New Scout Electric SUV from VW

[85_Ranger4x4]

Interesting... seems I was wrong. I wonder why they didn't just call it the International Scout like they used to, in that case. Although I get the impression from the reveal video this is a sort of Skunkworks type operation, that has a lot of autonomy and isn't really tied to VW or International.

Probably. If you think of the old Scout you don't really think of the heavy trucks (although they robbed a lot of parts out of them for their smaller vehicles) and you darn sure don't think of VW.

At one time Ford was threatening to spin Bronco off to almost be its own brand.

 

[Ex Animo]

Pretty epic vehicle and if they truly can keep it around $50-60K it will be a real contender in the EV off-road market.

 

[casioqv]

VW is way behind on the EV front

I have to disagree, I think VW/VAG has excellent EV tech, and has for a long time - arguably ahead of everyone else. In the high end the Audi E-tron GT / Porsche Taycan repeatedly dominates in track lap time records for production EVs, while having better real world range than the Tesla Model S (despite a lower spec). It has an 800v architecture which gives a lot more power, efficiency, and faster charging than the dated 400v setup Tesla is still using. The Taycan/E-tron also has a much more sophisticated battery and motor temperature management system than really any other EV.

Their low end EVs have been quite good for a long time also- I owned a VW e-Golf and it was one of the best cars I've ever owned, and I could get almost twice the rated range in the real world. It looked and drove like a proper sporty hatchback, instead of looking and driving like a cheap home appliance like most small EVs.

I don't really love the newer ID.4 as a car, but its EV drivetrain, range, and performance are excellent- I just personally dislike the driver feel and interior design, and think it was a step back from the e-Golf. I haven't driven an ID.7 but the 434 mile range sounds impressive, and appears to be behind only Lucid in range.

 

[casioqv]

Probably. If you think of the old Scout you don't really think of the heavy trucks (although they robbed a lot of parts out of them for their smaller vehicles) and you darn sure don't think of VW.

At one time Ford was threatening to spin Bronco off to almost be its own brand.

Yeah, for the US offroad vehicle market it's probably best for them to avoid looking to be VW associated... but I think it's a shame people don't take VW seriously as an offroad vehicle company, as they have a long history of making great offroad vehicles. Although, to be fair they avoided ever selling most of them in the USA. VWs seem to be quite popular for offroading in Australia.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yeah, for the US offroad vehicle market it's probably best for them to avoid looking to be VW associated... but I think it's a shame people don't take VW seriously as an offroad vehicle company, as they have a long history of making great offroad vehicles. Although, to be fair they avoided ever selling most of them in the USA. VWs seem to be quite popular for offroading in Australia.

Meanwhile the rest of the world probably has no idea what an old Scout is. Not that much of America would be much better...

 

[driveby]

Very fair points. I guess it's more of an image problem than a tech problem. Around here every 2nd KIA that's new appears as an EV. Yet you go to a VW lot and have 1 choice, and it's kinda weird looking. If they chose to take that eTron tech and put it in 50% of their platforms instead of a select few it would change the game. I just don't think of VW as an EV company. And I drive a VW.

 

[casioqv]

Very fair points. I guess it's more of an image problem than a tech problem. Around here every 2nd KIA that's new appears as an EV. Yet you go to a VW lot and have 1 choice, and it's kinda weird looking. If they chose to take that eTron tech and put it in 50% of their platforms instead of a select few it would change the game. I just don't think of VW as an EV company. And I drive a VW.

I see what you mean- VW is doing great in EV tech, but they seem to be doing really badly with just basic car design- with both their electric and gas cars. Whatever is wrong at VW doesn't seem to affect Audi and Porsche.

My Touareg TDI got a new engine under warranty recently, so I got to have a few different new VWs as loaners. Between the loaners and doing some test drives I have driven 3 versions of the Atlas, the ID.4, and the Taos. All of those cars are an absolute travesty- I wouldn't want to own any of them. They will get you from point A to point B but are otherwise totally uninspired. They feel like they were designed by MBAs trying to make them as cheap as possible, without considering the driving experience or aesthetics. Lots of cheap fake air intakes, fake interior materials, etc. while skipping key basic features like having 4 window switches on the drivers door for all 4 windows.

VW used to make some of the highest quality cars around- if you take even a low end Golf or Jetta from 20 years ago, the interior and driving feel were absolutely world class, and the attention to detail under the hood, etc. was excellent. Not so at all with any of their new vehicles.

 

[driveby]

Very true. Have had a few VW over the years but the 87 GTI 8 valve was the best built ever. Current owner of a 22 Atlas Execline and like my 18 it’ll be mine till the day the warranty is up then back to VW. FWIW the Atlas is ~$30k less than an equivalent Jeep Grand Cherokee and ~$50K less than a Q7. So yeah they cut a few corners and it’s a big fairly boring family hauler. But it’s decent bang for the buck and does its job well. Now if the Scout can be competitively priced against a Rivian R1S or Jeep Grand Cherokee, KIA EV9 it’ll be hard to keep in stock.

 

[casioqv]

So yeah they cut a few corners and it’s a big fairly boring family hauler. But it’s decent bang for the buck and does its job well.

True, the Atlas is a good people hauler, and does move a lot of people efficiently. I have a (probably a bit irrational) dislike of it, because they tried to convince me it was better than my Touareg when I had to drive it for ~7 months as a loaner, and it's just not even the right class of vehicle for what I use it for (towing and offroad). The Touareg did cost 2x what an Atlas costs adjusted for inflation. But I did get to chaperone a school field trip for my son and fit practically half his class in there, which the Touareg could not have done.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

Agreed. i thought it was a neat idea but a non starter for me. Then I found out about the range extender and I thought...

View attachment 857518

I'd be hard pressed to decide between this and the RamCharger. Best of both worlds IMO.

I could do my 60 mile daily work commute on battery power and still have the range for longer trips...

But then I remember I'm cheap and these will both probably be 100K vehicles here...

Pretty good looking vehicles though.

View attachment 857521

View attachment 857524

My daily commute is only 5 miles each way, so an EV has a place (probably better than my TRX). I just don’t love the idea of range limits and anxiety when I want to travel longer distances (I have a 650 mile one way trip in my near future). I think vehicles like my TRX are on their way out, so I’d like something to replace it as a daily driver and keep the TRX as a toy and something to tow the family pontoon boat. The 2027 release date is pretty good timing for me. i actually went and put a $100 down on a reservation on the Scout Traveler SUV with the extender option. Only time will tell if I’ll actually go through with it, but this is the first EV I’ve ever considered.

 

[casioqv]

Probably. If you think of the old Scout you don't really think of the heavy trucks (although they robbed a lot of parts out of them for their smaller vehicles)

One thing I remember my dad mentioning about with the old Scouts was that they were a hodge-podge of whatever parts they could get, and would completely swap major drivetrain parts mid model year so it was sometimes hard to figure out what you needed for repairs. It's interesting that there was so much inherent modularity possible in old trucks because the engine bays were so roomy/empty, etc.

He also had a story about getting a speeding ticket in a Travelall with the Nissan normally aspirated diesel. He was able to get out of the ticket in court by proving that it was physically impossible for a ~95 horsepower diesel 5000lb truck to have been speeding uphill like he was accused of.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

One thing I remember my dad mentioning about with the old Scouts was that they were a hodge-podge of whatever parts they could get, and would completely swap major drivetrain parts mid model year so it was sometimes hard to figure out what you needed for repairs. It's interesting that there was so much inherent modularity possible in old trucks because the engine bays were so roomy/empty, etc.

He also had a story about getting a speeding ticket in a Travelall with the Nissan normally aspirated diesel. He was able to get out of the ticket in court by proving that it was physically impossible for a ~95 horsepower diesel 5000lb truck to have been speeding uphill like he was accused of.

Dad had a '67 1100 pickup for awhile (my great grandfather bought it new) The steering was like steering a ship (picture the movie titanic when they see the iceberg) and the shifter had like 2' of throw. It was like driving a big truck but was just a light half ton.

Interior door handle broke, we figured we were screwed... but it was the same as a 1066 farm tractor so they were readily available new from CIH.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Pretty epic vehicle and if they truly can keep it around $50-60K it will be a real contender in the EV off-road market.

Every company comes out and says it’ll be cheap but then reality hits. If you can get that for 60k they wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand

 

[Antwon412]

Plunked down my $100 for a Traveler Harvester. Pair it with a lightweight trailer and it will be the perfect travel setup for my gf and I.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Got a deposit on a Terra for me and a Traveler for the wife. Both with the Harvester option.