zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV
Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:11

Image for article titled Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV

Among the many electric vehicles at CES this year was one from Turkey’s Togg. Togg is a startup in the sense that it was founded only in 2018, but it also really isn’t because it’s of six different long-running Turkish entities, one of which is a beverage manufacturer and another, a telecom. It’s working on bringing an electric SUV to the market by the end of 2022. There’s going to be a sedan too, and wouldn’t you know it’s designed by Pininfarina.

Then again, you probably wouldn’t know it. The prototype Togg brought to CES — snappily named the Transition Concept Smart Device — has intrigued me all week. Not because there’s anything especially interesting about it; in fact, it’s remarkably restrained and seemingly production-spec. If it’s anything like Togg’s yet-unnamed SUV, it’ll go a little more than 300 miles on a charge, which is perfectly in line with the bulk of the market.

Image for article titled Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV

I do wonder if it’ll be in the way lots of cars are in Turkey, though something tells me Togg might get a break since .

No — what leaps out to me about the Device, as I’ll call it to save time, is how underdesigned it is for a product from one of the world’s foremost automotive design houses.

This thing is totally soulless. It’s not ugly, but it isn’t beautiful. It lacks any distinctive features. The headlights look pulled off a last-gen Kia Optima; the running lights remind me of something, or maybe everything. A recent Buick? I can’t put my finger on it, because it’s so remarkably generic.

Image for article titled Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV

The side of the Device has rear-hinged doors, which I appreciate and would love to see on more cars. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything else to point out about it. It’s a liftback, like a lot of electric pseudo-sedans, and it incorporates aluminum trim in the greenhouse to accentuate the roofline and suggest an arc, which would be a neat touch if every other manufacturer wasn’t doing it too.

I’ve run out of ways to express my boredom looking at this car, so just study this picture of the rear for yourself.

Image for article titled Pininfarina Helped Turkey Design An EV That Is Indistinguishable From Every Other EV

Inside, it looks fine enough: I won’t complain about blue suede in any application, and the split steering wheel is kind of cool looking, if nothing else. It’s mostly screen as you’d expect, though the chunky bezel around the lower center stack display reminds me of something out of a recent Subaru. At least in a Subaru it’d be populated with physical controls.

I’m certain I’ve seen the animation on the dash screen on the NYC Subway.

Overall I’m just left confused how Pininfarina could sign off on something that looks like one of . Sure, not every client’s getting the Ferrari treatment, and studios like Pininfarina and Italdesign have penned their share of bland cars over the years. But even the company’s work for and doesn’t look like a banal amalgamation of everything else on the road, and the SUV it’d done for Togg earlier . Maybe Togg directed it not to make anything remotely ambitious to match the concept’s name. Maybe Pininfarina was just taking the check here, which I can also understand.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Automakers Might Make Ventilators Because Of Coronavirus
Automakers Might Make Ventilators Because Of Coronavirus
General Motors and Ford are researching the possibility of revamping their plants from to actively building ventilators to help treat those sickened with Coronavirus. The two automakers (FCA has not announced any intentions to switch its manufacturing) are in contact with both U.S. and UK governments about the possibility...
Oct 27, 2026
Audi Rejected A Five-Cylinder Engine For The New Volkswagen Golf R: Report
Audi Rejected A Five-Cylinder Engine For The New Volkswagen Golf R: Report
The new hasn’t yet made its official debut, but here’s one thing it probably, most likely won’t have: an Audi-sourced five-cylinder turbocharged engine. Word is Audi didn’t want the VW to have that engine because sharing would apparently dilute the brand. Volkswagen was allegedly considering stuffing a five-cylinder into...
Oct 27, 2026
Pink Floyd--'Breathe'
Pink Floyd--'Breathe'
Traffic sucks, so why not start your morning off with some music? You provide the toast and we’ll provide the jams. Good advice in these troubled times. ...
Oct 27, 2026
The Automotive Industry Is Grinding To An Undignified Halt
The Automotive Industry Is Grinding To An Undignified Halt
Toyota, Honda, and the Big Three have shut down manufacturing plants. Mercedes is keeping its Alabama factory open, but it will probably run out of parts. Tesla may or may not be contradicting a legal order not to produce cars, and Ford doesn’t want to sit on a mountain...
Oct 27, 2026
The Polish Army Appears To Be Attempting To Commandeer Citizens' Trucks UPDATED
The Polish Army Appears To Be Attempting To Commandeer Citizens' Trucks UPDATED
This pandemic that, for some reason, the world decided to host, is affecting all sorts of systems and institutions in often unexpected ways. One of those unexpected ways is how it appears to be affecting the Polish Army, which seems to have sent out letters to owners of trucks,...
Oct 27, 2026
Let's Take A Look At The Design Of The 2021 Hyundai Elantra
Let's Take A Look At The Design Of The 2021 Hyundai Elantra
Earlier this week, Hyundai did something pretty bold: four-door sedan, the latest version of the . In this era of everything’s-a-crossover-or-an-SUV, this once-expected act now qualifies as daring. Also daring is the design of the new Elantra which is striking and interesting and very likely polarizing, things which have...
Oct 27, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved