It’s official: Slate Auto’s premiere vehicle (the Truck, obviously) will cost a mere $24,950 (around P1.53 million). We reported on this just last week when a curious busybody leaked it after a nose around Slate’s preorder website code, discovering the price in a line of text meant to go live, er, now, we suppose.
While decidedly more than the sub-$20k entry point boasted during Slate Auto’s debut, it’s still a price competitive against similar vehicles, such as they are. In its bite-sized pickup configuration, the Slate Truck’s closest comparison will be Ford’s Maverick.
A bare-bones Maverick XLT starts at $26,771 (around P1.64 million) and is powered by a 2.5-liter hybrid power unit. Comparing it to other budget-friendly EVs, the Slate skirts the Nissan Leaf’s $29,990 (around P1.84 million) asking price as well as the $27,600 (around P1.69 million) buy-in for the Chevrolet Bolt.
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The story changes slightly when it comes to kitting the Slate out to be a utility vehicle. If you’re looking to have a back seat and some sort of roof over that, the price for a Slate SUV is $29,950 (around P1.84 million).
What does one get for this price? By design, not a whole lot. Slate’s whole mantra is about building an affordable truck that’s easy to use by everyone, and that means a scant amount of gizmos. Think of it as the anti-Benz in that regard.
From this, customers can personalize their Slate as they see fit with over 175 different accessories that include different lighting configurations, roof racks, stereos and so on. A big deal with Slate is that it will have your vehicle professionally wrapped in a handful of hours in any color you want, or with custom graphics.
The platform is a single-motor rear-wheel drive EV that spins up roughly 181hp, along with 264Nm of torque. A 65kWh battery—with 63 kWh of usable energy—powers it all, providing up to 330km of range, according to Slate. All told, this should get you up to speed from 0-100kph in a modest 8sec flat, topping out at just 145kph.
Slate quotes a 30-minute charge from 20-80% on a DC fast charger. It’ll take four hours on a level two charger and one Lord of the Rings Extended Edition box set when plugged into a standard level one outlet.
It comes with a 1.5m bed for haulage behind the front row, with the SUV using some of that space for a second set of seats. In this config, the SUV has 963 liters of space available, expanding to 1,654 liters with the second row folded.
Speaking of hauling, the Slate Truck can manage a payload of 703kg and has a max-towing capacity of 907kg. As an SUV, the numbers are slightly smaller, at 573kg and 827kg, respectively.
Whatever config you go for, prepare for the cabin to be fairly...minimal. The touchscreens we’ve become accustomed to/frustrated with won’t be included here, though different mounts will let customers bring their own, allowing for in-car navigation and audio functionality.
It’s basic, but not dumb. There are a number of safety features baked in, such as forward collision warnings, pedestrian recognition and a backup camera, along with normal stuff like ESC and traction control.
Pre-orders for the direct-to-consumer Slate are open now—you just need to put down $300 (around P18,380) to hold your spot. Anyone who previously reserved one for $50 (around P3,063) when it was announced will need to chuck in an additional $250 (around P16,317) for their order because—math. Deliveries are expected to happen later this year but only for the US market. Let’s hope that changes.
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
