Brake pedal behavior: Preference?

[Broverlander]

When I throw time into the mix, things get messier, haha. Braking late and using the friction brakes will save me time, and I value my time highly, but then I've gotta replace the brakes more often, which is also time and money.

I live by the Alabama song "I'm in a Hurry"

Maybe I'm looking at it incorrectly, but I've always looked at my regen setting as a driver preference on how quickly you want to stop. There are some who come zooming up only to cram on their brakes and some who seem to coast for a half mile before stopping. Keep in mind, the higher the regen, the quicker you come to a stop unless you feather the gas pedal on OPD. I'm somewhere in the middle and the standard regen works great for me on my R1. I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. But don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. I did with my R1 and now I love the standard regen and OPD.

 

[speedrye]

Maybe I'm looking at it incorrectly, but I've always looked at my regen setting as a driver preference on how quickly you want to stop. There are some who come zooming up only to cram on their brakes and some who seem to coast for a half mile before stopping. Keep in mind, the higher the regen, the quicker you come to a stop unless you feather the gas pedal on OPD. I'm somewhere in the middle and the standard regen works great for me on my R1. I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. But don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. I did with my R1 and now I love the standard regen and OPD.

I'm only a manual transmission guy, so if I get a Scout, I'll be way outside my comfort zone, no worries there! Actually, I do like the varying levels of regen with paddle shifters as I use them exactly like I would when downshifting/engine braking through the gears coming to a stop.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

When I throw time into the mix, things get messier, haha. Braking late and using the friction brakes will save me time, and I value my time highly, but then I've gotta replace the brakes more often, which is also time and money.

I live by the Alabama song "I'm in a Hurry"

Braking late in an EV with adjustable regen levels is One-Pedal driving with as high regen setting as your vehicle allows. That saves you time while driving/braking AND saves your brakes. And since acceleration of an EV is quicker relative to similar vehicles of that EV's size and mass, you can save time leaving the stop as well.

And if you really value your time, start counting the minutes it takes to make time in your week to get gas. We're 15 minutes one-way from the nearest gas station and it's 5 minutes out of the way to go to it while we're out. If we're returning from a road trip, going to it would add 30 minutes to our drive because of its relative location to our most commonly-used freeway exit. So we save 10 to 30 minutes per vehicle per week not wasting time going to the gas station. Up to one hour per week saved is a minimum of 52 hours a year saved, and that's assuming nothing special for travel. Since more than 50% of our travel is road tripping, and charging stops are coincident in time with food or restroom stops, we save far, far more time driving EVs than driving ICEVs.

 

[Reinvent]

Coast when I take my foot off the accelerator pedal. Progressive regeneration as I start to push down on the brake pedal. Brake pads kick in past a certain point or during a panic stop.

 

[nolen]

So for the one pedal drivers - how do you stretch your leg/foot while you drive? I have to adjust/pop my ankle every once in a while and that seems like it won’t work well with the one pedal drive. I really liked it otherwise in the test drives I’ve done so far but that has me a little worried.

 

[speedrye]

So for the one pedal drivers - how do you stretch your leg/foot while you drive? I have to adjust/pop my ankle every once in a while and that seems like it won’t work well with the one pedal drive. I really liked it otherwise in the test drives I’ve done so far but that has me a little worried.

Can't answer for the one-pedal specifically, but I usually just pop on cruise control temporarily when I need to do the same in other vehicles.

 

[cyure]

Oh and I have questions too. After that whole Mach E test drive that made me nauseous recently I’m going to go test drive an R2. I can’t be nauseous driving my Scout. I’m going on the 4th.

What do I need to know prior to the test drive and what settings should I try to get the best experience?

 

[J Alynn]

Can't answer for the one-pedal specifically, but I usually just pop on cruise control temporarily when I need to do the same in other vehicles.

Sadly I’ve never done that. I try to just hold until nobody behind me and pull foot. This is a good question though and hadn’t thought about it and I to have to periodically wiggle and crack ankles on longer drives

 

[R1TVT]

Ditto, just hit the button on the wheel for Driver+ or adaptive cruise in my case.

 

[Scout_Lookout]

So for the one pedal drivers - how do you stretch your leg/foot while you drive? I have to adjust/pop my ankle every once in a while and that seems like it won’t work well with the one pedal drive. I really liked it otherwise in the test drives I’ve done so far but that has me a little worried.

Under normal regular one pedal driving on say surface streets for example, you can be frequently moving your leg or foot depending on the traffic, stop lights, stop signs etc. But as soon as I am merged on the highway I am putting on the adaptive cruise control and getting comfortable.

 

[maynard]

So for the one pedal drivers - how do you stretch your leg/foot while you drive? I have to adjust/pop my ankle every once in a while and that seems like it won’t work well with the one pedal drive. I really liked it otherwise in the test drives I’ve done so far but that has me a little worried.

I use cruise control for that…

 

[Broverlander]

Oh and I have questions too. After that whole Mach E test drive that made me nauseous recently I’m going to go test drive an R2. I can’t be nauseous driving my Scout. I’m going on the 4th.

What do I need to know prior to the test drive and what settings should I try to get the best experience?

I'd suggest setting the regen to "standard." Tell the employee going with you and they'll change it. They usually set the regen at "low" for the test drives I've been on and I think "standard" gives you a much better idea of what one pedal driving is like.

 

[cyure]

I'd suggest setting the regen to "standard." Tell the employee going with you and they'll change it. They usually set the regen at "low" for the test drives I've been on and I think "standard" gives you a much better idea of what one pedal driving is like.

At the factory when I went with my son they just give you the keys. They don’t go with you. I’m tempted to ask them to go with me.

 

[Scout_Lookout]

At the factory when I went with my son they just give you the keys. They don’t go with you. I’m tempted to ask them to go with me.

Most wont go with you on test drives either. I'm sure they will if you ask, but the last couple of times I've driven Rivian or Tesla it was without a sales rep.

 

[J Alynn]

At the factory when I went with my son they just give you the keys. They don’t go with you. I’m tempted to ask them to go with me.

I’d ask @R1TVT what his is set at because for the time I spent it his in Boston it did t bother me one bit and was my first ride in a Rivian

 

[Broverlander]

Most wont go with you on test drives either. I'm sure they will if you ask, but the last couple of times I've driven Rivian or Tesla it was without a sales rep.

Really? That's different than when I test drove back in the fall of 2024. The employee went with me and took me on a loop. Maybe it was because they didn't have a Rivian space yet and were doing sketchy test drives out of a Coffee shop/brewery in suburban Minneapolis (seriously, one side was a brewery and the other a coffee shop. It was like an Arby's Sabarro only higher class!)

 

[joetennant]

I went on a test drive with an R2 in NYC and the employee went with me. Nice car. But, not a great place to test drive...

 

[maynard]

I went on a test drive with an R2 in NYC and the employee went with me. Nice car. But, not a great place to test drive...

Welcome to the community!
Couldn’t imagine testing a car in New York!

 

[joetennant]

Welcome to the community!
Couldn’t imagine testing a car in New York!

Been here a while, mostly reading (I am always behind). Test driving in NYC is bad, but they had an R2 and I was there...

I jumped into this discussion because my Bolt EUV has very nice "default" regen and brake pedal behavior -- very much like a "normal" car. The blended brakes work really well. One-pedal driving makes everyone with me car sick, and changing from car-to-car is a bit of a brain-something...

 

[cyure]

I went on a test drive with an R2 in NYC and the employee went with me. Nice car. But, not a great place to test drive...

I would imagine not. I’m only 15 minutes from the factory and it’s just a long 2 lane road in front of it so it’s an easy test drive.