New Can-Am Outlander Electric ATV

[Nadus]

I just bought Can-Am's brand new Outlander Electric quad. This is the first mainstream electric fourwheeler available in North America (do we count the Cyberquad children's toy that got recalled?).

This thing is a friggin beast. It's surreal to drive it--basically makes no sound while generating an immense amount of power for its size. I'm still getting to know it, but I'm happy to answer any questions I can.

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[strykerwsu]

I have no real knowledge on atvs. Are you able to get a days worth of enjoyment out of it before charging?

 

[Nadus]

I have no real knowledge on atvs. Are you able to get a days worth of enjoyment out of it before charging?

It depends on what you mean by "enjoyment." The max range is 55 miles, so this isn't made for long-range adventure trail riders. At least not unless there are Level 2 chargers along the trail.

I haven't put this to the test yet, but don't think I'll ever run out of juice for the kind of work I'm doing with it (plowing, mowing, and pulling a trailer).

It has a J1772 charge port for Level 2 charging, and Can-Am says it goes from 20-80% in 50 minutes. Even if plowing snow drains the battery in a couple hours (I don't know yet if it will), by that time I'd be freezing to death, plug it in, go inside for some hot chocolate, and it'd be ready to go again by the time I was warmed up.

 

[ksujeff99]

Just in time for the storm coming through!

I love the contrast between the electric quad and the Ford tractor.

 

[Nadus]

Just in time for the storm coming through!

I love the contrast between the electric quad and the Ford tractor.

Yep, I'm waiting for the snow to build up a bit and then I'm heading out to plow.

I was surprised at how the ATV is almost as big as the tractor when I parked them next to each other. In my mind, the tractor is about twice as big.

 

[Dark-Fx]

How well does the battery do in the cold?

 

[Nadus]

How well does the battery do in the cold?

Definitely a big hit to efficiency, and thus range. Probably by about 1/3 from what I can tell so far. I just finished reading the user manual, and learned how to precondition the battery in cold weather. I went out and got that started a little bit ago (they recommend at least 15 minutes of preconditioning in cold weather). I know I'm not going to have regen today, but we'll see how the power feels. My guess is I won't notice any power reduction, just because it's got so much to spare.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Definitely a big hit to efficiency, and thus range. Probably by about 1/3 from what I can tell so far. I just finished reading the user manual, and learned how to precondition the battery in cold weather. I went out and got that started a little bit ago (they recommend at least 15 minutes of preconditioning in cold weather). I know I'm not going to have regen today, but we'll see how the power feels. My guess is I won't notice any power reduction, just because it's got so much to spare.

My electric snowblower works awesome, but I have to pull the batteries out and keep them inside after every use. If they are in the cold garage, they die really quickly when I use them next.

 

[gekkota]

“Can it wheelie” ?

 

[dradam]

Looks like a blast but does it have CarPlay ?

 

[Nadus]

“Can it wheelie” ?

And more!

 

[Nadus]

My electric snowblower works awesome, but I have to pull the batteries out and keep them inside after every use. If they are in the cold garage, they die really quickly when I use them next.

I just finished plowing snow. Not heavy snow...just about 4-5 inches of powder so far. I was in 4WD the whole time, with the plow scraping a gravel road. In total it was almost 1 mile of plowing and it used about 10% of the battery. Better than I expected.

 

[Thedude]

That’s a pretty cool toy. The 31 mile range Canam advertises when used for “utility work” really limits the utility of the machine but if it’s just an around the small property or for plowing smaller drives that’s not bad.

 

[Golfer04]

Interesting they brought it to market. Polaris made one also, but never went on sale (that I know of).
can you remove the battery to charge it? My farm is 15 miles from my L2 charger. As I recall the Polaris etv you could.

 

[hammick]

I would love for our side-by-side and ATVs to be electric. But 55 miles is a dealbreaker. Maybe keep the side-by-side gas and look at this electric ATV. I’m guessing it’s pricey.

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