Test Drive Karma Revero: Finally Good Karma?

The California Revero with range extender is one of several new models that Karma wants to bring to market before the end of the decade - once more, still, we don't know exactly. The fact is: Karma remains stable despite minimal production numbers because there are investors behind it who want exactly that and seem to love the brand. Brief classification: Karma no longer has anything to do with Henrik Fisker, who once designed the Karma and brought it to market for the first time. The former BMW designer moved on and founded his own company, which also failed with the electric Ocean.

From Fisker to Wanxiang: The Karma has eternal life

Now Karma is trying to relaunch the brand in Europe with the Revero - still with the classic design: The 5.06-meter-long Revero is a four-door "coupe" with an endlessly long hood, a low roof, a muscular body profile and therefore a rather small interior for its size. It will soon be available in Europe, distributed through the sales network of the Chinese Wanxiang Group. The Chinese acquired the Californian car manufacturer at a bankruptcy auction ten years ago and gave the regional management to Kroymans, who specialize in selling luxury and premium car brands.

Only the raw structure reminds of the original Karma

The 2020 Revero Gen 2 was replaced last year as the car continued to move away from the 2011 model. From the original version, drawn by Henrik Fisker two decades ago, barely more than the exterior lines and the shape of the dashboard remained. The body, consisting of a combination of aluminum spaceframe/composite materials, received a new grille and a more elegant rear, while retaining the lines. Only with the launch of the future Gyesera and Kaveya models (planned for 2025 and 2026) will a new design language be introduced, the work of chief designer Michelle Christensen, who moved from Acura to Karma.

No more solar roof - it was too inefficient

The over five-meter-long, sensually drawn body of the Revero is still a head-turner, although the interior also attracts a lot of attention, as it is incredibly small relative to the overall length of the vehicle. Rear passengers in particular travel cramped, and anyone taller than 1.75 meters should definitely sit in the front row, otherwise the low roof will ruin your hairstyle. Even tighter is the cargo space with 181 liters. The Revero foregoes the solar roof, which could convert sunlight into electrical energy, because its energy inefficiency was so poor that a whole day under the California sun only collected a meager two kWh. Stephan Stoker of Karma Europe explains to us:

"We have reduced the weight from 2,490 to 2,287 kilograms, and that was important along with the new gasoline engine/generator to increase the range of the new generation of the electric car."

This was made possible not least by increasing the energy content of the lithium-ion battery from 21 to 28 kWh thanks to improved energy density. The Revero diet had already begun in 2020, when the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine from General Motors was replaced by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo from BMW, which also rather unimpressively powered the i8.

The gasoline engine is under the hood - but only generates electricity. Up to 128 kilometers run purely electrically.

The Revero is an Extended Range Electric Vehicle, a plug-in electric vehicle, as it can be charged not only via a plug. The 170 kW / 231 hp three-cylinder turbo supplies energy to the battery pack, from which the two electric motors, each installed under the trunk floor with 200 kW / 272 hp, get their power. The gasoline engine itself under the front hood is, however, not connected to the drive, which is why the Revero only has rear-wheel drive. Charging is a major issue, as the lithium-ion battery can be charged with alternating current (maximum 6.6 kW) or direct current (maximum 45 kW). In sport mode or at a very low state of charge, the gasoline engine can also be used to supply energy, which means that the 128-kilometer electric range can be extended by an additional 450 kilometers.

When driving in electric mode, everything proceeds very quietly, and acceleration up to the electric maximum speed of 153 km/h is very swift. In sport mode with combustion engine support, the Karma Revero manages 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds and a narrow top speed of 201 km/h. Switching to sustain mode allows you to hear the rumbling three-cylinder gasoline engine, which seems out of place in a sports coupe.

The three-cylinder simply does not match the elegant appearance

If you push the engine and accelerate, it only gets worse. Additionally, the noise insulation of the Revero – also due to the lack of double glazing – is not the best, similar to some interior details. The exhaust pipes are placed behind the front wheels, making the unrefined engine sound even more intrusive inside. The Karma engineers explain that the vehicle's low center of gravity was a priority, so the battery had to be housed in the central tunnel, leaving no space to route the exhaust pipes to the rear. Well, it’s an intriguing solution – if there was a V8 installed at the front. Or, they could have just left it purely electric...

The chassis: low and firm

The independent suspension at the front and rear, tuned for sportiness, ensures effective control of all body roll while offering a good level of comfort, even though the 22-inch wheels transmit many road imperfections to the interior. The fact that each electric motor individually drives a rear wheel allows for an electronic limited slip differential effect, optimizing grip and traction – especially in tight corners. The direct steering presents itself as balanced, but it offers little change when the driving mode is switched.