Inside the industry: Is it finally time to make electric cars slower?

The Tesla Model S plaid dispatches the 0-60mph sprint more quickly than an F1 car

The Tesla Model S Plaid beats the original Ford Focus RS from 0-60mph by 4.41sec

The car industry has scored plenty of own goals over the years, but it’s hard to fathom why it’s so comfortable with the idea of pleading forgiveness rather than seeking permission when it comes to electric cars’ acceleration times.

For context, the Mk1 Ford Focus RS took 6.4sec to race from 0-60mph, the Mk2 5.9sec and the Mk3 4.7sec. They were each era-defining hot hatchbacks, and while their legendary status is down to far more than their straight-line pace, I can’t recall anyone arguing that any of them was too slow in a drag race. Yet today the industry is awash with family SUVs (and occasionally hatches) that will comfortably match or beat those numbers.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but standouts include the Volkswagen ID 4 (6.2sec), Mercedes-Benz EQA (6.0sec), Hyundai Ioniq 5 (5.1sec), Volvo C40 Recharge (4.7sec), Polestar 2 (4.4sec) and Ford Mustang Mach-E (3.7sec).

Yes, many of these are also halo cars designed to bring some wow to the range, but whereas launching a Focus RS was a landmark moment, EV launches seem two a penny – and almost all, when it comes to the tricky followup act of scrubbing off any momentum, with the slightly reckless drawbacks of being significantly heavier than their ICE forbears and running on low-rolling-resistance tyres (albeit hopefully better braked).

Nor are the examples I’ve highlighted the end of the arms race. A Formula 1 racer takes around 2.5sec to get from 0-60mph – a pace the Tesla Model X Plaid can match and the Tesla Model S Plaid can comfortably beat (1.99sec).

Obviously there’s a vast gap in cornering potential, but what valid justification could there be for a five-seat (or even seven-seat) road car to be so fast?

It feeds the cult of followers who obsess about such things, of course, but if you stop and reflect on the implications of it, who wouldn’t conclude that a family hold-all that’s faster than Lewis Hamilton off the start line has gone a bit too far?

I appreciate the irony of an Autocar journalist writing this – especially one who has put plenty of fast cars in the headlines. But, where even just a few years ago, when EVs were relatively new, it tickled me when a dealership bigwig wearily told me how he had to insist that every test drive began in a wide open area, such was the rate that would-be buyers were accelerating into solid objects, no more.

The instant torque of an EV is alluring, but uncapped and unleashed there’s too much potential available too easily. I remain beguiled by car makers pushing the boundaries of our comprehension, but unless our driving talent is collectively improved at the same rate as the pace of the cars, the disconnect is too obvious to be allowed to run unchecked.