Yeah - it seems like a race to who can be the first to develop a car with a the armor and outward visibility of a battle tank.

I mostly like it. Too bad the beltline isn’t lower, and completely horizontal like Hondas of yore. This would enlarge the five rear/side windows behind the front seat, and improve outward visibility, and you know - enjoyment of driving.

Agree with all of the above. How about better outward visibility while we are at it?

My brother and his wife have one of these (it’s their third Subaru). It’s as slow as heck... and we grew up with a Ford Model A as our sole car.

This, no. The subsequent Nissan Axxess, yes.

I wanted to love this, I really did. But between the price increase and since it no longer qualifies for the U.S. tax credit, that’s a tough pill to swallow. Good luck, Audi.

This.

Toyota Medusa EV would be a more appropriate name. 

Or a strong plug-in hybrid with say 50 miles of electric range.

Grandpa Simpson knows:

You’re right. One point to dig deeper on is the weight similarity between the diesel (and the rest of the powertrain) and say a strong plug-in hybrid (and the associated bits).

Weird stat without some time piece. Daily? Monthly? Annually? Over the customer’s life?

This is exactly what the California rules say - strong plug-in hybrids with a 50 mile electric range count toward the “ZEV” requirement. This is for vehicles up to and including Class 2a. Class 2b fall under the Advanced Clean Truck rule which I believe is similar but with a 30 mile range.

I agree. I think there is a bigger role for strong PHEVs to play (and it’s interesting to note that the recent CARB rules do as well compared to last time around). I see strong PHEVs like diesels of today: If someone really tows big loads (hogs, cattle, construction equipment, RV trailer, etc.) long distances, then…

Norway has entered the chat.

Uh, last week Daimler showed a Class 8 semi truck at the IAA with a 300+ mile range. Battery electric semi truck. The high power charging connector just got released that goes up to 3.75 MW. Is there a role for hydrogen? Sure. It’s just getting smaller as batteries move along which makes for the same amount of costs…

There are nearly 3M EVs on the road in the U.S. Are 3M drivers waiting until the battery tech improves?

It allows “strong” plug-in hybrids, capped at 20%. What’s a strong PHEV? One that goes 50 miles electric per the window sticker and when you “punch it, Chewie,” the gas engine doesn’t kick on.

A plug-in hybrid pickup with 50 or so miles of range would be pretty sweet. The new CARB rules encourage that.

Exactly this. We can debate the BEV versus PHEV split, but at the end of the day, Toyota has been fighting the switch to plug-ins around the world.