I got used to it very quickly on my leaf, and find my van strange without it. I tell people its just like driving a dodgem. You put your foot down and it goes, take it off and it stops.

 

[Parkwood]

The mercedes has 2 regen modes and an automatic mode (in some countries not all). To alter the degree of regen you use the paddles d+ or d++ which gives one pedal driving. There is also d- and d— which reduce regen and allow coasting.
d auto is linked to the cars camera systems for signage, incl speed limits, and the navigation system hence why it is not switched on in all markets (australia for example). This is a variation of the automatic driving system though it is not quite as advanced. It allows coasting and will slow via regen on approach to bends and junctions but I have noticed it does not bring the car down specifically to the actual speed limit as the full system does it just slows it down and I make sure by the brake pedal the car is at the right speed. After fiddling with the paddles I now use d auto all the time as it works seamlessly and just makes driving a real pleasure the car is always doing the right thing and it feels as if it is just an extension of you driving difficult to explain.
There is a good read out available on the centre screen so you can see what the car is doing re drawing power, fwd only rwd only or 4wd, fwd regen only, 4wd regen or coasting. Mercedes may have been late to the party but they waited until they had mastered the technologies to give that luxury drive which is of course their only USP.
I liked the one pedal driving on my test drive but now living with the car I much prefer the d auto as with one pedal you are always needing to depress or release the pedal balancing power with regen, d auto does it far more smoothly than I can as it responds more seamlessly and feels more like normal driving.
In town driving I use the full driving system so the car will follow the traffic when stuck on the rocade in Bordeaux this summer in my e class it was such a pleasure to use and made it feel a lot less stressful.
Coming from previous automatic mercedes the lack of gear change was no issue for me and I must say I cannot quite understand why anyone thinks outside of racing or rallying why manual gear changes are a nice thing to have! To my mind it is a crude and tiresome system and how I ever tolerated 14 yrs of commuting on the M25 via Clacket Lane Services and the Dartford River crossing just using manual cars is beyond me!

 

[phil-ev]

Going back to the OPs thread title does anyone have a definitive list of vehicles that have a one-pedal "can bring it to a complete stop without touching the brake" regen mode.

Are there any others than the LEAF, Tesla's, BMW i3?

I'm assuming that every other new EV today just brings it down to ~5mph? And requires a slight tap on the foot brake down to 0mph to trigger the Auto-hold.

 

[Cheshirecat]

Sure... but you have to do something other than just lift off the go pedal, so it isn't one pedal driving. Auto hold does stop creep after using the brake pedal, but requires you to do that.

True one pedal driving is really so much better imho. The brake pedal becomes something you only need to use in an emergency, or during spirited driving.

Yes you are correct, you have to multi-task but not true "one pedal"

 

[EdH]

Fiat 500e has one pedal driving mode, rarely need to touch the brake pedal at all, once you get used to it. The regen level is preset, no adjustment possible ( not that I have found in the settings anyway)

If it has true one pedal driving, you don't ever need to touch the brake.

 

[Javert1969]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We just had a short test drive in a Kona this morning which actually I was very impressed by, and it was as described above - there are paddles on the steering wheel to adjust the regen level to 4 different settings from none to maximum, and you can also hold the left paddle to make it stop completely, so it’s possible to drive without touching the brake pedal in most situations but for sure it will take some getting used to if you are not used to that level of deceleration just from taking your foot of the gas.

My wife thought it was pretty good actually - her main worry is that she feels anxious driving a car that isn’t “her” car rather than whether it’s electric or petrol or whatever, and also all the usual anxieties about range and charging and so on - she was asking me for example, if the car runs out of charge even when you don’t drive it and you waste all the electricity - I said I assume it’s like any modern battery device - if you don’t use it it will hold it’s charge for weeks or even months and just lost maybe a few % (hopefully this is a correct assumption by me)

 

[phil-ev]

If it has true one pedal driving, you don't ever need to touch the brake.

Fiat has a hilarious definition on its website describing it's one pedal mode.

The driver still has to use the brake pedal to come to a complete stop, but once he has acclimatized, the only need to hit the brakes is for emergency situations, and gradually reducing the need to lift the right foot from one pedal to another.

Isn't that describing regen in any EV? 😂

Coming to a stop under some circumstances

Like going up a steep hill? 😅

 

[phil-ev]

I said I assume it’s like any modern battery device - if you don’t use it it will hold it’s charge for weeks or even months and just lost maybe a few % (hopefully this is a correct assumption by me)

It's kinda correct that if you left the EV parked up for month it might have lost a small amount. But it would be negligible. From leaving it a week at 100% it should still be at 100% in a modern EV.

In the UK we don't really have the problem where it's rare below 0°c but in colder countries the battery will use some energy to protect itself and prevent cell damage.

So if you live in places where it's normal for it to be freezing you'll want it plugged in otherwise it will drain a couple percent a night.

 

[farmergiles]

In my opinion 1 pedal means the accelerator action also applies the friction brakes + max regen when you lift off completely, or almost off, then press a bit further so regen decreases until the motor switches from generator to coasting, to motor drive.

Requires retraining & refinessing of your right foot to a level some cannot cope with so they would never use 1 pedal mode even if its supported.

 

[atc98092]

AFAIK, all EVs have regen braking, at least I've not driven one that doesn't. It's more powerful in some than others, some have variable regen settings and some will limit regen when the battery is cold, or fully charged.

While all EVs have regen braking, not all have one pedal driving. There's a distinct difference with one pedal, including the ability to come to a complete stop without using the mechanical brakes. My Chevrolet Bolt has one pedal driving, but there's a limit to its ability to come to a stop without the brakes, based on the slope of the road. If the grade is more than gradual, the car sometimes still requires brake application to come to a complete stop.

Here in the US, the ID.4 doesn't quite reach one pedal driving, as the brakes are still needed to stop. It does have some aggressive regen levels, so it can be driven in a partial one pedal mode, but not as well as the Leaf or my Bolt.

 

[atc98092]

In my opinion 1 pedal means the accelerator action also applies the friction brakes + max regen when you lift off completely,

Not in my experience. I can drive one pedal and the mechanical brakes are never used. The only difference is if the slope of the road is beyond "gradual", then the brakes are needed. But under the majority of driving conditions regen does all the stopping of the car.

 

[farmergiles]

Not in my experience. I can drive one pedal and the mechanical brakes are never used. The only difference is if the slope of the road is beyond "gradual", then the brakes are needed. But under the majority of driving conditions regen does all the stopping of the car.

I doubt it. pretty sure the drop from 5mph to zero is done by the actual brakes. (it's imperceptible - a sign of a well integrated system)

Also, my Leaf's brake discs were never rusty which is what you would expect as I almost never used the footbrake.