Event Intro
I got the opportunity to attend one of the many end-of-summer consumer ride along and display events around the country for the new 2027 Slate EV pickup-truck. The events are for both people who have already pre-ordered one but for those interested to see it in the flesh and take a ride in it.
As one of the people who has pre-ordered one of the new trucks, I got a chance to see it up close and personal, ask some questions and take a ride get a basic feel for it. While I was plenty fine ordering one sight unseen, the experience helped me to feel more at ease with some of my basic questions about it. It did however raise some additional questions and concerns which I will tell you about.
The event in Scottsdale, Arizona had a static display model which represented the “Blank Slate” pickup-truck with no major accessories which was described as a prototype but 90% production grade. This enabled me to get a good feel for the materials inside and out, the quality of the build, and see the details up close that photos often leave out.
The ride along portion featured three different colorfully wrapped trucks which were described as “powertrain and chassis prototypes” that enabled a good thumbnail on ride characteristics, interior space, and seat comfort. The trims inside and out however were mostly placeholders and not up to final production finish or quality. These trucks were all about the ride experience and not really to be looked at too closely.
So what did I find out? Let’s start with a walk around of the near-production model.
Body Overview
The body material is a molded plastic in slate gray that is relatively thick, around 3-6 mm depending on the location. It has a matte finish appearance and texture similar to that of a Rubbermaid tub – it’s not smooth or shiny at all.
The hood is a single plastic piece sandwiched with a metal under-structure to help it hold its shape and give it stregth. It lifts with standard gas struts to reveal the frunk and allow access for maintenance. Its face panel assembly is separate which means it will be easily customized and repaired for minor accidents – perhaps not requiring an entire hood replacement for a small bump.
It has grooves molded in which gives handsome character lines that will aid those doing wraps with multiple color panels. As someone who’s done wraps before however I am a bit concerned they will cause extra work for continuous color panels. They are likely to present a challenge to squeegee the vinyl down into them with consistent quality results.
Headlight assemblies and marker grilles seem to be well conceived and fit tightly around the frunk opening which dips down in the center for an easier lift-over. The well itself is lined with a textured plastic that has a drain hole at the bottom. In theory, one could use this as an ice basin for drinks at a picnic but it’s certainly not insulated to be a dedicated ice chest.
At the rear is a removable panel for the 12V battery that powers the truck’s accessories, lights, and controls. There is an LED lamp and a power button to open the hood should someone be trapped inside. On either side of the frunk is access for fuses, and fluid reservoirs for the brakes, battery and electric component coolant, and the windshield washer system.
Across the base of the windshield are a pair of traditional wiper blades with washer nozzles raised on pedestals and air intakes for the HVAC system – all of which tuck behind the rear lip of the hood.
A look around the body in general shows the side panels to be hung on the steel under-structure with Torx head bolts front to rear. Those concerned that the exposed bolts on front and rear quarters could enable theft will see that panels wrap under other pieces which affords some extra security in that way.
Exterior driver and passenger door panels attach to steel under-structures to provide the safety and strength we would expect from them.
The roof panel is a single piece which also has one of those character lines molded into it across the front. Notable are holes in the panel for bolts at the front and rubber plugs at the rear that enable accessories to be added like roof racks or other items. Here I am a little concerned about long term leak issues when rubber seals naturally start to degrade.
At the rear of the cab are multiple plastic panels joined together as well as a black plastic rear spoiler. Fit and finish appear to have improved over what I have seen on previous prototypes where all these pieces join up, but it still appears there remains some room for improvement here.
The rear glass is fixed on this prototype and still uses bolts at the top. The bottom of the glass meets the top edge of the cargo box perimeter which is made of texured black plastic pieces with lots of bolts holding them to the steel structure behind.
Cargo Box
Its cargo box itself is entirely lined with textured black plastic panels including front, sides and the floor. This is not uncommon in today’s market, Toyota for example has been doing this for years on both the Tacoma and Tundra. The Honda Ridgeline is constructed similarly as well.
The floor of the cargo box here though is a patchwork of multiple panels which create several seams. They appear to be tight and well buttoned down but I do however wonder how drainage will work here – where the water goes, and how this might fare over time for leakage issues into the interior or onto the battery below. Additionally how will wear and tear affect all these seams and bolts.
While I am sure they have given much thought to this, I am inclined to look into a one piece plastic bed-liner for my own truck just to keep nature from creeping its way into all the little cracks and crevices.
For function the sides have indentations for DIY cargo management and lots of bolts in which to attach accessories. At the top however it does not have traditional over-rails like most trucks that enable things like tonneau covers to be clamped on. Here, optional rails will need to be added to attach accessories or a tonneau cover for instance will need to have non-traditional mounting scenario.
The good news is that the tailgate does have a metal inner structure for strength. Plastic panels are attached to its inner structure inside and out and a lip spoiler rail is at the top edge. It would be nice to hear more from Slate as to what kind of weight it can accept in the down position as we tend to use our tail gates for everything from shouldering the weight of long materials or simply as a bench to sit on.
Taillights are basic as are the decorative plastic covers that allow easy customization. LED backup lights are provided at the bottom of the red lenses. A look at the bottom of the rear bumper shows a removable panel in the center for a trailer hitch receiver which of course is an optional accessory.
At the rear driver side is the door for the NACS charging port. The door itself is a simple hinged piece of plastic that’s easy enough of use. I will say however that the rear is not my personal favorite location for the charging port as I prefer it at the front I don’t always have to back into charging stations or the garage.
Interior
The cabin of the display model was described as 90% up to production level which means most of the colors and finishes, the textures of the plastic were prime time. It was good to see that while this is a very basic cabin in every way, that the materials are not far from what we expect in most cars.
Seats feature the only fabric or padding found in this interior with a nice combination of gray cloth and orange accent stitching. They are well bolstered and I found them to be comfortable with a medium firmness. They are manually adjustable to an extent with a decent height from the floor.
Door panels and the rest of the interior trim including the dash are all various colors of hard plastic, no padding or soft trims here.
The plastic steering wheel does have a tilt adjustment. Its left stalk has controls for the wipers, washers and lights. The right stalk is the shift selector. There are buttons on the left spoke for the standard cruise control and a space for an Bluetooth accessory switch panel on the right spoke.
On the charcoal colored dash are handsomely patterned light gray panels, some of which open up to reveal storage areas behind. A 12V power port and USB power ports can be found behind them. It’s worth noting that if you accessorize with speakers or other items, you would lose some of that storage area.
At the center of the dash is the short rail to mount a phone or tablet holder and below that the three-knob manual HVAC controls.
Its standard floor console is very basic and appears to be pre-production here with a shiny plastic sheen, not patterned to match the rest of the panels yet. It has various bins and slots, and what appear to be cup holder but they are not round. The floor itself features a thin felt-like carpet mat with a pad of sound-deadening behind it. I will definitely want some more substantial floor mats that will wear better over time. A dead pedal is provided at the far-left.
The instrument cluster is as basic as it gets with a single digital screen in the center just large enough to meet legal requirements for the backup camera image that will display on it. The cluster displays a digital speed readout and battery status. On either side of the screen are areas for various warning lights and shift indicator.
At the left of the steering wheel is a small panel with buttons for opening the frunk, the traction control, cruise control and the electric parking brake. Four individual and adjustable HVAC vents are spread across the width of the dash and on both sides are small side-window defroster vents.
Underside
Standard wheels of course are a unique 17-inch steel design. I like that they did not use the standard issue look we see on everything else with the round holes. This has a nice character to it with a SLATE center cap.
The wheel wells are lined with plastic splash shielding which should help with sound-deadening a little for gravel and water spray. A look underneath shows plenty of plastic shields to provide better aerodynamics as well as keep road mess from getting caked up under and into things.
Notable are some pronounced and visible lift plates that are labeled as such to will hopefully prevent people from jacking or lifting the vehicle at the battery.
Speaking of which, the sealed extruded aluminum battery box itself is coated in black paint and bolted directly to the steel body cage. It comprises most the bottom surface of the truck and has a fiberous plastic asphalt panel affixed to its bottom for sound-deadening and protect it against road spray.
At the rear there isn’t much to see as the motor drive unit is tucked up high and away from danger of being struck by road hazards. Additionally it has a plastic aero-sheild underneath it to keep it from getting to messy. Here you can really only see the rear axle beam and suspension, which appears to provide a clean ground clearance profile.
Ride Along Impressions
Now for the ride experience which was a short loop around a city block. There was no acceleration run demonstrating its power curve. There was no highway speed cruise to get a benchmark on road noise or wind noise.
Given that, my seat of the pants was looking for ride characteristics and handling behavior. Because many EV’s are firmly sprung and damped to account for their heavy batteries, many of them have a stiff bouncy ride. This is what I was keying in on more than anything.
It seems they have found the magic compromise of spring and damping rates to afford the 4048 pound Slate pickup-truck with a well controlled ride that does not seem to exhibit bobbing or bouncing over bumps and other road irregularities. Its proportionally long wheelbase likely provides a ride quality dividend here as well.
That said, a true test drive on a variety of surfaces and higher speeds would truly be needed to flesh out its total handling and ride characteristics.
I can say that the power delivery and braking behavior seemed to be smooth. My driver however has been at this for a while around the country taking people for rides, so I presume he has the act of operating with its standard regenerative braking down to muscle memory for a smooth demonstration.
Powertrain noise was non-existent as expected and there were no fake EV sounds piped through the audio system because……there is no audio system. The turn signal makes the only significant noise, a solid sounding clack.
Conclusions
I came away from this first impression with my pre-order intentions in tact. I have ordered and purchased several vehicles over my lifetime without a test drive, without having seen it in person with no significant disappointments. I am fine with that but I know not everyone is.
It’s important for people to know this is a basic no frills vehicle in every single touch point from its features list, to the spartan trimmings, to the very materials it is made out of. This is no BMW by any stretch, and nor is it even a Toyota. As to overall form, it almost has a watercraft quality to it – like a well made canoe or kayak.
I will say that it is distinctly American in its overall character and execution. Nothing about this truck feels like an import brand at all. It’s as American as it gets right down to the heavy steel stampings of its under-structure and suspension. It’s heavy not at all flimsy from a structural standpoint. It feels solid.
I did come away with some new questions though:
First: The body panels that I previously compared to a Rubbermaid storage tote in their texture and finish are hip slick and cool if you plan to leave them bare. I wonder however how they will age without paint or some kind of protection long term in the extremes of weather around the country. Will they fade, dry out, warp, or crack due to my Arizona sun or the freezing of Michigan?
Second: For those intending to wrap, my experience is that the vinyl currently on the market best adheres to smooth shiny surfaces. It’s most workable to apply on smooth shiny surfaces to get bubbles out and lay down smoothly. I wonder how well the vinyl will cooperate with this surface both in its initial application and in long term adhesion.
Third: Most of the fit and finish details seem to be prime-time but there still are a few little things that I wonder about as I mentioned earlier like how the draining and leak control of the cargo box works, or how the long term sealing of the roof panel will fare.
On all of these as well as the drive itself, time will tell.
