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I wish the design was more function over form. Why is the grill so large? A lower front end would improve efficiency (and thus probably give another 10-20 m

I wish the design was more function over form. Why is the grill so large? A lower front end would improve efficiency (and thus probably give another 10-20 miles of range), improve visibility, and kill fewer pedestrians. I know why, the market is nostalgia and it wouldn't sell well if it looked more like a mini kenworth which has a hood that slopes down and in and less like a pickup truck. That low range is going to turn off a bunch of buyers. I doubt another 10-20 miles of range would capture more buyers than a non-traditional shape would turn off. But I wish the market was that rational.

chaostheory 4mo ago
They have a lowering kit, but it’s “coming soon” and it costs extra
SoftTalker 4mo ago
Yeah 200 miles is pretty much the low end of what I'd consider (and I assume that is an "absolute best case" number, e.g. unloaded at a constant speed on a flat road, not running AC or heat but IDK how those are actually computed). 300-350 miles would be a lot better. That would cover most of my trips (and allow for some payload) with a little bit to spare before I needed to stop to charge. I guess the price isn't too bad. I still remember something like a Toyota or a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10 selling for under 10K new, but inflation and all... probably not terrible for a compact truck in 2026.
- ssl-3 4mo ago
  I guess it depends on the person. 200 miles more than covers all of the driving I do on any normal day. Today is an exceptional day, and I'll be driving a total of 120 miles for work. The Slate would cover that just fine with a ton of breathing room. I do take far longer trips than that for pleasure, but they're rare. I think if I only had an EV to drive, and that EV could only do 200 miles on a charge, then I'd be able to figure out how to make these <5% events work for me. (I can use a break after a couple/few hours on the road, anyway.)
  - bryanlarsen 4mo ago
    Once you reach a reasonable threshold, fast charging is more important than capacity. 200 miles is that threshold IMO, but Slate is "200 miles doing 55 in the summer". I want "200 miles doing 70 in the winter". And the Slate's charging isn't particularly fast: 20-80% in 30 minutes.
    - ssl-3 4mo ago
      Sounds great! I can live within those limitations.
  - SoftTalker 4mo ago
    It does depend on the person for sure. I can see 200 being adequate for many cases. It's even still something I'm considering. I'd like to get a small truck again, they are just so useful if you are a homeowner, but I do a 220 mile drive about once a month and that's often enough that I'd ideally want to have that covered. Stopping for a top-up charge on a bathroom break might be OK, but I haven't ever looked at the locations where that would be possible, and if there are times when a wait would be likely, etc.
- neogodless 4mo ago
  I own a Polestar 2 with an effective 75 kWh battery and an average efficiency of 3.3 mi / kWh. So 248 mile range if you charge to 100% and run it down to 0%. Real world, 99.9% of driving I do is well under 100 miles per day, and my charging between 6pm and 8am on a 120V outlet adds 50-60 miles. You could plug in every night, but in practice I wait until the battery is below 40%, and tend to plug in every 1-2 weeks depending on how much I use it. It's been driven over 200 miles in a single day twice, and each time the car was charged for 15-20 minutes at a fast charger to top up. shrug For many people, in real world usage, 205 mile range is great for how you'll actually use the truck.
  - SoftTalker 4mo ago
    > average efficiency of 3.3 mi / kWh. I'm curious, is that your personal average or is that what the company claims? I've not taken the plunge on an EV yet, but realistically I'm interested in the actual range driving 70-75mph on the highway, with the AC running, as compared to the manufacturer's claims.
    - labcomputer 4mo ago
      A good rule of thumb across most makes is to take the EPA range number and multiply by 0.85, and that’s what you’ll get at a constant 70-75 mph in moderate weather (say, 55-85 degrees) with the climate control on. Of course, you probably want to arrive at your next charge stop with 5-10%, and the top 10% of the battery charges very slowly in all EVs, so you normally multiply by another 0.80 factor to take that into account.
    - Peanuts99 4mo ago
      Probably worth noting that Polestar 2s are not particularly efficient, though lovely to drive. Mine averages about 3.2mi/kWh for most trips, though there are lots of EVs out there getting 4+ miles/kWh.
    - neogodless 4mo ago
      That's my personal... to get the 260 mile advertised range on 75 kWh battery, it would have to average 3.47 mi / kWh. I sometimes get over 4... but I also often get under 3 (especially in winter, when 2.5 is common.) Highway at those speeds in the summer (with AC) is ~3 or so which gives you ~225 effective road trip range between fill-ups.
- ajmurmann 4mo ago
  Most EVs are owned by people who also have an ICE car. Especially for this vehicle I would expect this to be the case even more so. That makes me wonder if a lower price with an even lower range would actually have been a reasonable tradeoff. That said, range anxiety seems to be a huge thing.
- BizarroLand 4mo ago
  There's still an undisclosed larger battery option, I hope it would be less than $5k additional to unlock a 300 mile range.
  - zephen 4mo ago
    I think they increased the base battery range and ditched the extended battery option.
greedo 4mo ago
A lower hood would shrink the size of the frunk. Also, this isn't a tall vehicle by any means.

chaostheory 4mo ago

They have a lowering kit, but it’s “coming soon” and it costs extra

SoftTalker 4mo ago

Yeah 200 miles is pretty much the low end of what I'd consider (and I assume that is an "absolute best case" number, e.g. unloaded at a constant speed on a flat road, not running AC or heat but IDK how those are actually computed). 300-350 miles would be a lot better. That would cover most of my trips (and allow for some payload) with a little bit to spare before I needed to stop to charge. I guess the price isn't too bad. I still remember something like a Toyota or a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10 selling for under 10K new, but inflation and all... probably not terrible for a compact truck in 2026.

ssl-3 4mo ago
I guess it depends on the person. 200 miles more than covers all of the driving I do on any normal day. Today is an exceptional day, and I'll be driving a total of 120 miles for work. The Slate would cover that just fine with a ton of breathing room. I do take far longer trips than that for pleasure, but they're rare. I think if I only had an EV to drive, and that EV could only do 200 miles on a charge, then I'd be able to figure out how to make these <5% events work for me. (I can use a break after a couple/few hours on the road, anyway.)
- bryanlarsen 4mo ago
  Once you reach a reasonable threshold, fast charging is more important than capacity. 200 miles is that threshold IMO, but Slate is "200 miles doing 55 in the summer". I want "200 miles doing 70 in the winter". And the Slate's charging isn't particularly fast: 20-80% in 30 minutes.
  - ssl-3 4mo ago
    Sounds great! I can live within those limitations.
- SoftTalker 4mo ago
  It does depend on the person for sure. I can see 200 being adequate for many cases. It's even still something I'm considering. I'd like to get a small truck again, they are just so useful if you are a homeowner, but I do a 220 mile drive about once a month and that's often enough that I'd ideally want to have that covered. Stopping for a top-up charge on a bathroom break might be OK, but I haven't ever looked at the locations where that would be possible, and if there are times when a wait would be likely, etc.
neogodless 4mo ago
I own a Polestar 2 with an effective 75 kWh battery and an average efficiency of 3.3 mi / kWh. So 248 mile range if you charge to 100% and run it down to 0%. Real world, 99.9% of driving I do is well under 100 miles per day, and my charging between 6pm and 8am on a 120V outlet adds 50-60 miles. You could plug in every night, but in practice I wait until the battery is below 40%, and tend to plug in every 1-2 weeks depending on how much I use it. It's been driven over 200 miles in a single day twice, and each time the car was charged for 15-20 minutes at a fast charger to top up. shrug For many people, in real world usage, 205 mile range is great for how you'll actually use the truck.
- SoftTalker 4mo ago
  > average efficiency of 3.3 mi / kWh. I'm curious, is that your personal average or is that what the company claims? I've not taken the plunge on an EV yet, but realistically I'm interested in the actual range driving 70-75mph on the highway, with the AC running, as compared to the manufacturer's claims.
  - labcomputer 4mo ago
    A good rule of thumb across most makes is to take the EPA range number and multiply by 0.85, and that’s what you’ll get at a constant 70-75 mph in moderate weather (say, 55-85 degrees) with the climate control on. Of course, you probably want to arrive at your next charge stop with 5-10%, and the top 10% of the battery charges very slowly in all EVs, so you normally multiply by another 0.80 factor to take that into account.
  - Peanuts99 4mo ago
    Probably worth noting that Polestar 2s are not particularly efficient, though lovely to drive. Mine averages about 3.2mi/kWh for most trips, though there are lots of EVs out there getting 4+ miles/kWh.
  - neogodless 4mo ago
    That's my personal... to get the 260 mile advertised range on 75 kWh battery, it would have to average 3.47 mi / kWh. I sometimes get over 4... but I also often get under 3 (especially in winter, when 2.5 is common.) Highway at those speeds in the summer (with AC) is ~3 or so which gives you ~225 effective road trip range between fill-ups.
ajmurmann 4mo ago
Most EVs are owned by people who also have an ICE car. Especially for this vehicle I would expect this to be the case even more so. That makes me wonder if a lower price with an even lower range would actually have been a reasonable tradeoff. That said, range anxiety seems to be a huge thing.
BizarroLand 4mo ago
There's still an undisclosed larger battery option, I hope it would be less than $5k additional to unlock a 300 mile range.
- zephen 4mo ago
  I think they increased the base battery range and ditched the extended battery option.

greedo 4mo ago

A lower hood would shrink the size of the frunk. Also, this isn't a tall vehicle by any means.