The latest Hyundai EV models are certainly hitting car buyers differently. Or at least, they sound different! It’s all thanks to their thinktank pushing the EV experience towards a new reality. That reality is a different type of experience. With the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and other models, there’s an opportunity to see the electric vehicles rev to the beat of a different drum. By way of a vibrational haptic being incorporated in EVs. This is to replicate the experience of feeling a similar experience when operating an Internal Combustion Engine or (ICE.)
Gas-Powered Cars are on their way out and Electric Vehicles are on their way in.
Hyundai wants to make it known that their electric vehicles can sound and feel just as good as their gas-powered counterparts. This is because they chose to file a new paper with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO.) Such a process allows for electric vehicles to simulate the sensations found within the ICE type of vehicles.
ere are so many EVs that are doing the noise thing as is. But Hyundai thinks of reinventing the wheel with “virtual combustion engine models.”
The filing states that speakers will pump a manufactured engine note. Eventually, Hyundai as well as Kia wish to add a virtual vibration that alters depending on speed. In this case, the vibration will mimic what it’s like to push acceleration versus keeping the electric vehicle idle.
Will this be the uncanny valley that Hyundai experiences in the world of automobiles?
Quite frankly, I don’t think it’s anything more than a gimmick to entice skeptics into buying electric vehicles. Better to utilize EV SUVs versus gas-powered sedans, in this day and age. It might even be that the sensations allow for excitement in the case of driving down long stretches. Perhaps the vibrations will keep you up when you risk falling asleep on the road.
