I am very excited about a future where there will be almost no petrol engines getting revved at stupid volume levels only because it's "fun".

I hear you - loud cars are annoying, and I probably over-emphasised how loud it was. It's stock exhaust on a subcompact family car, but the cabin isn't the quietest and it has to rev very highly to do anything.

It's my lame safe way of having a little bit of fun. Certainly quieter than all the trucks on the road, and slower than a lot of the SUVs.

Uh revving the Yaris is not something likely to disturb you or even attract your attention

you've clearly never heard a prius with a broken exhaust - they're loud as hell. a modified exhaust on any car is super loud

I couldn’t see where anyone had referred to broken exhausts

Get ready for the insessant sound of squealing tires, sigh.

You can also power better jukeboxes with better car batteries.

I recently got an electric motorcycle, and it’s a similarly visceral experience. I can hear the tires digging into the dirt and have a much better feel for traction and speed because of it. The effortless (and extreme) torque, with just a small whir, is a riot as well.

People often complain about electric (particularly motorcycles) not being “loud enough”. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t noise, or that there’s not anything to be in tune with.

I worry about effortless power and immediate torque. Means it's too easy to go too fast.

I think that ship has sailed - ICE vehicles have obscene amounts of power these days even in “slow” vehicles

I’m not so excited about the future where an 18 year old feels like flooring their used EV with shitty brakes, and 0-100km/h acceleration that is twice as fast as an 80s Lamborghini.

This isn’t a problem yet because these cars are still a few years out from being affordable by those drivers and they are still in good shape.

Remember what happened to those kids in the 90s that drove souped up M3s or Nissan Skylines?

Some EV builder will eventually provide sound/haptic emulation so that you can have the tactile experience of anything from a Keicar to a Bentley V12 by modifying some simple settings. One of the most promising things about EVs is that they really can be software defined. Also one of the most scary. Hope they use Rust.

I want mine to sound like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDWU67tyknU

I am more of a Domino's guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n17B_uFF4cA

The Ford Mach E already comes with optional engine noise synth. As do some other electric bikes and cars.

Some of the Yaris models are kind of hideous but I think they’re going to go down in history along with cars like the Volkswagen bug for sheer practicality. Not the kind of vehicle to get a reviewers attention but the price performance ratio was pretty damn good for us civilians. I really enjoyed using one as a loaner when I left my car at the Toyota dealership.

> But a small childish part of me will miss the "experience" of hammering under-powered petrol engines.

Well they are small, light, and pack about 105hp into a modern efficient engine developed by one of the great auto engineering staffs in history. Why not have a little fun with it?

Don't worry, you'll probably be able to simulate that with some kind of "retro mode".

Many ICE cars already artificially pump in the sound of an older, nosier engine when you put them into sports mode.

My 4 cylinder diesel GTD sounds like a V8 when I floor it (unless I have the windows open of course. In which case I can actually hear the engine and like all diesels it just sounds like a tractor).

You'd just need to add some kind of engine response curve to the EV throttle[1] to simulate hitting the correct rev band/gear change.

1. Even that word is a retro throwback in an EV, as is "driver" when you really think about its etymology.

I've been a gearhead practically my whole life, so I totally understand. Personally I think ICE cars will soon be thought about much the way we think of steam locomotives. They're pretty cool, some people will always love them, tinker with them (or models), there will be shows, etc. But compared to modern transportation they are loud, slow, stinky polluting machines that no one in their right mind would ever use for daily transportation. ICE had a good run (ignoring the whole climate change thing), but times change! See also: carburetors, manual choke, drum brakes, leaf springs, etc. ;-)

People still ride horses...

As a former dub-head; that Yaris is a fun little go-kart. And almost as un-killable as the legendary Hilux.

Really wish we could have gotten a decent GT version in the US. But Toyota is what Toyota is.

For months I had to drive my Yarris up and down a pretty rough track - no gravel, full of potholes, just hardened earth and stones.

The Yarris with its little go-kart wheels handled it like a champ, even if I'd bottom out almost every single time. Even climbed up it fine provided you kept it above 25km/h all the way :) Took to a mechanic later and he said the suspension and undercarriage were fine.