Help me decide BEV or EREV

[MaddMatt]

Of course, there is always some magical threshold that changes a trip from "we should drive that" to "we should fly that". And that magic distance changes based on a bunch of stuff.

And it also sort of depends on what you're used to. I've got a buddy won't drive more than about 4hs in a day without stopping at a hotel. On the other hand I have relatives who have worn out multiple freightliner RV's from mileage pretty regularly (travel cross country constantly for racing), who don't even think twice about driving for 12-16hrs in a day.

We fly to my parents house in AZ (2-3 day drive). We drive to my wifes parents in Utah (a long one day drive). We drive to Utah because its just so much cheaper.

Driving is ~$200 in gas, vs $600-1000 in airline tickets. Plus, parking at the airport (~$150-250), maybe rent a car (we stay there for like 2 weeks, and visit tons of family in the area), which would add another ~$500.

Driving at a more leisurely pace would add 2 days off of work + hotel costs. So yeah, we drive :/.

I'm not claiming this is super common thing everyone does, or a blocker for the BEV either mind you. As I said, we're contemplating the trip this summer, and if we'll take the hybrid, or the new larger BEV. But the math shows that the BEV would likely cost more, and take ~1hr or so longer for the trip. And if the BEV doesn't end up working how we want it, the Harvester Traveler might become the road trip vehicle.

I feel this post on a deep level - when the kids were little we made the Denver-Tucson loop many times, 14 hours or so of driving time. Denver to Ely (the MN one, not NV) = 2 10-12 hour days. Grand Canyon, Jackson Hole, Park City - the list goes one, we did all the Griswold stuff. I've done this effectively non-stop in several different vehicles, including a Subaru Outback with two car seats in the back and a 70lb Golden Retriever in the wayback, and all stops were based on fuel: everybody goes to the bathroom, the dog gets a quick walk and right back into the car.

While this created core memories that we all look back on most fondly, one of the things I'm looking forward to, now that the kids are grown, is traveling at a more leisurely pace. Having lived with a BEV for over a year now, I know it can go from 10% to 100% in no more than 45 minutes, which should be plenty of time to have a meal, walk around, etc...

10 years ago I couldn't have imagined feeling this way, so I'll be curious to see if I still feel this way when our Scouts are finally available, if I'll go Harvester just because I'm tired of waiting, or what...

 

[robothero]

This past summer we did Myrtle Beach -> Philly suburbs. With the kids it took about 12 hours, with stops very centered around "gas" and "clean bathrooms"

I know the EV route would have been a bit longer, but I think I'd almost prefer that since the stops wouldn't have been as chaotic and ideally planned around "re-energize both car and body" vs "yeah I guess mcdonalds is the option available"


Edit: actually the more I think about it, it may have ended up being the same time because "gas" and "clean bathrooms" did not always align lol.

 

[J Alynn]

I feel this post on a deep level - when the kids were little we made the Denver-Tucson loop many times, 14 hours or so of driving time. Denver to Ely (the MN one, not NV) = 2 10-12 hour days. Grand Canyon, Jackson Hole, Park City - the list goes one, we did all the Griswold stuff. I've done this effectively non-stop in several different vehicles, including a Subaru Outback with two car seats in the back and a 70lb Golden Retriever in the wayback, and all stops were based on fuel: everybody goes to the bathroom, the dog gets a quick walk and right back into the car.

While this created core memories that we all look back on most fondly, one of the things I'm looking forward to, now that the kids are grown, is traveling at a more leisurely pace. Having lived with a BEV for over a year now, I know it can go from 10% to 100% in no more than 45 minutes, which should be plenty of time to have a meal, walk around, etc...

10 years ago I couldn't have imagined feeling this way, so I'll be curious to see if I still feel this way when our Scouts are finally available, if I'll go Harvester just because I'm tired of waiting, or what...

I genuinely believe those of us on the older range of age are probably more open to the breaks. 20-something’s can go 12-14 hours but just not the same once you are over 50

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

I can remember a 3-week driving trip in 1962. Pocatello, ID for relatives. Seattle for the worlds fair. Down the coast to San-Fran (where the clutch went out). To grandmas house in sacramento. Then back across Utah to home in Denver. This was before Interstates. And the vehicle? Our shiny new 1962 Scout 80 with a whole 4 cylinders. What fun.

 

[Variable430]

I've flipped back and forth a lot. I really don't know what makes the most sense for me so I think over time this thread will prove to be very helpful.

On one hand, BEV will let me rip the bandaid off. No maintenance or dealing with engine stuff.

On the other hand, while infrastructure around us is very good, I worry about potential situations where we have 17 inches of snow and another 40+ projected next week with temps never going above 20. We lose power a lot and a heavy winter storm could be days. We do not currently own a generator (hoping to get one this year).

How long will the BEV be able to keep us up and running and warm? What if we are running low and the nearest working charging station is out of range?

This is a hypothetical because we have another car that is pure gas, but it's something I think about.

Absent an understanding of specs this is simply conjecture. I would hands down take the BEV unless the efficiency doesn’t match the stated specs. I hope Scout isn’t taking the preorder percentage as gospel because I suspect a portion of those preorders would change once more details are available.

 

[mainebean]

I have said in a couple of other posts, but the biggest attraction for the BEV to me is the maintenance of combustion engine and all the parts that go with it.

Going full electric I won't have to worry about oil changes, transmission fluid flushes, exhaust repairs, etc. I also love the ride of an electric vehicle, the quiet, the smoothness, the acceleration, etc. I am fully aware that with and EREV you'll still have the feel of a full BEV, but I do wonder how much noise and vibration the generator will add.

Also, for our situation, 95% of my driving is to/from work which is only 15 miles round trip. Errands on the weekends, and heading out for hikes and fishing trips, but living in Maine these are not long drives, 50 miles at the most. About four times a year, we have to go to Boston for medical appointments, that's 125 miles one way, but there's multiple charging stations in hospital parking garage, and we generally are at the hospital for 2-4 hours, so I would be heading home with a full charge, If I even needed to charge.

I've never owned an electric vehicle, but I try and chat with as many people as I can that drive them, and everyone that makes the switch says they'll never go back to gasoline. Looking forward to my first EV, and really hoping that's a Scout Terra.

 

[GrumpyG]

I reserved a Harvester for towing. But that was two years ago and now I am not sure I am committed as I was. I want to be able to tow my tractor to and from my woodlot and I would need a pretty decent towing capacity and range so that I could make multiple trips. That will influence my choice either way. For now I will stay with the Harvester. I like the proposed LFP battery chemistry and I can get to and from work in full electric mode. But if the BEV has better towing capacity and closer to 400 mile range for towing and cold weather, I will likely switch.

 

[N Wilson]

Absent an understanding of specs this is simply conjecture. I would hands down take the BEV unless the efficiency doesn’t match the stated specs. I hope Scout isn’t taking the preorder percentage as gospel because I suspect a portion of those preorders would change once more details are available.

Without divulging any numbers, when I was talking to Jaime at the event in NYC last September, he said something to the effect that they achieved better than expected results with the aerodynamics. Can't remember if this was also shared on the forum.

That should help with efficiency.

 

[cyure]

Without divulging any numbers, when I was talking to Jaime at the event in NYC last September, he said something to the effect that they achieved better than expected results with the aerodynamics. Can't remember if this was also shared on the forum.

That should help with efficiency.

This is just me spitballing here, but when releasing a new anything wouldn’t it behoove that company to under promise and over deliver? I fully expect the numbers to be better than they stated at launch.

 

[J Alynn]

Without divulging any numbers, when I was talking to Jaime at the event in NYC last September, he said something to the effect that they achieved better than expected results with the aerodynamics. Can't remember if this was also shared on the forum.

That should help with efficiency.

I heard similar while there so since cats out of bag I’ll at least second your comment. And it was said that for being a brick on wheels the aerodynamics were way better than expected

 

[SrfnFly227]

I reserved a Harvester for towing. But that was two years ago and now I am not sure I am committed as I was. I want to be able to tow my tractor to and from my woodlot and I would need a pretty decent towing capacity and range so that I could make multiple trips. That will influence my choice either way. For now I will stay with the Harvester. I like the proposed LFP battery chemistry and I can get to and from work in full electric mode. But if the BEV has better towing capacity and closer to 400 mile range for towing and cold weather, I will likely switch.

I reserved the Harvester for towing as well. The only towing I will do is my Jeep on a trailer to places over 200 miles away. EV towing just doesn't seem to be great for that. Not long after my I put in my reservation was the Jay Leno episode with the comment about 5000 pound capacity. I understand that they are still working on the final numbers, but that won't work for me personally. I ended up updating my reservation to EV and figure for the 2-3 times a year that I tow, I'll just plan on extra stops.

Now if the EV ends up closer to 400 miles, I will for sure stay EV. If it ends up closer to 300 miles, I'll have to take a look at the final specs of the Harvester. As it stands today, I hope they over deliver so I can just commit to EV 100%.

But delivery is still at least 2 years out and life changes fast. I may not have a Jeep anymore (or maybe I don't take it off road anymore) so my entire reason for the Harvester may not end up being a consideration.

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

Okay this is going to upset some folks here but what the hay. You know how all halfton trucks and suv only have 5,000 ( 500) if they are not using a wdh. What does this mean for Harvester models? It might mean that if your going to tow with a Harvester model you will have to use a wdh on the lightest of trailers.

 

[Mousehunter]

The last "car" I purchased was just over 10 years ago (there have been 2 trucks and 3 jeeps since then, but digressing). Then Tesla was looking like a 250 mile range, and my daily commute was 200+. Not really viable.

I don't have the commute anymore, and a 350 mile range is just enough to peak my interest. It is not what I dream of, but it is enough to deal with a lot of the trips I do. But the issue is 350 miles peaks my interest, 300 miles makes me question, and honestly 400+ would be nice... 400+ would make my 300 mile trips more comfortable. Plus it would make me feel slightly more comfortable towing, although my main tow trips with the Traveler will still probably not be possible without charging. They are close to 300 mile round trips - so the question is if I can even make 1/2 of that with a single charge (but am pretty much assuming I will have to grab a charge both directions, and even that might be tight).

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

The last "car" I purchased was just over 10 years ago (there have been 2 trucks and 3 jeeps since then, but digressing). Then Tesla was looking like a 250 mile range, and my daily commute was 200+. Not really viable.

I don't have the commute anymore, and a 350 mile range is just enough to peak my interest. It is not what I dream of, but it is enough to deal with a lot of the trips I do. But the issue is 350 miles peaks my interest, 300 miles makes me question, and honestly 400+ would be nice... 400+ would make my 300 mile trips more comfortable. Plus it would make me feel slightly more comfortable towing, although my main tow trips with the Traveler will still probably not be possible without charging. They are close to 300 mile round trips - so the question is if I can even make 1/2 of that with a single charge (but am pretty much assuming I will have to grab a charge both directions, and even that might be tight).

Hopefully do to the possibly that the Terra EV may come in last on production that will give SM time to offer a max pack battery that will hit 400 miles. Also hopefully this max pack model will be on 33s with a suspension that will allow it to lower the ride while on the highway.