It’s been a hot topic for a few years and while the technology and its implementation have certainly progressed, I still wonder about the role augmented or ‘fake’ engine noises have to play in electric cars.
For starters there’s the wonderful Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which has shown how useful audible communication of a car’s gearing and speed can be in an otherwise silent EV. Most of us need that extra layer of feedback while driving (especially if you’re driving spiritedly), to help process what the car is doing – whether that’s real-time deceleration or acceleration.
The Ioniq 5 N does this effectively, although it falls short of the mark in its aim to mimic the i30 N’s build-up to its 8,000rpm rev limit. Indeed, while fake engine sounds and gearshifts can certainly boost driver engagement, I’ve yet to come across an EV (or an EV’s speaker system for that matter) that can convincingly mimic a combustion engine.
Recently, we got wind of BMW’s HypersonX system that’ll arrive on its upcoming Neue Klasse models. However, the “unique soundscape”, as BMW calls it, won’t try to recreate combustion-engine noises. It’ll go down a different route with “tones from nature” and “structures from the worlds of art and science”, whatever that means.
