DAWN OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY VEHICLE AGE
A quick look at five ‘coming soon’ all-electric CUVs and SUVs
What do you get when you cross an electric powertrain with a utility vehicle? Quite possibly the massmarket EV adoption rates proponents of zero-emission vehicles have been predicting for nearly a decade.
Why? Well, the vast majority of all-electrics that have come to market in Canada since 2010 have been compact hatchbacks, a segment whose gas-powered entries hold but a sliver of the overall new vehicle market. The largest segment is utility vehicles, be they CUVs or SUVs, and it continues to grow. And the full-charge ranges of new and soon-to-be-released EVs easily crest the 300-kilometre mark, some three times the staying power of earlier EVs. Finally, gas prices across the country have many commuters seriously considering an electrified vehicle.
Clearly, an all-electric utility vehicle would meet this growing demand on a number of fronts: wildly popular segment, no range anxiety, and no more stops at the fuel pumps.
As luck would have it, there are a handful of EV crossovers ready to roll into Canadian showrooms later this year and next. Here’s a look at five of these contenders for what could be the emerging hot segment.
2019 JAGUAR I-PACE
Jaguar’s long-awaited I-Pace will be the first all-electric CUV available in Canada, scheduled to hit showrooms in late summer.
With a 90-kWh battery, a reported power output of nearly 400 horsepower and a massive 512 pound-feet of torque generated by two electric motors turning each axle, the I-Pace certainly doesn’t compromise performance in its pursuit of zero-emission driving. Of course, if you take advantage of its purported zero-to-100 km/ h sprint time of 4.5 seconds, you’ll gobble up its full-charge range of 385 kilometres rather quickly.
Pricing has yet to be released, but considering this is a Jaguar, and appointed as such, figure this sport EV to crest the $60,000 mark before government rebates.
2019 HYUNDAI KONA EV
The Korean automaker will be the second company to bring an all-electric CUV to market with its just unveiled Kona EV, the electrified version of the all-new crossover that went on sale in Canada last month.
Hyundai Canada expects the Kona EV to be available in the fourth quarter of this year. Boasting a reported full-charge range of 400 km and a respectable 200 hp, the Kona EV seems to be just what the consumer ordered. The battery pack is high-voltage 64 kWh lithium-ion.
The one number we don’t know is before-government-rebate price, but expect it to be $10,000 or so over the gas-powered Kona, which ranges from $20,000 to $31,000.
2019 AUDI E-TRON
European markets should get a crack at this all-electric SUV later this year, with North America to follow in early 2019.
Audi is claiming a full-charge range of nearly 500 km (however, the automaker has a history of inflating its EV ranges). The allwheel-drive vehicle will come with three electric motors, for a total power output of 320 kW on a 95 kWh battery pack. It’s also expected to come stuffed with the latest and greatest self-driving tech.
No word on pricing yet, but most likely in the same space as the Jaguar I-Pace.
Two things we know for sure about this all-electric from the German luxury maker: the date when it will come to Canada hasn’t been set and it has a terrible name. The EQC? Ugh!
There’s quite a bit we don’t know about this EV, but here’s what we do know: it will have two electric motors that will produce 300 kW of power and spirit the SUV to 100 km/h from a standstill in under five seconds, it will be based on the Generation EQ concept unveiled at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, and according to Mercedes it will be on sale “before the end of the decade.” Obviously, no pricing yet.
VW ID CROZZ
This is another concept vehicle and, as such, little is known in terms of specifics. Well, we do know it has a cooler name than the Benz.
VW Canada reports the ID Crozz will have a full-charge range of about 480 km and a power output north of 300 hp. Revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt show, the ID Crozz concept is expected to make the jump to production model in 2020. And again, pricing is anyone’s guess.