You can take it or leave it - and, let's face it, so many true-blood motor racing fans prefer the latter option.
But even the haters can't deny it: Formula E has lasted far longer than most expected. Now in its 12th season, the electric single-seater series has survived early technical glitches, widespread scorn, manufacturer pull-outs and a global pandemic to somehow keep the spark alive.
Soon comes the next chapter, and a fourth- generation Formula E racer on which rest a couple of gigawatts of both promise and faith. But forget unlucky for some: unleashing Gen4 in season 13 at the end of this year could and, judging by our first contact, should raise the Formula E game - and in a way that all racing fans and car lovers should genuinely care about. So put aside your EV prejudice, overlook the grating whine... Don't think about the electric bit. Just consider this as a new racing car - one that is properly, stupendously and seriously fast.
The Gen4
It's a long way from the first generation of 2014, when limited range forced drivers to switch cars mid-race just to get to the finish. You can see the progression in our performance chart overleaf but, in short, the Gen4 takes a significant leap even from the already rapid current Gen3 Evo.
Topping out at 210mph, the Gen4 does 0-62mph in 1.8sec and 0-124mph in 4.4sec - 1.5sec faster than its predecessor. In race mode, it has 50% more power and is projected to lap as much as 10sec faster over some laps in qualifying mode. In Attack Mode, which drivers are obliged to trigger for a set period of time in each race, a whopping 600kW (805bhp) is available through all four wheels. And Formula E becomes the only single-seater series to offer permanent all-wheel drive.
So the unavoidable question: how does it compare to Formula 1? The only place where both series race at the same track configuration is Monaco - and "last year in qualifying, F1 was 18% quicker in lap time", says Porsche's factory motorsport director, Florian Modlinger. "We were around Formula 3 pace with Gen3; with Gen4 the target is to be in between F1 and Formula 2."
Spectacle now key
When Formula E was inaugurated in 2014, the environmental angle was a clear and obviously worthy messaging point. Sustainability remains at the heart of the series, but we hear that all the time from everything and everyone, whatever they're selling. What has changed in Formula E now is the emphasis on the sporting spectacle.
As Jaguar team principal Ian James puts it: "We've got to stop referring to ourselves as the pinnacle of electric racing. We should be able to stand on our own two feet as a world-class sport."
Earlier this year, Max Verstappen shone a light on the series when he suggested the new- look F1 was too much like Formula E. Contrary to popular perception, he wasn't being derogatory: he later clarified that he likes the electric series but believes F1 is wrong to go down the same path of energy management motor racing. He has also apparently given a thumbs up to Gen4, branding the new car "cool".
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds spends more of his time than he would wish talking about the F1 comparison. "Any time you've got a generational talent, a four-time world champion, talking about your sport, that's not a terrible thing," he tells me at France's Circuit Paul Ricard, where I'm witnessing the 'unleashing' of Gen4. "Also, while a lot of people wanted to interpret his comments in many different ways, [Max] clarified them: 'If we want to race electric cars, race electric cars. Why are we trying to sit on the fence between these two technologies? We are losing some of the special sauce we have in F1.' I have some sympathy with that conversation."
