I guess Toyota has decided to use the shotgun approach towards electrification. Battery-Electric, Fuel Cell, and, as we just discovered this week, a manual.
That will be interesting.
Manufacturers seem to be running headfirst into a “problem”. The electric vehicle is no longer the future, we’re already here. And struggling a bit to make up for the lost experience of the vibration (or hum, as it may be) and overall imperfections of the ICE drivetrain that we, as that is what they are.
Toyota isn’t even the first one to come up with the idea of “Simulated manual”. Near as makes no difference a year ago Opel dropped their awesome Manta GSe ElektroMOD on us. A concept embodying everything that is right about EV restomods on a cool, non-heretical-to-restomod package (remember to proofread your angry comments). That they files a patents for them means that, even if they aren’t going to use it, they certainly think there is (or will be) money in the idea sometimes in the future.
So, a quick rundown for those of you whose first time hearing this is here (Hi!). No, it isn’t an actual transmission. As with everything on an EV, computers are giving you an approximation of an ideal. Activate manual mode and your EV will deliberately limit engine speed and imitate the torque curve of a convencional ICE car as best it can. Dip the clutch, a vibration motor will both push against you and make it vibrate so your muscle memory can immediately remember the biting point dance. And yes, if you plop it into fake fifth and dump the fake clutch the car will fake stall.
Of course, there are times where the most ardent manual enthusiast will get tired of it. And when that happens the system can be easily disengaged for the standard utterly silent, ideal-for-meditation (or talk radio listening) EV experience. Rather more difficult to explain is the semiautomatic mode, where you can just play with your gearstick without using your feet. Sensonic/VW Autostick emulation? Sure, what the heck. If nothing else, it’s just something to make the patent broader.
So, I am biased. I like skeuomorphism in automotive design. Some elements of vehicle design evolved the way they did because of lessons learned about ergonomics decades ago. One only needs to consider trying to change HVAC settings on a touchstreen while on the move to see what I am talking about. The announcement of these patents has been met with an extremely mixed reaction where I see it. On one hand, people seem to dismiss it as an oddity. Yet another spazz from an epileptic Toyota that is extremely late to the BEV train and still trying to make cars for an infrastructure that doesn’t exist. Others see it as a way to add a bit of fun to everyday driving at no cost to anyone (apart from whatever they would charge for having it fitted). Ironic, from the company that has historically made the automotive equivalents of dishwashers and been rewarded with enormous success for it.
Sign me up for the latter. Especially since they are also developing that Hydrogen V8 with Yamaha. The future is here, and it’s nowhere near as boring as advertised.
