One of the most controversial additions to automobiles of the past 10 years has been the introduction of artificial powertrain sounds. And that’s completely understandable. On internal combustion cars this doesn’t seem necessary, because natural noise can be amplified instead of creating a digital copy. Worse yet, fake audio often sounds fake and annoying. In most cars internal combustion has such an increase, I try to turn it off. And you would think that would be the case with Electric Carbecause they’re pretty close to silence.
And yet, I actually prefer the sound in the tram. Let me explain.
While I don’t like sounds that try to reproduce natural sounds, I don’t mind if they’re trying to be something completely different. The burning sounds in there exist in a strange kind of valley where they are so close to reality, areas they miss stand out and make them uncomfortable. On the other hand, many EVs come with a completely artificial and imaginary soundscape. Perhaps the most successful are BMW’s latest electric cars, such as iX, which has sound created by film composer Hans Zimmer. They have a futuristic noise, but humming to avoid being jarring.
In addition, the relative silence of electric cars detracts from a useful sense of what the car is doing. There’s no acoustic feedback to your acceleration and deceleration like you’d get with an internal combustion car. This can make it difficult to determine how fast you are going or whether you have slowed down enough. Another case where sound is very useful in an internal combustion car is shifting gears. When I’m driving a car with a manual transmission, I mostly shift gears by ear, unless I’m always trying to shift at the red line. Sound is a really useful piece of feedback, and artificial noise can help with that.
Ours Long-term Kia EV6 hit these key points for me. First, the sounds are connected to your throttle and acceleration, so they add that helpful feedback. Second, they are all unique and not based on fact. And yes, I’m using “they” because that gives you three options to choose from.
Stylish
My favorite so far is the “Stylish”, which is a high-pitched squeal or whistle that sounds high-tech and is adjacent to the engine whine. I also like that the frequencies tend to fade into the background of light winds and road noise at cruising speeds, so it’s not annoying at cruising speeds.
Dynamic
The second sound available is “Dynamic” and that’s my least favorite sound. It has a deeper, more mechanical sound, like gears in a transmission. It sounds more aggressive and can be fun in tough driving, but at cruise speeds it dominates and can be tiring. Check it out.
network
Then “Network.” I liken it to Style’s lower-voiced cousin. It has the same noises, just it’s all lower. It also has a stronger vibe than Style, but isn’t as frustrating to me as Dynamic. For me, the lower sound is more prominent at highway speeds, so I prefer the Style, but depending on your hearing you might prefer it. Listen.
All of these have default sound profiles, but they can be customized even further. You can adjust the maximum volume, as well as the sensitivity to the throttle input.
And importantly, they can be turned off completely. While I like having a little bit of sound in my driving experience, the fact that electric cars’ relative silence is a huge boon for many people. Adding the sound back will be lost. So I really appreciate that Kia offers the option to turn it off completely.
I think some automakers, such as BMW car could have a slightly better sound, but the Kia has some solid sound. And customization and the option to turn them off is exactly how such a feature should be implemented in new electric cars.
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