We are only in the start of how batteries are integrated and eventually all manufactures will move to structural packs.
The driving experience is already really good, a heavier feeling is actually prefer by most people.
what ? nobody prefers it. there are people that tolerate it and those that don't know better. weight kills driving dynamics, everybody that claims otherwise does not care or did not drive a lightweight car.
Of course because it's absolute nonsense. We spent the last several decades trying to make vehicles lighter for their size, and nobody loads their car with bricks and sandbags to get that "heavier feeling". Lower center of gravity is great but completely decoupled from the overall mass of the vehicle. The fact that the comment came back from downvote graveyard is a testament that not only will people say anything to support even a ludicrous claim, many others will support it without batting an eye.
Even if people don't understand the physics of why it works, the handling impacts are pretty apparent, especially out of low-speed city or heavy-traffic driving.
Specialty vehicles like sports cars and offroad trucksand where payload rating is not a concern function much better the lighter they are though.
Any sources on that? Is this coming from a poll or questionnaire or is it your opinion(because Tesla?)?
Some people like pineapple on their pizza, others eat marmite at breakfast but the heavy car likers is a first for me.
Are there instances of people installing ballast to their light cars in order to make them heavier?
It’s an arms race. It’s hard to feel particularly safe if there are significant fractions of mobile homes barreling down the road toward you. Owning the larger vehicles isn’t fun when you need to park for that matter.
More exhaust cleaning and more complex motors cost weight. Sturdier frames are also heavier. Compare e.g. the door thickness of a modern car with one from the 1990s. You can also compare the door's weight. The door will be heavier for the modern car and the thickness will cut away more from the interior space provided (since exterior dimensions are somwhat "fixed" in perception per class of car). Sit in a 1990 era Golf1 and compare to a modern Golf7. The modern version is more cramped on the inside despite being larger on the outside. And it is a good deal heavier.
So yes, larger exterior will get you a heavier car, but it isn't really consumers wanting ever larger exterior dimensions. It is consumers wanting a constant interior usable space.
A lot of interior space reduction for a given vehicle volume comes from the space required for a passenger cabin to have an aerodynamic shape.
More "wasted" space leaves more room for crumple zones, airbags, speakers, computer modules, HVAC stuff, alternative drive-trains and all sorts of features throughout the car.
Basically every engineering group in an OEM has their job made easier by making the car bigger. Making the new generation 1" bigger than the last generation is an easy way for management to please basically all the stakeholders.
Vehicles at the compact end of the spectrum are moving toward the design characteristics of 1950s heavy equipment where the operator sits where he fits and that's it.
You will see that the Golf has gotten bigger, but now the Polo has taken over as the small car. The Civic is no longer a small car, and has been replaced by the Fit/Jazz. The Focus has gotten bigger, and the Fiesta has taken over as the small car. The smaller car still exists.
Compare a modern Polo to a Mk1 Golf. The Polo will be safer, quieter, more efficient, and probably not that much heavier. Same goes for any car that I mentioned above.
A heavy car is objectively worse when looking at handling, fuel economy, road wear, general pollution and crash safety, but greater mass feels safer and sturdier. If an object is very light, it subjectively feels less strong, even though it may not be.
Car purchases are very emotionally driven and buyers choose what feels best to them, even if it is objectively worse on many parameters.
For a non-car example, I prefer riding my relatively heavy 3-speed Dutch-style bicycle to my old aluminum-framed 8-speed sporty citybike, even though the latter is objectively faster, turns more crisply and has a better gear range. Simply because the heavier bike is less perturbed over bumps and the wider tires soak up imperfections better.