Five EVs that won’t end the weekend

Australia’s prime minister famously proclaimed electric cars would end the great Aussie weekend during the lead up to the last election.

And now those claims (even if they were ‘walked back’) are in the news again. Well, at least on social media, thanks to Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt’s questions on government cabinet members in Estimates hearings this week.

The fact is that although many EVs are aimed at intra-urban activity, there is a host of vehicles already available here, on the way to Australia or on the wishlist that do the opposite.

Indeed, rather than end the weekend, can we suggest they have the potential to electrify it…

Firstly, let’s consider some of the government’s ideas of what a weekend should look like: camping, fishing, a sporty drive in the country or at a racetrack, or more cultured pursuits.

Well, as it turns out, the world’s EV-makers know more about this stuff than the politicians.

Camping – Rivian R1T

Backed by Ford and founded in Detroit, start-up American electric car maker Rivian obviously needed to make a pick-up, and now it does.

Priced from $US67,500 ($A89,650) and destined for Australia, where it could even be built, the Rivian R1T dual-cab offers more than 650km of driving range on the WLTP cycle but will still hit 100km/h in about three seconds and tow five tonnes.

It has four electric motors, suspension geometry geared for off-road work, a structural composite bed with two 120-volt power outlets, a frunk and a gear tunnel, and even the option of a camp kitchen.

The induction-heated, 1440-Watt electric cooktop slides straight into the gear tunnel and comes with a 15-litre water tank, pump, collapsible sink and spray tap.

There are pop-up tents available to fit to the bed of the R1T as well, and the big battery-powered ute can also wade through more than a metre of water to get where you’re going.

Yeah, that sounds like a weekend EV to us.

Fishing – Ford F-150 Lightning

The all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pulled a train weighing a million pounds (more than 453,000 tonnes) as part of a publicity stunt back in 2019, so let’s give it a big tick when it comes to towing caravans and boats, shall we?

The first battery-powered F-150 starts at under $A56,000 in the US and comes with a pair of electric motors delivering more than 1050Nm of torque via all-wheel drive.

There are clever features here too, like the ability to use the Lightning’s lithium-ion battery pack to give power as well as take it, and Ford says it can power an average house for three days in an emergency.

But that’s an American house, so it’s probably five days for everybody else. Regardless, it’s probably enough to keep the beers cool while you’re fishing.

The Blue Oval brand’s pure-electric pick-up also has a cool feature comprising a set of vertical LEDs in its tail-lights to act as a load capacity indictor.

Ford insists the Lightning has been through all the same development processes and testing mileage as the standard F-150, so that’s probably tough enough.

Sunday drive – Porsche Taycan

If it’s grand touring you love, then the Porsche Taycan is up to most jobs, in silence and with phenomenal urgency.

In fact, it has so much urgency that the sweet spot in the range isn’t at the faster end, but in the most basic rear-drive Taycan that’s cheaper, lighter and has steering unencumbered by the drudgery of multitasking with a front differential.

It’s not as fast as its siblings, but anything accelerating to 100km/h in less than four seconds is plenty fast enough, and it has a delicacy the heavier hitters can’t replicate.

With its 93.4kWh performance battery in place, the Taycan delivers 350kW of power, hits 100km/h in 5.4 seconds and can haul up to 230km/h.

But the rear-drive Taycan also comes with handling as its forte. For example, while most EVs use the smallest brakes possible (they’re needed a lot less in an EV), the Taycan has 360mm brake discs with six-piston monobloc calipers up front.

Even that can be upgraded to carbon-ceramic discs measuring 410mm at the front and 365mm at the back, which are seriously big brakes.

And if you don’t want a Porsche, the upcoming Audi e-tron GT is almost exactly the same car underneath.

Run What You Brung – Rimac Nevera

We thought about the Lotus Evija here, but then the Rimac Nevera scorched across the quarter-mile in an astonishing 8.582 seconds, so it was in instead.

With four electric motors, 1408kW of power and 2360Nm of torque, this Croatian hypercar boasts a 0-100km/h time of just 1.85 seconds, which sounds like where legislators might want to draw a line in the sand.

Forget the government though, because Porsche liked Mate Rimac’s work so much it bought in to the company and encouraged Rimac to take Bugatti off the Volkswagen Group’s hands, so it has instant brand credibility, too.

Oh and did we mention the Rimac Nevera also has Level 4 autonomous driving capability, a 550km range and a 412km/h top speed?

A day at the races – Rolls-Royce Spectre

It’s not all beers at the beach and burning rubber here, however. Some Australians are into more sophisticated pursuits and that means arriving at Fabulous Flemington in the right style.

For that, there’s no better chariot than the new Rolls-Royce Spectre EV, first delivers of which begin early in 2023.

The battery-powered uber-limo will be the first tangible evidence of Rolls-Royce’s promise to become a fully electric vehicle brand by 2030, and the headstart it has is that the famous British car-maker is fully owned by BMW, which is also heading down the same path.