First impressions of the Coda electric sedan

Photo by David Herron

Today Coda Automotive attended the San Francisco Electric Auto Association meeting to talk about their electric car that's due to go on sale this year.  I was privileged to be a passenger for a ride around the block, and am privileged to be able to tell you the story.

The most striking thing about this car is its plain ordinariness.  Their goals included producing a car the stereotypical Mom would feel comfortable driving her kids around in, and they achieved this in spades.  It is a four door, four seat sedan of typical style and size.  It has a sizable trunk, normal dashboard with normal analog style gauges, a very simple gear selector (D, and R), etc.  The interior package does include, as standard equipment, luxury items such as Bluetooth, turn-by-turn navigation, an iPod dock, MP3 and USB connectivity, a DVD player and a satellite-ready AM/FM/XM radio and more.  However the presentation is very normal and ordinary.  If you want a three wheeled space ship this car isn't for you.  The ordinariness of course is destroyed if you look under the hood, more on that in Coda specs and technical stuff.

The test drive was around the block in the vicinity of the SFEVA meeting place (Lucious Garage), and the driver was a Coda engineer.  Acceleration was very good, both from a dead stop and while maneuvering between lanes in traffic.  The ride felt very solid and grounded perhaps helped by the 700+ pound battery pack beneath the passenger compartment giving stability advantages.  Some suggested the battery pack made the car sit higher than typical, but I did not notice this.  The battery pack location also means it doesn't intrude into other compartments such as the trunk area.  The seating is comfortable though I wouldn't call the back seat roomy.  While most sedans are "five seaters" the Coda has a pair of cup holders in the middle portion of the back seat which might interfere with someone sitting in the middle section of the back seat.

They expect to begin selling the car in the fourth quarter of 2010 which will make for an exciting fall of electric vehicle introductions (Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, and the Coda).  Sales will only be in California and they describe a plan where sales offices will be rather unlike typical dealer showrooms.  Instead they'll be educational centers.  Electric vehicles are not yet at a point where someone can walk into a show room, plunk down some money, and drive the car away.  Coda like other electric vehicle sellers will have to prequalify your home to ensure install-ability of the electric vehicle service equipment (a.k.a. charging station).

Service will be performed through a network of "world-class, brand name after-sales partners, with a multitude of partner service centers throughout California."  Additionally if you've traveled outside California and require service your car will be transported back to a service center in California.  The car includes on board diagnostics to guide technicians in pinpointing problems.  They also have a call center for roadside assistance and the on board diagnostics allow for remote diagnosis of problems.  The Bluetooth support includes accident detection, on air bag deployment, where the car will use your phone to notify the call center who will be able to dispatch emergency response.

Subscribe via: Facebook, Friend Feed, Twitter, E-Mail