Top Gear’s Slate test drive review: it does exactly what it says on the tin

[Bee]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/slate-auto/truck-prototype/first-drive

 

[Doctors Do Little]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/slate-auto/truck-prototype/first-drive

“But looking at what it is, in its most naked state, is aggressively… fine. It does its job. It does it well. It doesn’t exceed expectations. That’s perfectly okay, just don’t be surprised if that doesn’t have us doing backflips.”

My small concerns are handling and braking.

The rest is as elsewhere advertised on this prototype.

 

[KevinRS]

The top speed being limited to 90 keeps coming up in videos and articles, and really, unless you have a car you take to a track, that shouldn't be a problem for anyone. If you need more than 90 to pass, you probably shouldn't be passing. Battery drain will increase geometrically with speed anyway, probably best keeping it to the speed limit and staying in the right lane if necessarily rather than adding a charging stop.

 

[TheMagician]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/slate-auto/truck-prototype/first-drive

Pretty nice write up if you ask me. Wasn't expecting Tesla like tech, just want a small truck that can haul stuff and throw in the fact you can work on it is a bonus. And with 205 mile range that's more than triple what my latest Leaf was down to (60 miles; which has now been passed down to a friend).

 

[sidneyhornblower]

One of the better written reviews, fair and balanced.

 

[tubes]

Slight concerns:

"More problematic is how one-pedal prioritizes its braking over yours in a sense, and in instances where you’re compelled to stand on the brakes for a hard stop, you’ll find the brake pedal has given all there is to give, and you’re not really adding much more to the situation. Maybe that’s fine mechanically, but it’s unnerving to press on the brakes and feel like you’re not the one in control."

"It also has some throwback EV behavior, too, like how the HVAC, which is a proper unit, takes a sledgehammer to the range estimate."

Although not mentioned in this article, others have said that this prototype still isn't final brake and 1PD feel.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

Slight concerns:

"More problematic is how one-pedal prioritizes its braking over yours in a sense, and in instances where you’re compelled to stand on the brakes for a hard stop, you’ll find the brake pedal has given all there is to give, and you’re not really adding much more to the situation. Maybe that’s fine mechanically, but it’s unnerving to press on the brakes and feel like you’re not the one in control."

"It also has some throwback EV behavior, too, like how the HVAC, which is a proper unit, takes a sledgehammer to the range estimate."

Although not mentioned in this article, others have said that this prototype still isn't final brake and 1PD feel.

Agreed. That’s why I’m not taking my foot off the accelerator on buying (see what I did?), as they will certainly tune this thing in…otherwise they will sell just 5,000 units vs 50,000 units in first 6 months.

 

[EV Trek]

I take these reviews of pre production trucks with a grain of salt, I would rather wait for reviews of full production trucks like customers will be getting.
I don’t think Slate is doing themselves a favor letting people review unfinished versions.

 

[tubes]

Agreed. That’s why I’m not taking my foot off the accelerator on buying (see what I did?), as they will certainly tune this thing in…otherwise they will sell just 5,000 units vs 50,000 units in first 6 months.

I was reading Eric Keipper's recent LinkedIn posts this morning. (Keipper is head of engineering.) He has something to say about 1PD in a very recent post about him driving a prototype around all weekend. I'll quote it here:

"Behind the scenes, every mile is being captured — data recorders pulling everything off the CAN bus so we can fine-tune one-pedal drive response and steering calibration down to the smallest detail. The software is integrating well to the hardware, and it shows. "

If you have a LinkedIn account, I recommend you follow him and read his posts. It is mostly company line stuff, but he adds some interesting engineering nerd details, like what you see above.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

I was reading Eric Keipper's recent LinkedIn posts this morning. (Keipper is head of engineering.) He has something to say about 1PD in a very recent post about him driving a prototype around all weekend. I'll quote it here:

"Behind the scenes, every mile is being captured — data recorders pulling everything off the CAN bus so we can fine-tune one-pedal drive response and steering calibration down to the smallest detail. The software is integrating well to the hardware, and it shows. "

I’m hoping for white bread. Nothing exciting and utterly predictable for 90% of drivers. The jerky stuff would have kids/wife as puking passengers and would therefore ruin my use case for open air…

 

[Doctors Do Little]

I was reading Eric Keipper's recent LinkedIn posts this morning. (Keipper is head of engineering.) He has something to say about 1PD in a very recent post about him driving a prototype around all weekend. I'll quote it here:

"Behind the scenes, every mile is being captured — data recorders pulling everything off the CAN bus so we can fine-tune one-pedal drive response and steering calibration down to the smallest detail. The software is integrating well to the hardware, and it shows. "

If you have a LinkedIn account, I recommend you follow him and read his posts. It is mostly company line stuff, but he adds some interesting engineering nerd details, like what you see above.

Good suggestion on following Eric on LinkedIn, my only social media outlet (other than Slate Forums?).

 

[19SL80s]

Slight concerns:

"More problematic is how one-pedal prioritizes its braking over yours in a sense, and in instances where you’re compelled to stand on the brakes for a hard stop, you’ll find the brake pedal has given all there is to give, and you’re not really adding much more to the situation. Maybe that’s fine mechanically, but it’s unnerving to press on the brakes and feel like you’re not the one in control."

"It also has some throwback EV behavior, too, like how the HVAC, which is a proper unit, takes a sledgehammer to the range estimate."

Although not mentioned in this article, others have said that this prototype still isn't final brake and 1PD feel.

It seems to me that they don’t get the point of the Slate, which is customization. If you want a more complete vehicle that has everything already sorted for you and you’re not into DIY then you probably don’t want a Slate.

Also it’s not a driver’s car it’s a pickup truck. What were they expecting, a MINI Cooper with go cart-like handling? It gets you from point A to point B cheaply and you can haul stuff.

Lastly, how long did they drive the Slate in order to determine that the HVAC dropped the range? Were they running the AC on high? Does the Slate not have a head pump? I can’t imagine a 2-seat cabin using that much energy to cool things down. The SUV is another matter.

Hopefully these things are just related to the prototype. The HVAC/range thing does concern me though. I thought automakers understood that you have to have a heat pump in a modern EV, especially one with limited range. Not to mention that resistive heaters with heating elements drain the battery quickly, especially in the winter when the battery is already compromised. Other automakers have messed around with this and failed. Slate should learn from their mistakes.

 

[Slatester89]

I take these reviews of pre production trucks with a grain of salt, I would rather wait for reviews of full production trucks like customers will be getting.
I don’t think Slate is doing themselves a favor letting people review unfinished versions.

This ^^^.<

I understand Slate's need for "attention grabbing on social media". It's what you young'ins do. How else will people know how great they are.

But reviews of prototypes can set a less than flattering final image when it is repeated endlessly. There are dozens of reviews out that all say the same thing: "its good, but__________." People like us talk about the "but_____" weaknesses for weeks.

And if you guys are like me, someone that has already made it known that I will buy, then you too have to defend those weaknesses to others that think that's the way it is going to be.

Transparancey is important, don't get me wrong. But, Slate should control the narrative by only allowing a few hands-on reviews, and only when significant milestones are reached. Right now, social media controls the narrative. Do we as committed buyers, or Slate as the manufacturer, need dozens of reviews that say "the Regen Brakes suck now but Slate is working it".

Way back during one of the wars to end all wars, everyone knew "Loose lips sink ships". That applies in this case too.

Rant over,

b.

 

[EV Trek]

It seems to me that they don’t get the point of the Slate, which is customization. If you want a more complete vehicle that has everything already sorted for you and you’re not into DIY then you probably don’t want a Slate.

Also it’s not a driver’s car it’s a pickup truck. What were they expecting, a MINI Cooper with go cart-like handling? It gets you from point A to point B cheaply and you can haul stuff.

Lastly, how long did they drive the Slate in order to determine that the HVAC dropped the range? Were they running the AC on high? Does the Slate not have a head pump? I can’t imagine a 2-seat cabin using that much energy to cool things down.

Hopefully these things are just related to the prototype. The HVAC/range thing does concern me though. I thought automakers understood that you have to have a heat pump in a modern EV and that a convection heater drains the battery, especially in the winter.

Heat pump actually does not matter for AC, it does for heat. That is the reason to switch to a heat pump which the Slate does not have.
On my EV the most energy used by the ac is on initial cool down, after that use is very minimal. We don’t know how hot it was when they started, what the setting was as they drove or what temperature they took the cabin down to. Did they also lower the setting after the cabin cooled down. All effect how much energy used by the AC.
On the heat, that is yet to be seen, nobody has used the heat but it is the same as AC, the highest drain will be warming up the cabin and the materials inside, you can then cut back on the setting to maintain a comfortable temperature and reduce energy use.
These initial cool downs and heat ups are the reason it is recommended to do them while the EV is plugged in to minimize the battery drain.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

They likely didn't actually drive with and without the HVAC to come up with a real world difference in range, they probably turned on the HVAC and saw a drop in the estimated range on the guess-o-meter.

A heat pump would be nice, but resistive heating is cheap and reliable. Basically all EVs up until a couple years ago used it.