ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Electrifying Off-Road Performance

Written by Simon Hastelow

One day soon(ish) you won’t be fuelling your 4x4 with diesel or petrol you’ll just plug it in at home. There are people still saying hydrogen is the way forward, but the days of oil-based fuel are numbered, best get used to it.

Let me present you with the ideal setup for a serious off-road vehicle - a motor at each corner, powering the wheels separately. You could vary the power on the fly, or more likely let a computer do it for you, and traverse any terrain with ease. No need for prop-shafts, difflocks or lower gearing (transfer boxes). Every wheel will be given the exact amount of torque to get it past an obstacle, and if it slips then the motors at the other corners can increase torque instead. I defy you to come up with a more perfect arrangement.

This is obviously just a dream at the moment, there are no mainstream SUVs which offer this yet - with the exception of the Rivian (I'll tell you more in a minute) - but there are companies experimenting with that very setup, and even deploying it into specialist trucks. So it might not be far off.

What we have to make do with at the moment is a motor with ultimately variable gearing and maximum torque available from the moment you press the ‘ON’ button.

The only contentious issue is the fact that the motors are powered by electricity which is stored in a battery. For some reason just discussing this system triggers anger and rage to many a keyboard warrior.

Fake News…

Electric vehicles are up there with cyclists and vegans for the amount of hate, disinformation, fake news, bullshit science and idiotic ‘facts’ that they attract, so let’s deal with a few of those right from the start.

Statement: The Electric Grid won’t be able to cope if everyone switches to electric vehicles.

Wrong - The National Grid should know what they are talking about on this subject. They have stated that the current electrical consumption for the whole of the UK is 16% lower than it was in 2002. If every single vehicle was replaced with an EV it would increase by just 10%. So we wouldn’t even be going back to 2002 levels, and the system coped quite happily then.

Statement: Electricity isn’t clean, it comes from burning coal.

Wrong - For a continuous two month period in 2020, UK power generators burnt no coal at all. Fossil fuels (both coal and gas combined) account for around one-third of all electricity generated, and the level is constantly falling as renewable sources increase. A number of utility companies provide only green energy which is 100% from renewables. So if you switch to Bulb or Ecotricity, to name just two, your EV will not require coal to be burnt at all.

Statement: Electric vehicles don’t have enough range.

Wrong - Everyone seems to get hung up on the range of an EV. How far it can go between charges, and simply because a few cannot manage the same 400 miles that a tank of petrol gives them they dismiss EVs as useless. But almost no-one needs to drive 400 miles non-stop every day. Government statistics show that the average car journey length for the entire country is 8.5 miles or 22minutes, and the average family car travels 37 miles each day, with second cars only travelling 11 miles.

So why demand a 400 mile range?

Even if an EV has 150 mile range, and you do need to travel 400 miles, all it would take is two or three stops of 30 minutes or more to get you to your destination, about the same time as going to the loo and buying a coffee from a service station. There is no need to fully recharge the batteries to 100% every time. You can charge to 80% very quickly with many fast chargers.

Statement: Electric vehicles are too expensive.

Wrong - The price for EVs is dropping significantly with a starting price of £18,000. For many manufacturers the like-for-like cost of petrol and EV models is closing, so while it might cost an extra £5,000 for an equivalent EV that cost would be recouped very quickly once the higher costs of petrol and diesel consumption are factored in.

Statement: The batteries need replacing every three years and cannot be recycled

Wrong - Most manufacturers are offering battery warranties of around 7 years or 100,000 miles. (How many Range Rover Sports do you know that have died well before that and required a new engine?!) Even when they are no longer suitable for powering an EV the batteries can be recycled, often by being used for different storage systems like domestic solar power systems, or being stripped down to extract the base components. No cars, whether EV, petrol or diesel, end up in landfill anymore.

Is that enough for you to at least think about Electric or Hybrid vehicles with an open mind?

Let’s look at what is available now or in the near future.

LAND ROVER

Defender 110 P400e - £64,800

• Power 2.0 litre petrol engine and 105kW electric motor • Electric-only range 27 miles • Top speed 119mph • 0-62mph 5.6 seconds • Charging time 80% in 30 minutes on a fast charger

Land Rover has been busily electrifying its range with hybrids, plug-in hybrids and some mild hybrids to make its large SUVs greener in terms of fuel consumption. Among the latest are plugin hybrid versions of the new Defender

There are also plug-in hybrid versions of the Range Rover, Evoque and Sport, as well as the Land Rover Discovery and Discovery Sport. A fully electric Range Rover is also in the pipeline.

TOYOTA

RAV4 plug-in Hybrid - £46,000

• Power 2.5 litre petrol engine plus 18kWh battery • Range 47 miles • Top Speed 84mph • 0-62mph 6.0 seconds • Charge Time 2.5 hours to fully charge using fast charger

One of Toyota’s best selling SUV models is prime candidate for electrification. So far it is only available as a hybrid. The 47 mile range might look limiting but it allows the vehicle to be used purely on electric for the vast majority of short trips where the pollution created is at its worst. Other than the hybrid element it remains a fantastically popular model and is also available as front wheel drive only if you don’t need the 4x4 capabilities.

JEEP

Renegade 4xe - £34,500

• Power 1.3 litre turbocharged petrol engine and 11.4kW battery • Electric-only range 27 miles • Top speed 113mph • 0-62mph 7.5 seconds • Charging time 80% in 60 minutes on a fast charger

We have featured the Jeep Renegade 4xe a couple of times already so you should be in no doubt that we rate it highly. Probably the most off-road capable of all the small SUVs straight from the dealership and now with the added benefit of Hybrid Power. The boffins at Fiat have developed and continue to refine the electric systems used in the Renegade and other FCA models. And it is half the price of a new Land Rover Defender!

Wrangler £46,000

• Power 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine & 17kW battery • Electric-only range 25 miles • Top speed 124 mph • 0-62mph 7.5 seconds • Charging (Not yet confirmed)

If the capability of the Renegade impresses you but you still can’t face buying an ‘SUV’ then maybe the Wrangler will tempt you? It doesn’t have a massive following in the UK but in America they can churn out 250,000 of these vehicles each and every year. Add a bit of electrical wizardry to the legendary off-road performance and you might finally have vehicle which could be used as an economic daily for the commute but which can also then take you wherever you want to go off-road at the weekend.

RIVIAN

Rivian R1T - no price yet

• Power 180kWh battery • Range 420 miles • Top Speed 100mph • 0-62mph 4.5seconds • Charge Time 1 hour to fully charge using fast charger

Billed as the world’s first electric 'adventure vehicle', the 750bhp zero-emissions pickup promises to mix stunning performance and luxury with the sort of all-terrain ability you’d expect from a Land Rover. Following some delays in production thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, 2022 is most likely for a Rivian debut.

It’ll be a proper off-roader, with a wading depth of one metre, 35cm (14”) ground clearance and a quad-motor system that allows instant power to be sent independently to each wheel to maximise traction whatever the conditions. It’ll come with various battery sizes, with the largest 180kWh pack giving a range of over 420 miles.

BOLLINGER

Bollinger B1 & B2 - no price yet (expect it to be ridiculous)

• Power 120kWh battery pack and two electric motors for permanent four-wheel drive • Range 200 miles • Top Speed 100mph • 0-62mph 4.5seconds • Charge Time 1 hour to fully charge using fast charger

Bollinger’s SUVs look like a cross between a Defender and an old Lamborghini LM002. The B1 and B2 will be the first two models from the Detroit-based company and they promise outstanding levels of off-road ability. First deliveries are expected in 2021, but no news on availability of right-hand drive cars yet. Designed to be utilitarian, rugged and minimalist, the B1 is an SUV and the B2 is a pickup. They offer 38cm (15”) ground clearance, a two-speed, low-range gearbox as well as towing capability of 3,400kg and a range of 200 miles.

TESLA

Tesla Model X - £82,980

• Range 350 miles • Charging time 30 minutes with rapid charger • Top speed 155mph • 0-60mph 2.6-4.4 seconds

The Model X Long Range costs from £82,980, has a range of 348 miles and will accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds.The even perkier Model X Performance, costing from £97,980, will do 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds, but with a reduced range of 340 miles.You kind of love them or loath them, either way the vast quantity of trashed Teslas are providing the mountain of parts and battery packs being re-deployed by the electric conversion specialists and buried into all manner of classic cars.

VOLVO

Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 - £59,985

• Range 280 miles • Charging time 80% in 40 minutes using rapid-charger • Top speed 112mph • 0-62mph 4.9 seconds

Volvo’s first all-electric car has two electric motors which develop 408hp, and under the bonnet there’s a 30-litre storage area. There are also two plug-in hybrid versions of the XC40.