> Driven like a regular car, GM's "voltswagen" is quite adept in traffic. Its 7.7-second 0-60-mph ability equals that of potent performers such as the '69 Camaro SS 350. And since the electric motor produces the same 110 pound-feet of torque at one rpm as at 7000, response is instantaneous.

> With more than a half ton of batteries low in the chassis, the car is very stable and handles remarkably well despite the ultranarrow, low-rolling-resistance tires. Darting from light to light along L.A. 's bustling La Cienega Boulevard, the car would easily spurt ahead from intersections for uninterrupted lane choice.

However :

> Of course, this driving style meant I was sucking amps like the Las Vegas strip, and the battery state-of-charge gauge used everything but sarcasm to get me to slow down. However, I'm a performance driver first, an environmentalist second-so I decided that while my trip up the coast may be brief, it would be without accelerative compromises.

[...]

> Driving smoothly is the key to efficiency (read: more mileage) in any vehicle, but given the current limitations, it's all-important in an electric car. So, to make my way through the 36 urban miles to my home, I was a virtual rolling roadblock, easing into the throttle with such delicacy that within the first few miles I knew I'd be late for my wife's lovingly prepared dinner.

That would explain my confusion after reading this :

https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car

> With a range of 80 miles and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 50 miles per hour in just seven seconds,

-which I took to mean that they were much better than average-

> the EV1 quickly gained a cult following.