This pufferfish looking thing right here is the Kia Ray EV and unlike other EVs that are trying to be all modern and fresh, this one's not. It's being functional, like a mail truck. It's based on the Ray CUV, but instead of the thirsty 1.0-liter, the Ray EV has a 50kW electric motor and a 16.4 kWh lithium ion polymer battery pack. The Ray EV weighs some 412 pounds more than the traditional Ray
Despite the weight penalty, Kia says this version of the Ray is actually faster than the gasoline model as it can hit 100 kph in a scant 15.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 81 mph. This is in part thanks to the EV's 167 Nm of torque which is a 77%(!) increase over the 1-liter. Keep your foot out of that massive power and the Ray has a max range of 86 miles.
There are 500 slow/fast recharge stations in Korea and the government plans to increase that to 3,100 by 2013.
greenpony says:
06:12 AM, 12/23/11
lol @ "instead of the thirsty 1.0-liter" and "this version of the Ray is actually faster than the gasoline model as it can hit 100 kph in a scant 15.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 81 mph"
Also, your mail truck comment reignited an old idea for me. In my neck of the woods... suburban Chicago... mail trucks have routes that are very conducive of EV use: generally low speed mailbox-to-mailbox routes with very little if any actual highway speed. Seems like a no-brainer. Has the USPS adopted EV's where you're at?