Driving the Fisker Karma - a photographic review by VCheng

[ToofaneBatameezi]

I see a petrol sign boss? Does this work like the Volt?

[VCheng]

The center console has buttons for the windows, the push-button drive selector and a pair of cupholders in front of the storage bin:

FiskerKarma-19 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

Overall, the dash and interior have a modern, minimalist look:

FiskerKarma-20 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

Under the hood is a 2 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine devloping 260 bhp, that does not drive the wheels, but rather a 175 kilowatt generator:

FiskerKarma-21 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

I like the "Q-Drive":

FiskerKarma-22 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

The turbocharger plumbing is pretty big:

FiskerKarma-23 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[HanifBhatti]

The design is appropriately swoopy, and beautiful curves everywhere. The front view is not the best angle of the car, and is sort of okay. One question I do have is why don't manufacturers think where the front licence plate will go, and how will the car look with it on?

FiskerKarma-1 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

Finally i see you, extreme right

[VCheng]

I see a petrol sign boss? Does this work like the Volt?

Yes.

The engine drives only the generator. The motive force is provided by the electric motors only, and they are powered by battery, which are kept charged by the generator running off the engine.

The range is about 50 miles on batteries, and about 300 miles till the tank needs refueling with gasoline. Of course, top up charges with electricity reduce the amount of gasoline needed.

[VCheng]

Since Libra pointed me out above, I just wanted to point out my reflection in this photograph:

FiskerKarma-24 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

The trunk is pretty small, but still a useable size. I was surprised to see the gooseneck hinges:

FiskerKarma-25 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

There are three driving modes: Stealth, Sport and Hill.

Stealth mode is pure electric mode, with nearly silent running. The two motors produce 403 bhp at the wheels, and an astonishing 981 ft-lbs of torque at zero rpm (!). The take off is smooth, like a jet aircraft in the beginning. It feels a little soft off the line, but the power just builds seamlessly, with a never-ending rush. There are no gear changes, so the smoothness is perfect. There is just a slight humming noise, and the tire noise and wind noise becomes noticeable only because of the lack of engine noise. The car is limited to a 95 mph maximum speed in this mode.

FiskerKarma-28 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

Flicking the left flappy pedal puts the car in Sport mode. Here, the engine runs as often as needed to keep the generator supplying power to the motors. This is interesting, since the engine speed has no relation to the speed of the car. For example, you can let off the gas, but the engine will keep on running as before to top up the batteries.

The engine in the car had a drone at certain rpms, and there was some resonance with a heat shield or panel, so the noise was out of character with such a car. The rep told me that that noise (internally called the "dragon" by the engineers) has been cut down by half already, and it is expected to be even less than that in the production version. I hope that is the case.

FiskerKarma-29 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

Flicking the right flappy pedal engages the Hill mode, which increases the passive braking provided by the motors, for driving in hilly terrain.

FiskerKarma-30 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

The gauges are beautifully patterned:

FiskerKarma-31 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

The center screen has several modes to control the operation of various subsystems. This is the audio controls screen, which provides a decent sound quality:

FiskerKarma-32 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

This is the climate controls screen. The AC in the black car was not working very well, but the white car's AC was good.

FiskerKarma-33 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

A cellphone can be integrated and controlled by the center screen:

FiskerKarma-34 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

This is the navigation screen:

FiskerKarma-35 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

This is the cool energy flow screen, which shows how the energy is being managed by the car in real time.

FiskerKarma-36 by vcheng552000, on Flickr

[VCheng]

However, while driving, it is much easier to keep tabs on the energy flow with the right sided gauge:

FiskerKarma-38 by vcheng552000, on Flickr