{"id":84637,"date":"2026-01-15T13:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84637"},"modified":"2026-01-15T13:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:35:19","slug":"why-fake-gear-shifts-bmw-performance-evs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84637","title":{"rendered":"Why Fake Gear Shifts Might Be Exactly What BMW\u2019s Performance EVs Need"},"content":{"rendered":"

Performance EVs are a divisive subject these days \u2014 perhaps unsurprising when you consider EVs themselves are still polarizing. But some automakers think part of the answer to injecting a little bit of fun into electric vehicles might come by way of \u201csimulated gear changes.\u201d The technology is exactly what it sounds like. Essentially, automakers would use software to replicate the feel of a transmission shifting. BMW M has become the latest proponent of the technology, confirming that the upcoming electric M3<\/a> will feature such a system. Full of ire at the idea of \u201cfake shifting?\u201d Don\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

The \u201cImpossible Burger\u201d Defense<\/h3>\n

There are plenty of other good reasons that simulated gear shifts might not be such a bad idea, but we\u2019ll start with a metaphor borrowed from our friends at Designworks<\/a>. In an interview, one of their spokespeople drew a parallel between sustainable materials and an \u201cImpossible\u201d (plant-based) burger. The point being, even though simulated gear changes in an EV will never be the \u201creal\u201d thing, depending on the lens, it can be viewed as an upgrade. After all, simulated gear shifts come with the benefits all EVs offer, like zero tailpipe emissions and gobs of immediate torque.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t hard to run far and fast with the plant-based burger metaphor. Especially the way Designworks painted it \u2014 as more, rather than less. \u201cShifting gears\u201d in an EV is never something that\u2019s going to subtract from the driving experience. BMW\u2019s exact quote on the matter was very selective about how the system would be implemented, highlighting \u201cemulated gear shifting in certain modes.\u201d Alongside the gear changes come \u201cM-specific sounds for enhanced driving experience that also relates to the gear shifting emulation.\u201d But what that tells us is that if you don\u2019t like simulated gear shifts\u2026you can simply drive without them. No BMW M performance EV will be worse off for having the feature.<\/p>\n

If Done Correctly, It\u2019s Probably Neat<\/h3>\n

\"BMW<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think anyone here at BMWBLOG has driven a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N yet. There\u2019s a chance that you, dear reader, haven\u2019t either. The lifted electric hatchback is widely considered to be the most enthusiast-friendly EV yet. Dynamically, it\u2019s a knock-out, but there\u2019s true praise to be found for its implementation of artificial gear changes. From Road & Track <\/em>to your favorite influencer, nearly everyone has had nice things to say about the car and its well-executed faux gear shifts. I\u2019m leery of the influencers, but when multiple time-honored outlets unite in shouting praises, you\u2019ve got to listen.<\/p>\n

One final note: this was inevitable. Anyone paying attention knows that EVs are, by and large, the future. It isn\u2019t happening tomorrow, but over the coming decades, much (most?) of the world will lean harder and harder into EV infrastructure. Performance EVs will become more relevant. Nailing the \u201cfeel\u201d will become critical to brand differentiation. And we\u2019ve known for over a year that BMW M has been working on simulated gear shifts<\/a>, with praise from M head honcho Frank van Meel directed at none other than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. M dev boss Dirk H\u00e4cker<\/a> called the Ioiniq 5 N a \u201cvery interesting\u201d EV. As guys in the business of making cars fun to drive, these comments cemented M\u2019s simulated shifts as a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

Are cars with simulated gear shifts for everybody? Probably not. Personally, I\u2019d rather see BMW try and lighten their next performance EV by a few hundred pounds instead. Hopefully the two things aren\u2019t mutually exclusive. But by and large, the enthusiast car world will be better off for having simulated gear shifts. And I\u2019d rather have the illusion of gears than nothing at all. After all, performance EVs today are generally somewhat tepid. You\u2019ve got to start somewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Performance EVs are a divisive subject these days \u2014 perhaps unsurprising when you consider EVs themselves are still polarizing. But some automakers think part of the answer to injecting a little bit of fun into electric vehicles might come by way of \u201csimulated gear changes.\u201d The technology is exactly what it sounds like. Essentially, automakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}