Why not have “Voices”?

[twosout]

This may seem a “Whacky” idea, but why not enable the use of different sounds for the AVAS to use?

Having a silent car and making it noisy so that others can hear you seems odd but perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised as the same thing is done with digital cameras and phones. We are expected to prefer “beeps” and “bongs” to silence.
I’ve never actually heard the noise emanated by the AVAS because I’m always driving, but why not be able to personalise it?
My suggestion is that we could adopt the sound of a Ferrari perhaps? Or the hooves of a team of horses? Or even the jingle of bells at Christmas?
Tesla may have its “ludicrous” mode, but we could retaliate with our “raucous” one (which may require a bit of amplification...).

 

[AndyInOz]

I'm surprised how often the "PHEV sound" isn't loud enough for pedestrians to hear.

Driving through a city side street last week, a colleague and I ended up following a pedestrian, who was walking in the middle of the street, for half a block, until I wound the window down and asked him to use the footpaths.

I was expecting him to cross the road, and use one footpath or the other.

He seemed genuinely surprised when I spoke to him.

:lol:

 

[philwire]

I'm surprised how often the "PHEV sound" isn't loud enough for pedestrians to hear.

Driving through a city side street last week, a colleague and I ended up following a pedestrian, who was walking in the middle of the street, for half a block, until I wound the window down and asked him to use the footpaths.

I was expecting him to cross the road, and use one footpath or the other.

He seemed genuinely surprised when I spoke to him.

:lol:

Same happened to me too lately, pressing the charge button to start the engine made the pedestrian turn around and see he was being followed.

 

[twosout]

What’s the “Charge” button (new models have “Sport”)? Does it help you go faster?

As a lad I used to cycle in rural Lincolnshire. You could ride all day without meeting traffic. On Sunday morning, whilst out training, I was followed by a police car that had a loudspeaker in the grille. I was unaware that it had crept up behind me when the diver announced that I was “only” doing 30mph. I looked around to see a policeman laughing at my surprise. Luckily for both of us, I did not fall off.

 

[AndyInOz]

What’s the “Charge” button (new models have “Sport”)? Does it help you go faster?

Erm... Yes and no.

It's the button that turns on the engine to "charge" the traction battery.

But... There is an alternative usage.

If you want more power from a standing start, or to overtake, or to tow a load...

Then you use the charge button to fire up the engine in advance.