evMe

To turn the petrol burning Mazda 2 into the all-electric evMe, Armidale-based company Energetique stripped the Mazda to its bare bones, threw away the petrol drivetrain and replaced it with an electric one. The company is looking to produce a limited run of evMes — around 120 annually — to prove its technology and software in the real world.

For this extended first take, we took a customer's evMe for a spin around Sydney's inner suburbs.

Design

Picking the evMe from a regular, run-of-the-mill petrol sipping Mazda 2 takes a very keen eye. The only tell-tale signs from the outside are the discrete evMe sticker on its rump, the missing exhaust pipe and, of course, our test vehicle's green EVME number plates. The truly significant changes are hidden from view, such as the electric engine that now lives under the bonnet and the recharging plug living under what we would normally call a fuel cap.

A majority of the lithium polymer battery pack sits underneath the rear seats, where the fuel tank would otherwise be, with the remainder up front with the engine to help balance the weight out a bit. From a standard 10-amp outlet the evMe takes 15 hours to fully charge, so while overnight charging is essential it shouldn't be much of a hassle for a car's intended purpose: city driving. As we discovered when we spoke with this evMe's owner, Howard Eastwood (check back soon for our interview on living with an electric car), out of town treks require a fair deal more planning, not to mention a fondness for long lunches. Charging times can be slashed to just a few hours if you install a dual-20-amp socket at home.

Features

As this evMe is based on the entry-level Mazda 2 Neo, there weren't very many gadgets to play with: an MP3 capable CD sound system, air-conditioning, electric windows and, well, that's about it. The evMe has an on-board GPS, as well as a 3G internet connection, although these aren't included to allow the driver to get the shortest route to the supermarket, call a friend or to surf the web. Rather, they're installed to allow Energetique to run diagnostics and collect real world driving data on its electric cars.

Hybrids, such as the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, have fancy digital displays tracking the flow of power to and from the various engines. The evMe has a rather more geek-tastic multi-line power display, which displays engine status, gear, remaining battery charge and whether the engine's drawing power or recharging the batteries. Below the redesigned gear lever that features just drive, park and reverse, there's an isolation switch that disconnects the batteries from the engine, so technicians or emergency workers can operate without the fear of being frazzled.

Performance and upside

The transformation from Mazda 2 to evMe sees Energetique junking the standard 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, boasting 76kW of power and 137Nm of torque, in favour of an electric motor with 85kW and 223Nm. Despite the heart transplant, when you floor the evMe at the lights, you're not exactly telling Mr Sulu to engage warp speed, more like telegraphing him politely from the other side of the galaxy to perhaps, maybe get his move on, if and when he feels like it. The company dialled back the power — the electric engine is apparently capable of pushing out 110-plus kilowatts — and limited the top speed to just 130km/h in order to prioritise range and efficiency over performance. No doubt the Mazda 2's limitations were also taken into account — this isn't a Lotus Elise-based eco sportscar after all.

Nonetheless, if Energetique's 0 to 100km/h claim of "under 10 seconds" is correct, then the evMe (just) bests the donor Mazda. The car's 223Nm of torque comes into play when you're already cruising and you need a burst of speed, as all of the torque is available from, practically, zero revs, unlike a petrol car. Indeed all this instantly accessible torque kept the evMe from feeling sluggish despite the fact that, for most of the time, the car was saddled with a boot-full of stuff and four people.

We didn't push the envelope too far, but ride and handling seem to be much like the Mazda 2 on which it's based. However, with just one forward gear, in addition to reverse, speed builds up in a very linear fashion with none of the surge, pause, surge theatrics that we're so used to. Tooling around town is a little eerie at first, with the electric engine quietly humming "Silence is Golden", the only noises that can be heard are tyre roar and differential whine.

Downside

The only thing that spoilt our driving and riding experience was a slight pulse when stopped at traffic lights. This would occur randomly at some stops and not at others, and could be felt not just through the brake pedal but also by passengers. Energetique assured us that a fix for this is being worked on.

It's being marketed as a city car, so the claimed range of 200km shouldn't be an issue if the majority of its driving is for trips to the shops, over to Aunt Betty's, or to and from work. Range varies, naturally, depending on your style of driving and the type of terrain being tackled, although there shouldn't be too much variation between city and country range, as the car's regenerative braking recharges the batteries whenever you lift off the gas (irony fully intended) or step on the brakes. Unlike some electric cars, the engineers at Energetique have dialled back regenerative braking to the point that it feels like the engine braking effect of conventionally powered cars. Shame then that they didn't put in another "gear" for increased engine braking.

Outlook

Stick to the city, and the limited range and long charging times will scarcely be an issue. For many though price will be the killer blow: AU$70k, before on-road costs. As an example of what can be done with current technology, the evMe shows us that the day of the electric car is closer than we think. That it drives almost exactly like a petrol or diesel car and that its digital brain is programmed locally is both reassuring and heart-warming.