Gas 2.0

This second video comes from “Josh”, an Aptera reservation holder who received an early test drive with none other than Aptera founder Steve Fambro himself. It mostly covers the powerful in-vehicle nav/entertainment system:

A higher resolution version hosted on Vimeo is available here. A torrent for the original, full-res version is here. A full transcript is here.

Josh repeatedly comments on how well the vehicle drives, is impressed by its performance, etc.

Throughout the drive, Steve fiddles with the computer to show it off. A main performance screen shows charge state, miles/kWh (running and average), whether it’s charging, and other such basic stats. Another screen shows options such as “Clean Charge”, “Utility Load Balancing”, “Vehicle to Grid”, and “Vehicle to Home”, as well as some that look like “Programmed”, “Utility Programmed”, and so forth. Steve showed how to schedule charge start and stop times; other options visible on that screen included “Charge Rate”, “Desired Level”, and “Threshold Level”, among others.

Steve then started showing off the Google integration work. The computer links with Google Calendar and can pull up your appointment book. When you click on an appointment, if there’s address information associated with it, even vague information, it can pull it up on Google Maps and give driving directions.

You can add new information to your calendar from the system as well. For route-finding, you have four options: shortest route, fastest route, scenic route, and greenest (lowest power consumption) route. For each, it shows the distance, time to arrive, traffic, and estimated power consumption. In addition to plotting the route, it also plots charging stations from a supplier-maintained database. You can also get a rough range estimate by plotting concentric circles on the map around your vehicle.

Whether or not some of these features will need an in-motion lockout is a question “the lawyers” will have to decide, Steve stated. In addition to the main computer, there is a digital display behind the dash that shows basic stats (speed, charge, power consumption, etc), and a rear-view camera display embedded into the LCD rear-view mirror.

Steve notes that the current model doesn’t have the air conditioner installed and had a bunch of gear in the back, taking up space; all of those will be remedied in production vehicles. The composite construction insulates well, reducing AC load. Unlike earlier reports, the windows will fully roll down in the production version. The vehicle they were riding is about six months behind Aptera’s current state-of-the-art.

Right before they pull back into TED, the two discuss people’s reactions to the car. To quote Steve:

“Most people give a thumbs up. They wave, they give something, some sense of approval. They don’t necessarily know it’s an electric car, you know, but they think it. They probably also think that it’s efficient and that it’s good for the environment, and they sort of get that when they see it, and it just sort of brings a smile to their face”

Josh posted his overall impressions after the ride here. To sum up:

He notes a couple build issues, such as dimples in the windshield glass and some seatbelt retraction issues that are production process-related and will need to be worked out before mass production starts in October, but overall was very impressed by the build quality. Unlike the impression given by the video (recorded on a still camera, not a video camera), Josh described it as “VERY quiet” and “slightly louder than a Prius that is running without the engine on.” He said that getting in is different from a usual car, and will take some getting used to, but isn’t any harder; it is much easier than getting into a Tesla. In the final version, the doors will open even more.

Acceleration and braking was described as very steady; he could not feel friction brakes kick in during braking. The vehicle didn’t struggle at all with traffic or hills. Acceleration was described in another thread as “better than my Prius by quite a bit, not as quick as my CLK500.” The Prius has a 0-60 of about 10 seconds, while the CLK500 takes about 5.7 seconds, like a Porsche Cayenne GTS. Turning in the 2e had a slightly different feel; the tail seems to lag behind the front, but it wasn’t disconcerting, and felt quite stable.

Lastly, Josh noted that the in-vehicle apps are webapps, and you can connect to your vehicle via a smartphone or computer. From there, you can program charges, check charge states, start the climate control system to preheat/cool the car, or pretty much anything you want. Also, he noted that climate control is adjusted by a touch-sensitive slider, like an iPod.

That’s about all Josh had to say… but wait, there’s more! Aptera released a super-detailed specsheet. They were clear to point out that this list isn’t final, and that there will be more options coming. Notably missing on the “options” list, for example, is the faster charger that Steve mentioned in an interview. They also made it clear that the width *will* be lower on the final version than the current version.

Jump to the next page for official specs.

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