EV focused suggestions

[Rustic_father]

I have never even seen a real original scout so my recommendations are coming from a perspective of making it a great EV as well as a great scout. (in no specific order)

- No haptic feedback buttons: I know the VW ID4 has already discontinued the use of the non-button-buttons but i just want to point out that it should either be buttons or a screen.

- Dash-cam / parking lot security: Tesla and Rivian both added the ability for users to retrieve dashcam information as well as enabling sentry mode / gear guard to catch people backing up into the car in the parking lot or people doing other things to the vehicle. This is extremely useful for insurance claims and for peace of mind. Please ensure this is incorporated in the beginning.

- Dedicated Exterior button for Frunk: If there is a frunk (i would hope so), I would really suggest that there is a dedicated button to open it like on the Rivian who hides a button just under the grill. It is incredibly inconvenient to have to load up the app or to go inside (in teslas) to open up the frunk. I am assuming the design of the EV Scout will lend itself to a sizeable frunk and i want to make sure it is practical/usable.

- Charge port door: Looking at the industry there are many different versions of chart port door. Please make it as simple as possible just like the ID.4. Other implementations such as Rivian, Lucid, or even Tesla have motorized doors that open in fancy ways that will have proven to be another point of failure. While these are fun to put on marketing videos the novelty wears off and in the end it is just a door that needs to open so you can plug in.

- Charging speed: Please ensure that the charging curve / is somewhere in the range of 250KW+. Early ID4 had a very slow charging curve and later versions / updates allowed faster charging. However VW ID4 still barely scratches the surface of the maximum potential allowed by the VW Partnered Electrify America(300kw max)

- Heat pump: Please include a heat pump. Those of us not living in cold climates really benefit from the efficiency during the colder months of having an efficient heat source.

- Air Suspension: Not only will an air suspension give the Scout EV a very capable off road capability but daily commuters/errand runners will also benefit from the ability to lower the suspension for better aerodynamics.

- Spare tire: Please ensure that there is at the very least a half spare. I understand that spare tires add weight and can reduce range, but if the vehicle is to perform off road there is no option for a tow truck. Also those who know how to change a tire would greatly appreciate not having to call someone else because their car lacks the tools necessary to be self sufficient.

- Storage: Please take notes from Rivian and look into adding storage in every nook&cranny such as having the back seats open up to uncover a storage area in there.

- No piano black please!: I know piano black looks nice and shiny in marketing photos but they are fingerprint and dirt magnets and look terrible in a very short amount of time. Additionally if the scout is supposed to be a rugged vehicle it will get beat around a little and therefore the piano black surfaces will get scratched very easy and look ugly. Please use matte finishes that will withstand some living.

- Driver profiles: I can't say how convenient it is to have the not only the seat but the side mirrors, and steering wheel tied to the driver profile.Tesla also saves driving mode preferences as well as music preferences between driver. These are extremely helpful especially when there is a big height difference between spouses or a big difference in driving preferences.

These are all of the things i can think of right now. Maybe I'll be back for more later

 

[difficulTT]

I despise the Ford code buttons. Design wise they look like an afterthought. If they could be more hidden I would like the idea.

The keypad is well hidden on my Explorer into the pillar of the drivers door, and I use it constantly. You can unlock just the drivers door, all the doors, and lock the vehicle all without needing a key. Not sure why they didn't continue to better integrate them in new Bronco etc...

On my Explorer with a proximity key, as you walk up to the vehicle and grasp the handle with the key in your pocket, the door automatically unlocks. To lock the vehicle, there is a small spot on the handle to touch.

 

[Rustic_father]

I despise the Ford code buttons. Design wise they look like an afterthought. If they could be more hidden I would like the idea. Why not a smooth, 2”x2” fingerprint scanner by the handle. Technology is all here and then it could be designed into the door handle housing.

I totally agree they look like an after thought. I just like the idea of securing everything in the car while boating or going to the beach or camping and not having to worry about losing keys or dropping them somewhere.

I worry about proximity without a “Touch the handle” scenario as Jamie had mentioned. Too easy to constantly open door. If you work from home just inside from your car and forget and now your car unlocks.

I haven't had any issues with my car unlocking when I work from home. The proximity that my Tesla unlocks is fairly close. Yes once I walk away it is about 15' until the car locks but coming back to the car to unlock I basically have to be touching the car for it to open. I've had my daughter eagerly run to the car and try to open the door and it won't unlock until I'm arm's length away.

I have moved since I bought my car and now I have it in the garage. The car knows it's location and stays unlocked while it is at home

 

[J Alynn]

The keypad is well hidden on my Explorer into the pillar of the drivers door, and I use it constantly. You can unlock just the drivers door, all the doors, and lock the vehicle all without needing a key. Not sure why they didn't continue to better integrate them in new Bronco etc...

On my Explorer with a proximity key, as you walk up to the vehicle and grasp the handle with the key in your pocket, the door automatically unlocks. To lock the vehicle, there is a small spot on the handle to touch.

This definitely looks better than some of the others I’ve seen. I’m recanting my previous comment

 

[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

It’s like slow close toilet seats. They are fantastic to keep kids from dropping them down until you go to your neighbor’s house and realize they don’t have it and now you made one hell of a commotion. At least they thank you for putting the seat down

I don't know what you're talking about...

 

[J Alynn]

While this is a bit off topic of vehicle design but ties to the idea of Scoutpost and charging stations.
I think Scout Motors should develop retro style modern PUMPS for recharging.
I think a nod to Route 66 heyday would be great and include chrome and some other cool finishes
Signage on top is logo’d and when NOT in use the upper sign glows. That way at 6pm in the winter as you are approaching you’d be able to see if there are empty spaces. When in use the light would go out.
Then on the sides it could light up as you charge so while you’re sitting at the outdoor daiquiri bar you can track progress.
The attached drawing isn’t my best work and I had cheap markers but I did my best as a quick idea.

 

[LastDayScout]

I really like the proximity lock/unlock feature of the tesla....I've gotten so used to it whenever i drive my wife's car i forget to lock it when we walk away. I think often if there is a key fob it will make things more complex. I really like the tesla idea of having the keycard as a back up and having the phone as a primary key. One thing that would be nice would be something like the Ford keypad where you can lock and unlock your vehicle useing the keypad...this would allow you to leave your keys and stuff in the vehicle while you go to the beach or some other place and not have to worry about it.

Phone as a key with a card backup is great. I really liked that with my former Tesla. I have a BMW iX now and it has the phone as a key feature. It works well but not as good as Tesla. But, the BMW still has bulky key fobs which I do not like to carry. The benefit of the fob is that it has an actual key in it and the iX has a little hidden access in the door handle in case you need to use an actual key to get in. Maybe Scout could have the best of both worlds. Phone as a key and a slim card that will fit in your wallet or pocket with an actual key embedded in the card just in case. Bingo!

 

[JohnBills]

Phone as a key with a card backup is great. I really liked that with my former Tesla. I have a BMW iX now and it has the phone as a key feature. It works well but not as good as Tesla. But, the BMW still has bulky key fobs which I do not like to carry. The benefit of the fob is that it has an actual key in it and the iX has a little hidden access in the door handle in case you need to use an actual key to get in. Maybe Scout could have the best of both worlds. Phone as a key and a slim card that will fit in your wallet or pocket with an actual key embedded in the card just in case. Bingo!

That would be cool if the fob had some kind of utility to it, like a multitool that's also a fob. It has the backup key, but could also have a flathead, a Phillips head, maybe a light. I'm not sure the exact tools at the moment, but a multitool fob sounds rad.

 

[RebelliousPeasant]

I'd like to echo the no piano black thing. It never looks good. It always looks cheap and dirty. Do fake wood if you have to but no piano black.

For the EV charge port cover, what I'd like to see is one that's designed to shelter the charge connector from above to minimize the amount of snow and freezing rain that can get in there while the vehicle charges overnight. It doesn't need to be fancy, and it definitely shouldn't be motorized. Just a simple door that's held open by a spring mechanism and is designed in such a way that when it's open it acts as a bit of a roof over the charge port.

Nissan almost accomplished it with the first gen Leaf. I have an early Leaf and the door is simple, always works, the spring holds it up and it almost does the roof thing but the angle it opens isn't quite right so snow tends to slide off an into the charge port. They were so close to a good design! My Ioniq 5's door opens to the side and is motorized. Totally hopeless in the snow and if the motor gets jammed it throws up an error code and the car gets really upset about it. Not good. The charging door situation is probably the worst thing about the Ioniq 5, I guess it needed to have at least one or two faults. The port gets filled with snow on both cars which can be more than a nuisance.

I've had the actual charging receptacle have snow get in and what happens is the charge plug will go in and work but it melts the snow while the car charges which then later becomes ice inside the connector so the next time you go to charge it won't go all the way in and thus won't seat properly so the vehicle doesn't get a good connection and won't charge. So you then first have to realize that's what the issue is and then melt the ice inside the charge plug which is not easy to do and extremely annoying to accomplish in the frigid dark night. Trying to melt ice out of a charging plug that should just work but doesn't because of bad charing port design sucks and always happens on the darkest, coldest night where you can't see what you're doing and can't feel your fingers anymore.

So please, for those of us who live in snowy places, please design it with snow and freezing rain in mind. It doesn't need to be fancy, it needs to be basic and reliable and it needs to open such that the door protects the charge area from falling precipitation a bit. It doesn't need to be a gazebo, it just needs to keep the bulk of the snow out when it's falling hard and fast.

 

[JohnBills]

I'd like to echo the no piano black thing. It never looks good. It always looks cheap and dirty. Do fake wood if you have to but no piano black.

For the EV charge port cover, what I'd like to see is one that's designed to shelter the charge connector from above to minimize the amount of snow and freezing rain that can get in there while the vehicle charges overnight. It doesn't need to be fancy, and it definitely shouldn't be motorized. Just a simple door that's held open by a spring mechanism and is designed in such a way that when it's open it acts as a bit of a roof over the charge port.

Nissan almost accomplished it with the first gen Leaf. I have an early Leaf and the door is simple, always works, the spring holds it up and it almost does the roof thing but the angle it opens isn't quite right so snow tends to slide off an into the charge port. They were so close to a good design! My Ioniq 5's door opens to the side and is motorized. Totally hopeless in the snow and if the motor gets jammed it throws up an error code and the car gets really upset about it. Not good. The charging door situation is probably the worst thing about the Ioniq 5, I guess it needed to have at least one or two faults. The port gets filled with snow on both cars which can be more than a nuisance.

I've had the actual charging receptacle have snow get in and what happens is the charge plug will go in and work but it melts the snow while the car charges which then later becomes ice inside the connector so the next time you go to charge it won't go all the way in and thus won't seat properly so the vehicle doesn't get a good connection and won't charge. So you then first have to realize that's what the issue is and then melt the ice inside the charge plug which is not easy to do and extremely annoying to accomplish in the frigid dark night. Trying to melt ice out of a charging plug that should just work but doesn't because of bad charing port design sucks and always happens on the darkest, coldest night where you can't see what you're doing and can't feel your fingers anymore.

So please, for those of us who live in snowy places, please design it with snow and freezing rain in mind. It doesn't need to be fancy, it needs to be basic and reliable and it needs to open such that the door protects the charge area from falling precipitation a bit. It doesn't need to be a gazebo, it just needs to keep the bulk of the snow out when it's falling hard and fast.

I drive the sister to the Ioniq 5, the Genesis GV60, and the charge port door on that swings upward but it's motorized as well. I haven't had to deal with lots of snow and ice yet because I've only had it a few months. But I think these are good insights.

 

[Itsarebuild]

Please make a version with none of the proximity or over the wire controlled locking. It’s just a future failure to me and I have no issues using the mechanical keys on my other vehicles.

 

[Chaparral]

Please make a version with none of the proximity or over the wire controlled locking. It’s just a future failure to me and I have no issues using the mechanical keys on my other vehicles.

What we really need is ‘redundancy’ so if a primary system is unable to work a backup system will. That could be a mechanical key or it could be something else. I like the idea of a mechanical key being kept in a small multi-tool.

What I’d love is for my watch to unlock the car - that’s a feature built into Apple Watch that gets things right, it even works if the battery in the watch (or phone) is dead and has really good security in the implementation. It also makes it easy to share a digital ‘key’ with family members. This can be optionally setup so that it does not work with proximity but rather requires you to deliberately tap the watch (or phone) on a discrete pad.

Please no ugly keypads. They are not very secure.

 

[LastDayScout]

That would be cool if the fob had some kind of utility to it, like a multitool that's also a fob. It has the backup key, but could also have a flathead, a Phillips head, maybe a light. I'm not sure the exact tools at the moment, but a multitool fob sounds rad.

Something like this

 

[RebelliousPeasant]

What we really need is ‘redundancy’ so if a primary system is unable to work a backup system will. That could be a mechanical key or it could be something else. I like the idea of a mechanical key being kept in a small multi-tool.

What I’d love is for my watch to unlock the car - that’s a feature built into Apple Watch that gets things right, it even works if the battery in the watch (or phone) is dead and has really good security in the implementation. It also makes it easy to share a digital ‘key’ with family members. This can be optionally setup so that it does not work with proximity but rather requires you to deliberately tap the watch (or phone) on a discrete pad.

Please no ugly keypads. They are not very secure.

I like Hyundai's implementation in my Ioniq 5. It has a standard key fob which is fine, but inside the fob is a physical key that you can slide out. So most of the time you just use the proximity of the fob to unlock and start the vehicle which I like and is super convenient because you just leave the key in your pocket. I think most modern vehicles do this now so it's expected behaviour.

But, if there's an issue either with the fob or the vehicle there is still a physical key in the fob and a lock hidden behind the door handle on the driver's side so no matter what - even if there's no power to the car or key - you can still gain access which is handy if you have a dead key and a dead 12V battery. There's also RFID in the "start" button so even if you have a dead fob you just press it up against the button and can still turn the car on.

It would be super cool if the fob was more than just a thing with car buttons on it. Like maybe it could have a glass punch or something so you can escape if the vehicle is going underwater, or a flashlight which is always a handy thing to have, something like that.

 

[J Alynn]

I like Hyundai's implementation in my Ioniq 5. It has a standard key fob which is fine, but inside the fob is a physical key that you can slide out. So most of the time you just use the proximity of the fob to unlock and start the vehicle which I like and is super convenient because you just leave the key in your pocket. I think most modern vehicles do this now so it's expected behaviour.

But, if there's an issue either with the fob or the vehicle there is still a physical key in the fob and a lock hidden behind the door handle on the driver's side so no matter what - even if there's no power to the car or key - you can still gain access which is handy if you have a dead key and a dead 12V battery. There's also RFID in the "start" button so even if you have a dead fob you just press it up against the button and can still turn the car on.

It would be super cool if the fob was more than just a thing with car buttons on it. Like maybe it could have a glass punch or something so you can escape if the vehicle is going underwater, or a flashlight which is always a handy thing to have, something like that.

Hondas and Acuras are set up the same way. I like the idea of the watch but I do t wear and Apple Watch and don’t want to spend the money to buy one. I wish the key card idea could incorporate a signal so it just always lives inside my wallet since I always have that with license

 

[Chaparral]

Hondas and Acuras are set up the same way. I like the idea of the watch but I do t wear and Apple Watch and don’t want to spend the money to buy one. I wish the key card idea could incorporate a signal so it just always lives inside my wallet since I always have that with license

The Apple Watch implementation works alongside other systems. So there would be no need for anyone to buy a watch to unlock their car.

Adding this integration would be a really big added convenience for those that wear the watch and added security for those looking for that. Being able to send friends or family members a digital car key is also handy, since you usually only get two fobs when you buy a vehicle.

These days, wallets are often shielded to block RF to prevent people’s cards from getting scanned by thieves. That would prevent a key card in a wallet from working for many people.

I’m looking forward to a time when I won’t have to carry keys or a wallet and technology is gradually removing the reasons to do so. Car keys is an important part of that alongside smart locks, digital drivers licenses, digital health insurance card, digital store cards, digital payments etc.

 

[oldgeeksguide]

Something like this
View attachment 966

Love the idea, but that particular image is going to put a hole in my pocket

 

[LastDayScout]

Love the idea, but that particular image is going to put a hole in my pocket

 

[kr_swift]

Fully agree with including dash cam (with expandable usb storage), sentry/security features and comprehensive driver profiles.

 

[Scoutsie]

Love the idea, but that particular image is going to put a hole in my pocket

And how!