Electric cars are quick. Some of them are genuinely supercar-quick — and for a very good reason. An electric motor delivers its full torque almost instantly — no revs to build, no gears to change, no engine note to warn you what's coming.
That's thrilling. It's also the centre of a recurring debate: are fast electric cars safe? The honest answer is more interesting than the argument. The problem isn't the performance — it's the mismatch between performance and driving ability. And it's a problem both drivers and car makers can solve.
1. Why EVs accelerate differently — and what that means
The physics is simple. A petrol engine needs to spin up before it delivers serious power. An electric motor produces near-maximum torque the moment you press the pedal — engineers call it instant maximum torque. It's the difference between a sprinter reacting to the gun and an engine climbing through its rev range.
That's why a mainstream electric car can match the acceleration of a much more expensive petrol car. But the same instant response creates a hidden challenge: there's no build-up, no warning, no buffer. For a driver who isn't ready for it, that instant shove can arrive a moment too soon — and research suggests a large share of EV incidents involve loss of control rather than the car itself failing.
None of this means EVs are dangerous. It means the driver's expectations need to catch up with the car's capability.
2. The "more power = more danger" myth
It's tempting to assume horsepower and risk rise together. The data tells a more nuanced story.
Performance has become affordable. 4-second 0–100 km/h acceleration — once the domain of six-figure supercars — now sits in family-priced electric cars. But here's the surprising part — most buyers don't choose the extreme. For most electric car models, the mainstream sweet spot is 5–6 second acceleration; true 3-second flagships account for a small fraction of actual purchases.
The people who do get into trouble tend to fall into two groups: overconfident young drivers, and drivers who leave the car in sport mode for everyday use. Both are cases of capability outpacing judgement — not a problem with the car itself, and not unique to electric cars in Australia.
3. Four habits that matter more than horsepower
If the car isn't the problem, what is? Driving behaviour. Four habits deserve special attention:
Addicted to the launch. The motor's smooth surge makes it easy to underestimate your real speed. One study found an EV reaches 120 km/h from 60 km/h noticeably faster than a comparable petrol car — while the driver's sense of speed lags. You're going faster than you feel.
Chasing lane changes. Low-slung EV handling is confidence-inspiring — sometimes too much. Aggressive lane changes put real strain on the tyres and suspension, and over time they erode the car's dynamic stability.
Distracted by the screen. Large displays are a genuine EV strength, but they tempt drivers to look away more often. Studies suggest EV owners interact with their in-car screens far more frequently than petrol drivers do.
Never learning to recover. When the rear end steps out, instinct is often wrong. A large share of drivers respond by wrenching the wheel or stamping the brakes — exactly the inputs that make a slide worse.
None of these habits is unique to EVs. But EV performance makes the consequences sharper, and EV screens make the distraction more tempting.
4. The two-sided solution: better drivers, better cars
Safety isn't a single feature — it's a system built from both sides of the driver's seat.
On the driver's side: training matters more than most people think. Norway — one of the world's most electric markets — introduced mandatory EV-specific courses for new owners and saw a significant drop in EV crash rates. Australia's graduated licensing system already rewards supervised practice. EV owners would benefit from applying the same idea to performance — learn the car's response in a safe space before you need it on the road.
On the car's side: the technology exists to help. Modern electric car technology is adding "new driver" modes that soften power delivery, plus stability systems that catch a slide before the driver does. The best of them combine the two: hardware that keeps the car planted, and software that reads the road in real time.
This is exactly where XPENG's engineering focus sits. The NEW G6 electric SUV and the X9 pair dual-chamber air suspension with an AI-driven chassis that adjusts damping and stability continuously — hardware and software working as one system to keep the car composed when the driver asks for more. Driver assistance systems (including automatic emergency braking) add a second pair of eyes, and the NEW G6's five-star Euro NCAP safety rating (2024) reflects the result.
And on the maintenance side: small things compound. Tyre pressure 20% below spec can add noticeably to emergency braking distance — and combined with hard acceleration, the risk of losing control multiplies. Checking tyres, brakes and alignment on a regular schedule is cheap insurance for a fast car.
Conclusion
Big power isn't the enemy — mismatch is. A 4-second electric car is not dangerous; a driver who hasn't learned its response is simply outnumbered by the car's ability. The answer isn't to slow EVs down. It's to build the two-sided system around them: better training, better habits, and cars that help rather than merely impress.
That's the standard XPENG holds itself to — performance you can enjoy, safety you can rely on, and technology that bridges the gap between the two.
Ready to experience a fast EV that's engineered to keep you in control? Book a test drive with XPENG — one of Australia's leading Chinese EV brands — and feel the NEW G6 or X9 for yourself. Let the car and the training do the rest.
Note: Performance and safety figures are indicative and vary with conditions and specifications. Always drive within your ability and the road rules.
