Consumers, mostly those who buy EVs from the likes of Tesla, Rivian, and BYD, have grown accustomed to the frequent updates, slick infotainment software, and advanced driver assistance systems of Tesla, Rivians, Nio or Xiaomi. Honda has yet to make significant progress in any of those domains.
170mi of range is asinine. Considering battery losses, only charging to 80%, and needing to charge at 10%, you’re lucky to get 100 miles. No one can drive on the highway with that little range; my electric F150 Lightning loses 1/3 of its range at highway speeds.
I dunno… my sibling can make it a long way on a single charge, all the way to me and back. They haven’t had to use a fast charger yet. But if they do, my understanding is that Hyundai optimized the battery for charging speed instead of capacity.
Slate trucks are DOA with their current specs. They can’t tow on par with any truck or EV, they have sub 200mi range which makes road trips impossible, and they’re so bare bones that it’s not worth the trade offs. My cellular remote lock/unlock/climate/location in my current EV is the most useful and favorite part of my EV. I’d never buy an EV without them, no matter how enticing it is that I can put my own infotainment in the Slate truck.
I don’t understand Americans obsession about the ability to tow stuff. I’ve been driving a Peugeot 107 the last 14 years, with no hitch. Most things fit in the back, if the rear seats are folded down, we can even fit a washing machine in it. We have a roof rack for things that don’t fit. It’s only been a handful of times we either had to borrow my in-laws car, or pay to have something delivered.
Yeah, the Slate is probably not for a construction worker, nor for you, but I would love to have one
Speaking for myself, I like to trailer my horse to different places to go riding. Other people take boats/RVs/motorcycles to local, but not close, recreational areas. It also trivializes being able to move, and when you live in an apartment (the amount of Americans that own a house is definitely not increasing), being able to tow is fantastic as an option. The US is simply just very spread out, and because our government doesn’t subsidize much to be built across all communities, you kinda are forced to travel to what you like to do. Forget being able to move somewhere outdoorsy while maintaining a high degree of quality of life (high paying, easy, fulfilling jobs, while excluding living in an assbackwards red state).
Also, American appliances are much bigger than in Europe. My pedestrian washing machine at home holds more clothes than the washers I use at laundromats in Marseille when I visit.
Not really. Many of us really do tow things quite often. I personally have probably 150000 mi of towing trailers in the past 6 years. All over the intermountain West. On top of that as a work truck under 200 miles is also ridiculous. As I mentioned in one of my other comments there’s times where I fill up my gas tank four times a week. Just locally. That doesn’t include when I’m working out of town. Most of my trips even to the nearest state are almost 200 mi. And most of them are well over 200 mi. If I were to add in time on top of my travel and work for charging that would be extremely prohibitive.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The first company that makes a “1990 civic hatchback, but as an EV” will fucking print money. Shoot for 170-200 miles of range in a small, efficient, and affordable EV. Keep the tech simple and make it “driver focused”. Once people are clamoring for those, release a “sport model” with dual motors and upgraded suspension.
I’d shoot for audio, and the radio is a safety feature, but I would make it a physical device in the center console instead of a giant touchscreen. Backup cams are mandatory in the US, I’d integrate that into the rear mirror to save space and sightline. I’d have the entry level model with a digital dash, and the option for an analog speedometer+discreet digital info displays. Power windows would be standard, but you could option for manual crank windows for a cost cut.
Some features of EVs feel like high tech bullshit until you actually drive them. Like heated seats and steering wheels. Heating the whole car is horribly inefficient, you get a lot more range if you can leave the heat off and just use the heated surfaces. I’d consider a heatpump too, but this involves some duplication of duty, since the battery pack needs a resistive heater to stay warm in the winter, and most EVs use that same heater for cabin heat.
I’d leave out fancy electronic doors. My MME has them, and the are really nifty, but the novelty does wear off. I’d ditch the power lift gate as well. Super useful, but I just know that shit is eventually going to break, and then it is going to be an expensive pain in the ass to fix.
Exactly. At least in the US we’ve grown “accustomed” to those features on high-end EVs because that’s all we have here. Market affordable electric vehicles and they would have sold like crazy, even before gas prices skyrocketed due to Trump’s pointless war…
Yeah you say that yet there are a number of EVs that are less expensive than gas vehicles and yet they still haven’t sold like hotcakes. Overall you still have a lack of Ev adoption. I personally would love to have an Ev, but the lack of range is what really gets me. And the charge time on top of that. I drive far too much sometimes having to fill my gas tank 4 days a week. And the amount of time I would spend charging even at home would be prohibitive. My second car could definitely be an EV, but never my primary.
Not me!
My dream car is a “dumb” EV with a tablet mount.
https://www.slate.auto/en/slatemaker?garageDrawerExperience=false
They’re designed to use your own phone or tablet, running their app, so probably not all “dumb”, but close to
Yeah, I know all about the Slate. It’s a very cool concept.
Also see this Scottish EV: https://www.munro-ev.com/
I wish more manufacturers would take those ideas, though.
170mi of range is asinine. Considering battery losses, only charging to 80%, and needing to charge at 10%, you’re lucky to get 100 miles. No one can drive on the highway with that little range; my electric F150 Lightning loses 1/3 of its range at highway speeds.
It will be 100 miles in cold weather
There is a long list of EV companies that went nowhere. Canoo, Nikola, Aptera, Bollinger.
I dunno… my sibling can make it a long way on a single charge, all the way to me and back. They haven’t had to use a fast charger yet. But if they do, my understanding is that Hyundai optimized the battery for charging speed instead of capacity.
How many miles do you consider a long way?
~70 miles. That’s how far they are from me.
And their daily commute is 25 miles in heavy traffic.
That’s not much really.
Slate trucks are DOA with their current specs. They can’t tow on par with any truck or EV, they have sub 200mi range which makes road trips impossible, and they’re so bare bones that it’s not worth the trade offs. My cellular remote lock/unlock/climate/location in my current EV is the most useful and favorite part of my EV. I’d never buy an EV without them, no matter how enticing it is that I can put my own infotainment in the Slate truck.
I don’t understand Americans obsession about the ability to tow stuff. I’ve been driving a Peugeot 107 the last 14 years, with no hitch. Most things fit in the back, if the rear seats are folded down, we can even fit a washing machine in it. We have a roof rack for things that don’t fit. It’s only been a handful of times we either had to borrow my in-laws car, or pay to have something delivered.
Yeah, the Slate is probably not for a construction worker, nor for you, but I would love to have one
Speaking for myself, I like to trailer my horse to different places to go riding. Other people take boats/RVs/motorcycles to local, but not close, recreational areas. It also trivializes being able to move, and when you live in an apartment (the amount of Americans that own a house is definitely not increasing), being able to tow is fantastic as an option. The US is simply just very spread out, and because our government doesn’t subsidize much to be built across all communities, you kinda are forced to travel to what you like to do. Forget being able to move somewhere outdoorsy while maintaining a high degree of quality of life (high paying, easy, fulfilling jobs, while excluding living in an assbackwards red state).
A horse definitely necessitates towing capabilities, that will never fit in my car!
Where I live the coast is rarely more than 60 minutes drive away, so boats are just moored at the harbours, as we have no lakes to speak of
Also, American appliances are much bigger than in Europe. My pedestrian washing machine at home holds more clothes than the washers I use at laundromats in Marseille when I visit.
Towing is just an excuse for fat people to buy a pickup.
Not really. Many of us really do tow things quite often. I personally have probably 150000 mi of towing trailers in the past 6 years. All over the intermountain West. On top of that as a work truck under 200 miles is also ridiculous. As I mentioned in one of my other comments there’s times where I fill up my gas tank four times a week. Just locally. That doesn’t include when I’m working out of town. Most of my trips even to the nearest state are almost 200 mi. And most of them are well over 200 mi. If I were to add in time on top of my travel and work for charging that would be extremely prohibitive.
Most people buy trucks to commute to office jobs, or construction workers who commute to job sites where they then use company trucks.
I was pleased to read VW crowing that they were “bringing back buttons” to the dashboard.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The first company that makes a “1990 civic hatchback, but as an EV” will fucking print money. Shoot for 170-200 miles of range in a small, efficient, and affordable EV. Keep the tech simple and make it “driver focused”. Once people are clamoring for those, release a “sport model” with dual motors and upgraded suspension.
$25000
Then…
dual rear hub motors, 540hp.
Renault is killing it in Europe, coming to Canada 2029.
Oh yeah. Strong “first car” energy there.
My parents have the yellow one. It’s a perfect little car.
Yyyyyeeessss
Of course america won’t get it, because its epic.
10000%. Please. I hate tech in cars (and home appliances ). I will not buy your stupid car with 5g and a 20" screen with 0 buttons.
The only tech an electric car needs is ABS and a battery gauge . Thats it.
I dont want a radio or electric windows either but I guess we are forced into having those because of economies of scale.
I’d shoot for audio, and the radio is a safety feature, but I would make it a physical device in the center console instead of a giant touchscreen. Backup cams are mandatory in the US, I’d integrate that into the rear mirror to save space and sightline. I’d have the entry level model with a digital dash, and the option for an analog speedometer+discreet digital info displays. Power windows would be standard, but you could option for manual crank windows for a cost cut.
Some features of EVs feel like high tech bullshit until you actually drive them. Like heated seats and steering wheels. Heating the whole car is horribly inefficient, you get a lot more range if you can leave the heat off and just use the heated surfaces. I’d consider a heatpump too, but this involves some duplication of duty, since the battery pack needs a resistive heater to stay warm in the winter, and most EVs use that same heater for cabin heat.
I’d leave out fancy electronic doors. My MME has them, and the are really nifty, but the novelty does wear off. I’d ditch the power lift gate as well. Super useful, but I just know that shit is eventually going to break, and then it is going to be an expensive pain in the ass to fix.
The Rivian R3 looks promising.
Exactly. At least in the US we’ve grown “accustomed” to those features on high-end EVs because that’s all we have here. Market affordable electric vehicles and they would have sold like crazy, even before gas prices skyrocketed due to Trump’s pointless war…
Yeah you say that yet there are a number of EVs that are less expensive than gas vehicles and yet they still haven’t sold like hotcakes. Overall you still have a lack of Ev adoption. I personally would love to have an Ev, but the lack of range is what really gets me. And the charge time on top of that. I drive far too much sometimes having to fill my gas tank 4 days a week. And the amount of time I would spend charging even at home would be prohibitive. My second car could definitely be an EV, but never my primary.