I like this a lot. Series hybrids make sense in this application. I would LOVE to have a vehicle that I could easily commute under electric power but then actually use to tow when needed.
The biggest barrier for me will be price. I fully suspect this will easily be $75k+ starting price. If they could manage a $40k starting price, I would trade my Maverick hybrid in tomorrow.
And since I keep seeing it referenced, if anybody is curious about real-world experience towing with a Lightning, my thread on that is here. I pulled both my 20' enclosed and then my open trailer 500 miles and posted the results:
I wonder if a version with a 35 kwh battery and a $5k discount would sell better? You'd only have half the all-electric range, but given the size of that generator it wouldn't really be a problem for use. As a bonus, you'd also get more payload capacity due to the lighter battery.
The Volt never had more than 53 miles of EV range, and it had software routines to burn off stale gas because the ICE ran so rarely.
Streetwiseguy said:
That Volvo is interesting.
Dodge/Chrysler is not new to turbine powered cars:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
hopefully they're introducing the high end version first and then making a cheaper version once it's established, because I'd really like one, but I know I'm not gonna like the price
This, or something like it would be nice as a future do-it-all daily driver. At 140 miles of range, most of our daily routine driving would be electric and we could charge at home overnight, but on road trips or hauling something heavy, don't need to depend on the charging network. It's probably overkill for anything I intend to do, but maybe we'll get lucky and they'll come out with something mid-sized.
In reply to gixxeropa :
It's been pointed out to me by some knowledgeable folks that the battery gets used in the full EV (two packs running at twice the voltage) so sticking the full 70 kWh unit in might actually be the least expensive option. Also, you've gotta be able to feed a 500kw motor and that's a lot easier to do with a big pack than a small one.
Unless it's $29.99, nobody will like the price of any new car :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I'd be happy to pay 40, even 50 dollars ;). But I'm expecting it to be roughly equivalent to my entire take home pay for a year
Something clicked today, this may be as good a place as any to bring it up.
People always used to point out that cars had 300hp engines and 1000hp brakes. If you are expecting to be able to regen as much as possible, you're going to need really powerful motors to match the braking power of friction brakes.
Oddly enough, I realized it while thinking about how some CVT vehicles can theoretically hit their car's aerodynamic top speed in reverse. (this had nothing to do with wanting to build a rear engined AWD Subaru powered thing, as far as you can legally prove)
The amount of regen available varies from car to car - the Mercedes is huge IIRC. Battery size is a factor but not the only factor.
But you don't use max decel all the time. I almost never use the friction brakes in the Tesla, and it doesn't provide particularly high levels of regen. It just has to be strong enough for day to day use. Hopefully this one is strong enough to give some real "engine braking" - the brake on my Cummins is great for highway use.
Brakes on EVs are weird. They almost never get used, but when you let the thing off the leash they have to do enormous amounts of work.
Compelling enough that I tossed them the C-note to get a reservation. We had a Lighting reservation but bugged out on that when the towing reviews came back so atrocious. Our primary use-case is all-electric around town, but able to tow our current (and any potential future) camper, and I need to be able to go more than 100-120 miles at a stretch. We've resisted anything bigger than our current light-ish 16' camper since we tow with an MDX. This would let us up-size a bit and probably still be cheaper on gas.
Are there any driving impressions for this truck yet? I am curious if the new truck can maintain battery charge while towing at 70+ mph. I didn't buy one of the other electric trucks because my normal destinations when towing are just far enough away that they require a charge on the way out and on the way back.
Otherwise, the series hybrid makes a ton of sense for my current commute and weekend plans. I don't even need 100+ miles of ev only range for 90% of my driving.
In reply to ojannen :
They're not supposed to be produced until early 2025 according to every source I can find
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