Porsche rebels against the norm: driving electric cars with a single pedal is not efficient

The arrival of electric cars has brought many changes to the way we drive, to the way we use the pedals. Most electric cars rely on a single pedal, the accelerator. The car’s speed is controlled by the pressure applied to this pedal. The harder you press, the faster the car accelerates. If you lift your foot, the motor works as a generator that slows the car down.

When this happens, regenerative braking is activated and the energy recovered is fed back into the battery, which slightly increases the range. This system is very convenient, as it means the driver doesn’t have to switch pedals constantly. You simply control the pressure on the pedal, and if you lift your foot, the car stops. A major advance that improves driving, although some manufacturers don’t see it the same way.

For Porsche, this system used by many electric vehicles is not efficient. According to the German brand, driving with a single pedal wastes energy with every acceleration and deceleration. That is why they have chosen to keep the brake pedal on the Porsche Taycan.

In this way, when the accelerator pedal is released, the car keeps moving with the momentum it already has. Regenerative braking is only activated when the brake pedal is pressed, allowing the car to make use of its momentum and coast without consuming energy.

In this case, if the brake is pressed gently, regenerative braking is activated. If it is pressed more firmly, the conventional hydraulic brakes are engaged, which work through friction between discs and pads and slow the vehicle down. But in the case of the Taycan, efficiency has been carefully measured and, according to Porsche, it is used in 90% of the braking performed in everyday driving.

But for Porsche, this approach has an extra advantage. With two pedals, the experience of driving a Porsche Taycan is very similar to driving a model from the brand with a combustion engine.

The future of single-pedal driving

Porsche is not alone in this idea. Other brands are joining this approach, and it has already been seen how BMW has introduced one-pedal driving in its iX, i4 and i7 models. They also cite efficiency and energy savings. Others propose combining regenerative and conventional braking, but some manufacturers are opting for the definitive removal of the latter. As always, the debate is open, and for some time both options will coexist. Will either of them become the industry standard?

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackPorsche Taycan22 versions · from 106,252 €