Quietness, smoothness compared with ICE. The first thing you’ll notice driving an electric vehicle is how quiet it is. With no internal combustion engine, the source of most of a truck or van’s noise is gone. In fact, EVs are so quiet that federal safety regulations require them to produce an audible sound outside when moving at speeds below 19 miles an hour so people can hear them coming.
Regenerative braking. An EV brakes differently from a gasoline-powered one. In most vehicles, the brakes work by pressing pads against a metal disc or the insides of a metal drum attached to each wheel. EVs can also use their electric motors to slow down. Basically, the electric motors turn off but maintain their connection to the wheels. When this happens, the wheels start pushing the motors instead of the other way around. (It’s like engine-braking in a gas truck but with electric motors.) This creates drag that rapidly slows the vehicle. It also generates electricity that is sent back to the battery for driving.
EVs also have regular “friction” brakes, of course. They’re just used less and so the pads last longer.
One-pedal driving. Many EVs, including the BrightDrop van, allow drivers to adjust how the regenerative braking works. At its “mildest” setting, the van operates much like any ordinary gas-powered van. When you lift off the accelerator pedal, the van will coast unless you step on the brake. However, you can easily adjust settings on the touchscreen so that, as soon as you lift off the accelerator, regenerative braking will start, and the van will begin to slow quickly.
You can turn it up another notch so that you can even come to a full stop without ever touching the brake pedal. In this so-called “one-pedal” driving mode, you may still need to press the brake for an emergency stop but, for a normal, predictable stop, like at a stop sign or red light, there’s no need.
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