We have never experienced a starting problem as we did with our previous diesel engine. It also goes rapidly from neutral to full torque in both forward and reverse, and the shift from forward to reverse is extremely fast. But there is a limitation. You can only go as far as the battery bank allows you - and carrying extra batteries is not an option for us as we do a lot of racing. Although we only carry 90Ah of batteries, we have always been able to reach a safe harbour when sailing.