canoo lv full summary
Well, if there’s one thing all of our favorite EV startups have shared, it’s a penchant for innovation: from luxury hatchbacks with third-row seats and SUVs with “falcon-wing” doors, to pickup trucks. with tunnels of gears and supercar suspensions, up to 500 Sedans over 1.5 kilometers powered by 500+ hp engines, small and light enough to fit in a rolling suitcase. Now we’re adding to that list the 2024 Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle, a throwback 21-window van with mosh pit seats, interchangeable “top hat” bodies, and a truly new take on vehicle lifecycle planning.
Is Canoo viable?
It’s a question worth asking about any EV startup that hasn’t produced cars yet, and things looked a bit shaky last year for the California-based company. But like Rivian, Canoo is lining up fleet customers to keep the lights on (for example, Walmart has ordered 4,500 LDVs, or lifestyle delivery vehicles). Unlike Rivian, Canoo will only sell to fleet customers during the first year of production. (Those customers are expected to include the US military soon as well, for the Canoo light tactical vehicle we also reviewed.) the retail launch of the Lifestyle Vehicle for passenger transport.
Production rollout and Canoo lineup
The VW Microbus-esque lifestyle vehicle was the first Canoo to break the cover, and a simpler delivery van version of that body is the first to launch. The first 120 “Gamma” prototypes of various models were built in Livonia, Michigan at Roush Industries (we drove one of these not-quite-final models). Roush has provided worker training and assembly services, but the manufacturing process and tooling belong to Canoo, and the employees who oversee them have either been flown in from Oklahoma or hired locally by Canoo with plans to relocate to Oklahoma when official production migrate there in the first quarter of 2023.
The first official customer vehicles began rolling off this timeline on November 17, bound for Walmart, NASA, and other fleet buyers. Pickup variants (in regular, extended, and crew cab configurations) are still part of the product plan, and we’ve got safe features like drop-down sides, gear tunnel drawers, an extending pickup floor, and the barn-door backdoors are still part of the plan. The larger and angular Multi-Purpose Delivery Van (MPDV) program is also still active. And current production plans call for initially producing more skateboards than top hats, suggesting the company sees a market for this low-profile, fully wireless platform.
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Inside the lifestyle vehicle
Just getting on board is a unique experience. The front doors are wide and rectangular, which means there’s an open space just where your head tends to duck under an A-pillar. The rear doors are also wide and open on rear-mounted hinges, much like a hatchback. Rolls-Royce or Lincoln Continental coach. And like those cars, the main bench sits behind the C-pillar, leaving plenty of room to practice yoga (or set up a wheelchair ramp). Premium models get door-mounted booster seats with retractable seat bases and full-length three-point belts. When unfolded, their occupants face each other, and the vacated cushions can serve as ottomans for the occupants of the outside bench seat. Two more folding seats fold behind each front seatback, but can only be used when stationary, with the front seatbacks tilted forward. The rear door windows don’t roll down, but the rear quarter windows do, and there will be an option for the small view windows around the perimeter of the roof to open.
When folded against the front seatbacks, the wings of the temporary folding seats serve as outer armrests for the front occupants, which they need because they move the front seats in far enough for the driver’s feet to clear the front wheels. puts doors out of reach. The pedal environment is perfect, but while there’s a single center armrest between the seats, there’s no room for a center console, and two beefy supporters could rub elbows.
There is no “dashboard”. A digital speedometer readout and indicators for the turn signal and drive gear are centered at the base of the windshield. Below this is another window that offers a view of what is immediately ahead. That panel may one day open to access storage space ahead of the feet of the front occupants. The multiple thin pillars separating the various glass panels ahead of the official A-pillar were undistracting and overall visibility is excellent.
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A 10.0-inch touchscreen is mounted on the driver’s A-pillar, within easy reach of the steering wheel. It controls most of the secondary functions (rails are planned up and down, to hold a hand on bumpy roads). That screen seems designed to minimize distraction and offers few compelling infographics…yet. The wiper controls share the turn signal lever, while the right lever serves as the gear selector. The climate controls are arranged along a slim aluminum cross beam, within easy reach of the passenger. The HVAC system is convective and relies on circulating air, not air blowing directly on the occupants. As such, there are no visible vent registers except for a row along the top of the windshield. In 40-degree weather, the 72-degree setting quickly felt comfortable with no dry eyes, but the tougher test will be how quickly such a system can make occupants cool on a hot day, especially in a vehicle with so much glass.
Canoo’s seating arrangement prioritizes excellent comfort for four or five, passable comfort for seven (on those premium models), and not much cargo flexibility: Of the 130 cubic feet of space available in the LDV, there’s only room for 13.0 cubes of stuff (or three golf bags) behind the folding back of the fixed rear seat. It’s NOT a minivan, remember?
Is it a legit muscle truck?
Mounted on a Toyota Prius wheelbase with electronic steering controlled by a square steering “wheel” turning a lightning-fast rack (1.2 turns lock-to-lock), it feels agile and nimble, and the turning radius it’s crazy tight. The skateboard’s frame features patented variable-cross-section compound transverse leaf springs, which help keep the entire suspension down—the tops of the shocks are nearly level with the tops of the tires. The LV swallows bumps with flexibility, while the minimal body lean, squat, and dive suggest a certain sportiness. This isn’t a “forward control” van like a Microbus, but the forward, upright seating position places the driver’s eyes unusually close to the steering axis. Combine this with that quick steering and we managed to clip the first curb or two. Braking feedback is programmable to three levels ranging from unobtrusively light to full drive with a pedal.
The rear-mounted 200-pound motor, which Canoo designed, builds, and holds 58 patents, is rated at 350 hp and 304 lb-ft. Canoo envisions making output programmable between 200 and 350 hp, with lower power-up efficiencies, reducing wear and potentially lowering usage-based insurance costs. It was set at 285 hp for our drive, and in a 4,750-pound vehicle with three people on board, its power-to-weight ratio was worse than a Chevy Bolt EV or Nissan Leaf. However, the Canoo’s 9.7:1 gear reduction ratio is noticeably shorter than those two, so it accelerates more nimbly, but it’s certainly not a railgun. A future twin-motor AWD version with both engines cranked to full throttle may more comfortably use the muscle-van moniker.
unique selling proposition
Canoo originally proposed a full subscription model, but inflation and volatile interest rates complicate that model. Retail sales and leasing will be handled primarily online and directly with the factory. Canoo maintains that the value of a vehicle is ultimately determined by its second and third owners. To that end, the company’s skateboard design prioritizes longevity and quick, easy repair with lifetime upgradeability. A powertrain swap takes two hours, and the full-body top hat shouldn’t take much longer. In this way, the Canoo is reminiscent of a different vintage VW, the Beetle, many of which enjoyed second lives as sand rails and dune buggies.
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Bottom line
We loved the exterior design of the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle from the moment we laid eyes on it (especially the pickup). We’re intrigued with the interior design and hope to spend more time on it to answer questions like, is the supreme comfort of the footrest for two rear occupants worth it sometimes, making six and seven occupants miserable sitting sideways? Is loading bulky things through the rear doors as easy or easier than loading them into the hatch? Is there enough luggage space for reasonable trips with four or more occupants? And we sincerely hope Canoo can stick to its “less than $50,000” price estimate when the cars for retail customers hit the market in 2024.
You can see it well! More details? Vehicle Specifications 2024 Canoo Lifestyle BASE PRICE $50,000 (est.) LAYOUT Rear-engine, RWD, 6-passenger, 4-door pickup ENGINE 200-350 hp/304 lb-ft AC electric permanent magnet TRANSMISSION 1-speed automatic CURRENT WEIGHT 4,750 lbs. (mfr) WHEELBASE 112.2 in L x W x H 184.1 x 78.0 x 75.6 in 0-60 MPH 6.0 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY/FUEL ECONOMY Unrated mpg RANGE EPA, FUEL 200 miles (est) ON SALE Early 2023 (Fleet), 2024 (Retail) Show All
Source: news.google.com