Weblog – Size smaller please!

If it is all close together, it is only noticeable how big those cars are. Me with the BMW giant in the first place of course, but the plug-in middle class around me also go beyond all limits. Kia EV6: length 4.68, width 1.88. Ioniq 5:4.63 by 1.89. The Volkswagen ID.4 is not too bad with 4.58 by 1.85. Skoda Enyaq: 4.65 by 1.88. Ford Mustang Mach-e: 4.71 by 1.88, mirrors not included.

Nice, those fat bins? On a fully occupied charging station – and they are increasingly so – it only causes nuisance. I have to put the iX with its socket at the back right of the pole so far forward that it almost blocks the passage for the cars to my left, and they are not the smallest boys either. It doesn’t surprise me that I hear lease drivers without experience with large sizes complain about lack of maneuvering space and view. In Groningen I see the plug rookies wrestling with their mastodons in the dark. Then I think; why didn’t you tick something smaller?

Because in the business class, full-size is the new normal. Such an imposing look attracts buyers, they know at Kia, where they have already sold 2000 EV6s. Maybe it’s a man thing. Boys will be boys, they want the largest possible car. And of course it’s easy for me to talk to my fledgling children; I can do without a back seat and large trunk.

But although I wholeheartedly wish everyone their fat SUV, I see the increase in scale getting out of hand. As a test driver of almost every car on the market, I know what I’m talking about. I really don’t ride those giants for fun in cities. Their volume is an attack on public space. Industry and consumers must do something about this. It’s possible. An entire family with holiday luggage can also fit in the four meters, twenty-six long and 1.80 wide ID.3, and VW manages to squeeze in enough batteries for a range of 500 kilometers. As a father or mother of two small children, why not opt ​​for a Kona instead of such a colossal Ioniq 5? The kids really fit in it and with the largest battery you can always get well over 400 kilometers on one charge. As a consumer, you have plenty of room to take your social responsibility without uncomfortable compromises.

Especially in urban areas, smaller drives are so much nicer. I do not regret the BMW i3 that I bought instead of the coveted Ioniq 5. I didn’t need the space and I couldn’t imagine getting into such a fat SUV in a city full of claustrophobic parking garages. With the i3 – four meters long, 1.77 wide – I can get through everything. That pleasure more than outweighs disadvantages such as the limited range, although that rarely turns out to be a bummer, and the low charging speed of 50 kWh for the 2022 standard. It was never meant for long distances. It’s a city car.

That brings me to my point. Why don’t premium manufacturers put a lot more effort into developing high-quality, compact cars?

The Koreans showed early on with the Kona and the e-Soul that adult performance and small sizes go well together. Also make them more visually appealing than they are. Build new little gadgets, manufacturers. The time has come, the EV architecture offers freedom of movement. Industry and state, set limits to growth. State, promote the reduction of scale, if necessary with fiscal means. It is necessary, and in the end it will make everyone happier, even the biggest monkey on the monkey rock. Look at me, formerly addicted to the fattest Mercedes, in my tiny EV. I enjoy it creepy crawly every day.