One thing that amuses me about EVs is that the fact that as you get "nicer" trims, you usually get less range (usually due to larger wheels)
"The Leaf S+ is the base model, with a 75 kWh long-range battery and a range of 303 miles ... The Leaf SV+ adds bigger wheels and a better infotainment system ... has a range of 288 miles"
(The same is true of my EV6, where the GT-Line trim has less range than the less expensive Wind trim)
jerlam · 58m ago
Not just true for EVs, even the Toyota Prius which no one pretends is a cool car has larger wheels on its mid and high end trims. Those trims drop the gas mileage almost 10%. Pickup trucks also have bigger wheels on their higher end trims even though they make the truck less capable offroad, but those are probably not being sold to people who do most work anyway.
Car trims and packages seem well-tuned to ensure the manufacturer and dealer make more money selling things the buyer doesn't want because they're included in things the buyer actually wants.
riku_iki · 1h ago
bigger wheels are likely largest contributor, and puzzling part that many people don't want them: they give harsher ride in addition to mpg drop.
ryandrake · 1h ago
What's the upside from bigger wheels? There must be a reason they make them bigger for more-premium cars.
phil21 · 39m ago
Looks. Primarily at least, until you get into ultra-performance vehicles not really built for driving on public roads.
I recently upgraded to my "dream" daily driver car that came with 22" rims from the factory. It's definitely the worst part of the vehicle. Unfortunately I can't go much smaller, as 21" are the smallest that fit over the giant brake calipers.
Due to the weight of the vehicle, the larger brakes are likely needed - but the difference between this "performance" version of my car vs. the "luxury" version built on exactly the same body/chassis but with 19" wheels is night and day for day to day ride quality on poorly maintained city streets.
Once you get on fresh blacktop on the highway and start taking corners at a high rate of speed it's a different story, then the car just glides and "sticks" to the road super well due to the giant (wide) wheels. But that accounts for perhaps 5% of my driving if that.
linotype · 1h ago
Aesthetics.
fragmede · 27m ago
buying the car and fitting smaller rims on it is too obvious, so there must be something I'm missing
malshe · 2h ago
Let's see how much the dealers will mark it up. In recent years, many cars that were advertised as reasonably priced ended up being unaffordable due to dealer pricing.
"The Leaf S+ is the base model, with a 75 kWh long-range battery and a range of 303 miles ... The Leaf SV+ adds bigger wheels and a better infotainment system ... has a range of 288 miles"
(The same is true of my EV6, where the GT-Line trim has less range than the less expensive Wind trim)
Car trims and packages seem well-tuned to ensure the manufacturer and dealer make more money selling things the buyer doesn't want because they're included in things the buyer actually wants.
I recently upgraded to my "dream" daily driver car that came with 22" rims from the factory. It's definitely the worst part of the vehicle. Unfortunately I can't go much smaller, as 21" are the smallest that fit over the giant brake calipers.
Due to the weight of the vehicle, the larger brakes are likely needed - but the difference between this "performance" version of my car vs. the "luxury" version built on exactly the same body/chassis but with 19" wheels is night and day for day to day ride quality on poorly maintained city streets.
Once you get on fresh blacktop on the highway and start taking corners at a high rate of speed it's a different story, then the car just glides and "sticks" to the road super well due to the giant (wide) wheels. But that accounts for perhaps 5% of my driving if that.