The people that know me, know that I've never been a speed freak. If anything quite the opposite, low and slow when it comes to cars. But I too have fallen prey to the thrill of speed and power when I know that I have it. Anyone who buys a vehicle that has speed does not buy it for the practicality, there are plenty of cars that are perfectly capable of getting a person from point a to point b. However, getting from point a to point b is just that much more fun with some added power.
The stigma regarding electric vehicles and their lack of power is slowly ebbing away. People are beginning to see that electric cars are not just fast, they can be much faster than traditional gasoline-powered because of instant torque.
When I did my review of the Smart ED in May 2013, I knew that the car had some torque. I did not know what they meant by "the kickdown". That little extra push at the bottom of the accelerator makes all the difference. When depressing the accelerator on the Smart ED to the floor you get about 75% of the power or roughly 50 hp. But the motor is capable of 75 hp. Granted you don't want to push the motor at full power all the time and Mercedes-Benz is aware of this. They give you about three minutes of full power per fifteen, so that you do not burn out the motor or fry the batteries.
It is that extra 25 hp that is what makes all the difference.
I am aware that there are modified vehicles that can boost the performance of their internal combustion engine vehicle with an additive (Nitrous oxide). But not many people get that as an option when the buy or lease a new vehicle ( I doubt that is an option anywhere).
On the streets of Silicon Valley, where I drive daily, I get many strange looks and stares. I've grown accustomed to the comments from people in other vehicles who seem to think that I can't hear them (or else they don't care). But every now and then, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, I get street racing propositions. Mind you I have never once agreed to a street race, nevertheless they still happen.
There has got to be some psychology behind it. I've read that certain predatory animals give chase when something runs. And so it seems is the case with the mentality of a person who owns a fast car. It's not always a conscious decision to race. You have the capacity and you act on it.
A couple of nights ago I was being chatted up by another driver about my tiny car and the light turned green. As I often do at the front of the line, I sped off. It wasn't however obvious that I had inadvertently begun racing until I realized that the Mercedes Benz SL500 in the turn lane next to me was flooring it. The driver apparently needed to gain access to the far right lane, that I was already using, to turn right at the next light. He did get over in front of me, with less than half a car length to spare. And at that point I let him as I did not actually want to race.
I'm quite sure that I surprised the driver of SL-class in that he knew he needed to get into my lane, but never expected a vehicle so small to have such power. It is like driving a "sleeper", that is a car that doesn't look like it has power.
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