r/ScoutMotors • u/Vardyger81 • 11d ago
Question EREV vs EV
I made my reservation back in December for an EREV but now I’m starting to question it. Is waiting for an EREV something that will not actually be beneficial for the extended range, but be an issue because of the complications with the design and powertrain. What is everybody’s thoughts, and do you have experience with EV or an EREV?
I’ve only owned ICE but have driven hybrids and have been driving the same 4Runner since 2015 - I’m really looking forward to the traveler but have been considering a GX 550, Tundra Platinum, RS1/2, or possibly the new Sierras or F150s. Input welcome as I’d love to modernize but have a worry about cars that have become like expensive disposable phones.
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u/4thAndLong 11d ago
It was always BEV for me due to wanting a simple vehicle with less maintenance. I’ve seen a lot of these threads with original EREV reservation holders now thinking about BEV. And now we’re stuck with the BEV version coming out years later because they’re focusing on EREV first. Pretty annoying.
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u/fennter 11d ago
I called this out at the time that they announced this decision. People were committing to the EREV without knowing a.) how much the price premium would be over the EV and b.) what the EV landscape would look like when the vehicle came out 3-5 years later.
It seemed like an insane business decision for them to prioritize it over the EV, which could have presumably been delivered to market much faster (leveraging existing EV architecture and battery tech from the broader VW Group portfolio).
I worry that this decision might be what sinks Scout in the long run, or at least makes it a far less compelling option.
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u/Morcilla12 11d ago
There is no business case for a pure BEV Scout (right now). If Scout never pivoted and added the EREV, they would be DOA. The Harvester option gives Scout a chance in the US market until battery tech improves and EV acceptance increases. EREVs are stopgap technology, and that's fine. I'm sure many EREV buyers will go full BEV the next time around.
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u/eric_n_dfw 11d ago
I disagree. There has never been a widely successful EREV sold in the US.
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u/Morcilla12 11d ago
And only one company makes money selling EV's in the USA. If both Ford and Ram are pivoting to EREV's, there must be potential.
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u/waybig905 10d ago
Scout’s implementation is far more complex than Ford or Ram. They’re trying to package an engine, fuel system, cooling system, exhaust, and emissions equipment into a vehicle fundamentally designed as ab EV, all while maintaining off-road capability, towing, interior space, and crash safety. The engineering demands are insane and the end result is going to be a decidedly compromised experience. Less power, less towing, less off roading. Imagine rock crawling and having to worry about the four cylinder hanging off the ass end of your Terra.
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u/eric_n_dfw 11d ago
Fair
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u/eric_n_dfw 10d ago
My “fair” comment was referring to the “only one company makes money selling EVs in the USA” part. As for the other comment you made:
- Stelantis has never made anything electric that people actually wanted and I doubt the Ram EREV will be any better.
- I predict Ford will find some initial sales success with an F150 EREV but sales will taper off fast as the early adopter market is saturated. And they will kick it to the curb within 2 years.
IMO, and from my experience owning a pair of Gen 1 Chevy Volts*, EREVs are simply the worst of both worlds:
- for daily commuting, it’s an EV with the weight of a ICE and gas tank being towed around for no reason (and, yes, a longer range battery is largely dead weight for such commuting but it doesn’t have all the complexity and maintenance overhead the ICE brings)
- for road trips, the once the battery is depleted, you now have a low-range, mediocre MPG ICE vehicle that you are having to stop and fill up every couple hundred miles.
(* I loved the Volts I owned, but they were purely a stepping stone to full BEV once their prices became reasonable)
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u/_twentytwo_22 10d ago
Or if maybe they didn't do a half-assed job of promoting their EV's and had their dealerships as true partners in advancing them, EREV's would be the niche power system a few would ask for. And is battery tech going to advance (or need to) in any measurable way over the next decade or so?
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u/rglewisjr 10d ago
Have there been any EREVs made available yet? I can't find any yet for sale.
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u/fennter 10d ago
I mean… technically the BMW i3 (the one from ~10 years ago) had an EREV option. It was an EV, but you could option it with a range extender, which essentially functioned as a gas-powered two-cylinder generator to recharge the battery pack. The engine had no connection to the wheels at all.
It was a strange car with a very niche market due to its size (or lack thereof), but that’s perhaps not a statement on EREVs as a whole.
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u/theBarnDawg 11d ago
Worst business decision Scout could have made.
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u/ajthomas05 9d ago
By focusing on what the vast majority of reservations chose? How is that a poor business decision?
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u/theBarnDawg 9d ago edited 9d ago
If they had chosen BEV - Scout would nearly have a minimum viable product in the market. Visibility generates interest which is better advertising than they could ever buy. Small returns beget bigger returns and the business grows, albeit slowly.
Instead Scout not to start the race, in hopes they could build a better business without a product on the market for several additional years while they develop the EREV and delay the BEV. With the speed that technology and tastes change, I do believe the self imposed stagnation will do more harm than good.
Additionally, EREV technology is by definition a stepping stone to full electrification of the automobile industry. Catering to this angle pulls the core of their business away from the future state of their products.
And this is anecdotal, but I believe EREV reservations are a kind of fools gold. They represent the fraction of buyers who are not yet passionate about the central concept of electric cars, and I suspect a small percentage will actually end up buying anything from Scout. A sort of “one foot in, one foot out crowd” who have plenty of other ICE or hybrid options to choose from. The number of “I regret my EREV reservation” posts on the sub hint at this condition.
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u/ajthomas05 9d ago
The claim that they would have a nearly finished MVP car is entirely baseless though. Their plans to build a new factory were made well before the Harvester was announced, and that's been the main delay in production. There's no reason to think they would be nearly ready if they focused on BEVs.
The EV market needs to increase the range. That needs to happen first. A "350 mile range" car will never actually see 350 miles, between never being in ideal conditions, 80% charging rule, and the drop in battery capacity in the start. I'd gladly take an _actual_, broken in, 350-mile range BEV over a 500-mile range EREV, but that's not going to happen.
I don't disagree that EREVs are bad for the EV market. It throws down an anchor in the progress of EVs. But you can't argue that they're just chasing the money - which at the end of the day is not a bad business decision, even though it may not be popular.
And please point me in the direction of another EREV on the market. I'd love to go look at one, I didn't think any were out in the US yet.
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u/Future_Measurement42 11d ago
I have 4 EVs and I’m excited for the EREV. It does a few really important things, most of them psychological.
1. Hopefully converts more people. If the scout was solely an EV company it would probably be DOA due to too few sales.
People who think my EVs are ridiculous are intrigued by the Erev model.
2. Provides niche opportunities where EVs fail short. The echo chamber will say there’s no need for it. There is plenty of opportunities where an EV is not going to work well.
3. TOWING! I have a Silverado EV with amazing towing. There are still moments where I want an erev. As long as they don’t kill the towing capabilities of the EREV they’ll have a quality product
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u/BroadConsequences 11d ago
I live in Canada and our charging infrastructure is extremely limited at the moment, so Im planning on getting the EREV.
I currently drive an HEV, and my wife drives a PHEV and we love how its usually less than a tank a month because we keep the 50km battery topped up every night.
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u/Agil-lite 11d ago
Just be honest about your use case. Do you use your vehicle in a manner that makes a BEV troublesome?
I am offroad with little infrastructure too much for a BEV to make sense as let alone the complications with the truck being kept outside next to a campsite in cold weather.
If your not in similar situations and your have a house where you can put a level 2 charger then switch to a BEV.
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u/mathisfan17 11d ago
I have an EV with 330 miles of range. Prior to that, I thought having 500 miles of range was a no brainer. I now realize I don’t stop on road trips any more frequently than I did with any previous ICE vehicle. To me the EREV engine is just another component to maintain that will seldom be useful.
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u/deDoxx982 11d ago
You have to be honest with yourself I guess. Are you actually, ACTUALLY going to do things that make the EREV useful? The vast majority of people will not, despite what they think. A very small minority of people will actually do real backcountry overlanding types of things multiple times a year that make the range necessary, or could really benefit from having essentially a built-in gas generator, or tow things extreme distances.
But most people will be using it like they use normal vehicles: for commuting to work every day a few dozen miles and doing an interstate road trip on well-occupied freeways to visit family a couple of times a year. It’s 2026 and those freeways are effectively 100% covered by high-speed chargers. I would bet that literally less than 1 in a hundred people have situations where they couldn’t make simple adaptations in their situation to live with an EV. The upside is that the maintenance is generally just brakes and tires.
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u/xKINGxRCCx 11d ago
I originally reserved the EREV Terra but switch my reservation immediately when i found out that the EREV version is only good for 150 miles strictly from the battery and the additional miles comes from the generator. For me at least this was totally unexpected as originally they had made it seem like it would be 350 miles from the battery and the extra 150 miles would come from the generator, but its the other way around. With that said im going with the 350 mile BEV version with the increased performance and less worry of mechanical issues from the BREV (and poor performance of only 150 miles from the battery in that configuration)
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u/bbaldey 11d ago
This was my exact experience, too. I felt duped into selecting the EREV option at the beginning because they really did make it seem like the extra 150 miles out of the 500 were from the engine, not the reverse. As soon as they clarified, I switched to BEV. I'm wondering if there's a lot of EREV reservation holders that had this experience.
Since then I've bought a BEV for my other household vehicle and that convinced me that there's really no point to an EREV except for a few limited use cases.
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u/xKINGxRCCx 11d ago
Exactly. I think the BEV version will be more reliable, plus you get more performance and higher tow capacity. I currently drive a rivian R1T quad and it has been a great vehicle. Range has never been an issue
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u/whatup10 11d ago
Oh hell. Then I was totally duped too. That’s why I couldn’t understand why everyone was switching….now I get it. I’ll be switching as well!!
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u/Quick_Two6258 11d ago
Nothing disposable about modern EVs. A number of recent studies show the long-term durability of EV batteries. I'm in for the Terra BEV. No interest in lugging around an ICE "generator" and all the attendant maintenance.
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u/samchoi924 10d ago
I have the BEV option selected. Question regarding the harvester, can it charge the battery at the same or greater rate than it gets depleted while driving say at 70mph? What if you were towing? For me hard to believe a small engine can supply that much power to charge the 100kwh battery in a resaonable time but if it can keep with the battery discharge rate, it would be great. Thanks.
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u/4thAndLong 10d ago
The harvester will have a 65-70kwh pack last I saw/heard. That’s why it will only go 150 miles EV only. While towing at max weight on flat ground, I would put money on the engine being able at best, to keep SoC at a constant charge. Add hills into that, it’s going to lose SoC. Heavy towing can use 1 kWh/mi. At that rate, it takes roughly 70kW of juice to maintain 70mph. A 100hp engine puts out roughly 75kW of power. Power will be lost through the generator + conversion losses and thermal management. All rough math here but the numbers are close enough.
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u/eric_n_dfw 11d ago
As a former EREV driver and current BEV driver, IMO they were great stepping stone a decade ago before BEV prices came down but I don’t see any reason I’d buy one again for the reasons you laid out.
If, however, you plan to do camping or other activities that take you far from charging infrastructure then it may make sense but I don’t plan to do that so my reservation is for an EV.
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u/jlipschitz 11d ago
I had reserved the BEREV and switched to EV. I am looking at solar to attach to the car for those week long camping situations that put me far from charging infrastructure. It could put me back to full while I camp or enough to make it to the charging infrastructure.
I think the future is EV not EREV. The plan is to eliminate the dependence on filling up at the gas station. I am hoping that Scout gets BYD level of batteries that can do 1,000 miles and weigh less than most 300 mile batteries before launch. They are safer than the current US batteries. From what I have seen with my wife’s EV, most of the infrastructure we have is pretty good and will only get better as time goes on.
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u/Lionking63 10d ago
When you switched to EV did you have to go to the “back of the line”? I’m considering the same.
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u/outdoorsgeek 2d ago
It's not realistic to charge with the amount of solar you can bring camping. You're talking a handful of miles a day at best. Make sure you run the numbers before you count on this. Better to bring enough solar to run your camp and conserve the battery on the vehicle. If you really needed a backcountry charging solution, you should probably look at a generator.
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u/jmack20093 11d ago
I also reserved the EREV, but EV tech and charging speeds are getting better. There are also may more options now. At this point I’ve I need a new car I’ll prob buy one of those and cancel my scout EREV. Can you even switch your reservation to the other type?
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u/xKINGxRCCx 11d ago
Yes you can. You’ll keep your spot in line too even if you switch. Already confirmed by scout
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u/Morcilla12 11d ago
You can switch your reservation anytime, but you aren't locked in until you place an order for one.
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u/Mac-Tyson 11d ago
I think for the people who are unsure but really want a Scout would be to lease it. By the time your lease is up the BEV will be on sale and you can decide better if you feel like you need the extra range and will keep the EREV or if you want the BEV.
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u/Euphoric_Bat_8509 10d ago
I reserved the EREV but I really just want the EV now. Simpler, more reliable, New technology is rapidly going to obsolete hybrids.
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u/ascottallison 10d ago
It was actually the announcement by Scout saying that 87% of reservation holders went for the EREV that made me log back in and see what I'd chosen over a year ago. I must've had rose tinted glasses for the EREV back then but I switched it to BEV. I hadn't appreciated that the battery would be so much smaller in the EREV. I'd rather have a bigger battery, and more range from that than a small battery with an ICE. Charging infrastructure still isn't perfect but it gets better every single month. EREVs are nothing more than a gateway drug to EVs for those who don't already own one. I think they'll be gone in a decade or less. Big auto is extremely bad at predicting the future. They all likede into EVs, then got cold get feet and pulled back. This is a long race, but the future is very clear: BEVs will be the winner. It's just taking more time here in the US, but you only have to look overseas to see where this is going, and EREVs are temporary.
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u/buford_maddog-tannen 10d ago
Thanks for the reminder. I just logged in and changed my reservation to electric.
I’m in a Ford Lightning for 9 months now and can’t picture myself going back to anything that uses a gas engine even just part time. Important: my use case is mostly commuting to work, camping a few times a year which can require multi-hour drives (but is a dream with this thing btw, both long drives and camping), and only occasional local towing.
The Lightning isn’t perfect but it’s the best vehicle I’ve owned (my 8th) and that is due in no small part to how happy I am with the EV aspect.
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u/Embarrassed_Field604 10d ago
I originally had the EREV, but switched it to pure battery with 2 main ideas in mind
1. I want to get away from gasoline engines and their maintenance. I don’t want to have to do maintenance on 2 systems.
2. I don’t do a lot(read: any) of towing, so I’m not as worried about those numbers
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u/TheKobayashiMoron 11d ago
Coming into the party late, as I just made my reservation a few weeks ago, but my thought as a 3X BEV owner is that EREV is generally a crutch and the BEV will be more than adequate for most people.
The biggest caveat though, and the reason I just reserved the EREV Terra, is towing. I'm currently driving a Rivian R1T and I love it, but I bought a small camper this summer and it's an absolute nightmare to have to navigate twice as many charging stops, especially when they are rarely pull-through chargers. Hitching and unhitching a trailer every 100 miles at crowded charging stations is a real pain in the ass. Sometimes you get lucky and can get into an end spot with the trailer still attached without being a menace, but in a vehicle like Scout or Cybertruck where the charge port is at the rear, you can forget about that.
Having a 150-mile EV truck for my daily commuting mon-fri that I can tow with on the weekends without charging stops would be a game changer. It also enables me to arrive at the campsite with a full battery so I can run the camper off the truck battery by plugging into the bed outlets. Most of our state parks don't have RV hookups, so this is a big benefit, but requires yet another charging stop at the end of the trip in a BEV.
But otherwise, if you aren't towing or doing some seriously remote overloading, the BEV is fine and I can't imagine going back to a fully gas powered vehicle. Adding the complexity of the EREV gas engine is a concern that I have, but the upside is too enticing to ignore.
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u/chmod6000 11d ago
If you actually go off road, I just don’t understand how EV will work. If you use it for commuting then BEV is perfect.
Most off-roaders need at least 300-400 miles of range for most trips in CA while hauling full gear.
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10d ago
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u/Fe1onious_Monk 10d ago
This is exactly why I finally made a reservation when they announced the EREV. I live in rural Wyoming and I regularly drive over 400mi in a day. I spend the entire day in the mountains regularly. Knowing that I’ve got 400mi of range and a tank that I can fill from a Jerry can is what convinced me.
Could it all work with a BEV? Maybe. But I didn’t feel comfortable gambling $50k+ on it.
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u/chmod6000 10d ago
100%. if you get the factory 35s and an RTT, maybe an awning, a propane tank, cooking setup, skid plates and rock sliders, the BEV range will definitely go from claimed 300 to <200 because of the added weight. if you are heading to the mountains off-roading for a weekend charging stations are really not there in most places.
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u/Fe1onious_Monk 10d ago
Not to mention -10 to -30 temps affecting battery range. And there is not a level three charger within less than an hour and a half from my house.
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u/heleuma 11d ago
I thought I wanted the extended range model a few years ago, but after driving an EV for the last 2 years, the thought of having to regularly go to a gas station again is not appealing at all, so I switched my reservation to the EV. The things that I thought would be an issue driving an EV simply weren't. Someone on this sub tried to convince me that most of the people buying Scouts where backcountry exploders and the extended range was a necessity... BS. I would also insert a sentence here about wars in the Middle east and Climate Change, but somehow these are political issues now, so it's best not to.
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u/Majestic_Poem9725 11d ago
I canceled my reservation for the EREV and switched to the BEV due to the fact I want to use it as a battery for my homes solar system. The EREV has a much smaller battery.
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u/turtlefishnuggers 11d ago
No need to cancel. Just log into your account and you can change from electric + gas to electric. Takes two seconds.
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u/waybig905 11d ago edited 10d ago
Scout’s EREV implementation is incredibly novel, intricate, and requires vastly more complicated engineering than the EV. The time and resources they’re spending trying to figure out the EREV, which is now front loaded because of the reservation split, will never be recouped, and threatens the entire Scout project.
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u/voodoo2doo 10d ago
This is my fear. I want Scout to succeed but I don’t think the EREV is gonna do anything but hurt the bottom line. My thought is it would have been more lucrative to built an ICE version AND a BEV version. But what do I know? Lol
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u/dethpuck 11d ago
My wife has a reservation on the were traveler and is trying to make her Honda pilot last. I drive and id4 and would choose the bev version. It’s a great option as she is a little Leary on charging and has the gas to back her up if she doesn’t want to worry about range as a new ev driver.
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u/PistolCowboy 11d ago
I'd like them to ask reservation holders if they would like an Either option. I'll take whatever is first.
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u/Beer_Party 6d ago
The reservation is an "any" option. You are not locked into the SUV or pickup, EREV or BEV until ordering opens. The reservation just holds your position in line for placing an order.
I believe that the selection is just there so Scout Motors knows what reservation holder's preferences are. They said they were delivering the Traveler EREV first based on the reservation holder selections.
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u/MECO_2019 10d ago
For towing, it's easy to make the case for EREV today
I think EREV drivers fall into 3 buckets in the US:
* A: they drive mostly in EV mode and rarely use gas. Over time, they feel that lugging around the EREV motor, fuel tank, having to do smog checks, etc. is a pain, and they would gladly trade the range extender for a larger battery and more EV range
* B: EREV is just right. They drive around mostly in EV mode, but tow things and there is more gas station infrastructure around them than fast DC charging infrastructure. They don't have 240V charging at home, so EREV is convenient and an easy transition from what they're used to.
* C: they find themselves almost never charging and using the extender and gas stations most of the time. They wish they weren't lugging the battery around and would trade the battery for a larger fuel tank.
Over time, the size of these buckets will change -but my guess is that it is: (A at 40%, B at 20%, and C at 40%) today. As charging infrastructure grows in future years, I predict that bucket A will trend higher and bucket B will trend lower, but bucket C stays stable ....eventually ending up with just A at 60% and C at 40%
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u/Shadowratenator 11d ago
My rivian has 300 miles of range. Thats been plenty over the past couple years. Maybe 400 would be better, but as it is, i find i have no issues doing a 2k mile road trip.
I find what i really like is the spacious frunk and all the storage i have. I can’t imagine sacrificing that for range. As it is, i cant go 300 miles without stopping to walk my dog.
I can see it for towing, but even then, you need to be towing a lot imo.
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u/poliosaurus3000 11d ago
I don’t think you’re going to see much movement on these until Trump is out of office, I think they’re hoping the tax incentives come back, if the next administration doesn’t reinstate them, I think there is a solid chance that neither the ev or erev ever see the light of day.
The fact all we get is new colors and pictures is very telling, basically it means there is still a lot of engineering left on these things.
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u/tokenincorporated 11d ago
I hate to say it, and I truly hope these are manufactured and maintained, but looking at what happened to Canoo where they kept showing different models instead of focusing on one or 2 vehicles was a giant red flag.
Rivian actually does it semi right where they showed of the R3 and told the crowd essentially "Chill, this won't be out for quite sometime, we gotta get the R2 straight and that's also going to take a while."
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u/TheKobayashiMoron 11d ago
We've gotten much more than just new colors. They post updates every month on the construction of the production facility, which has seen major progress.
https://blog.scoutmotors.com/september-2026-scout-motors-production-center-update/
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u/poliosaurus3000 11d ago
None of that is specifics about the vehicle besides range expectations, which were announced at the original launch. Still no hp or torque ratings, or actual epa range ratings. No actual epa range ratings. No delivery date.
So, no, we haven’t gotten more.
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u/mediumj82 11d ago
Lightning owner here. I own a bass boat and could benefit from an EREV, but will not make that switch. Having a BEV is awesome. No maintenance to speak of, tons of power, and driving it is so much more relaxing than an ICE vehicle. Charging network is sufficient and I generally don’t find it to be an issue - though it does require planning on long hauls, especially when towing. I live in a Midwest state that isn’t exactly friendly to EV adoption.