Pure electric isn't that great of an idea.. can you imagine, jostling for a level 2 or 3 charger, with a car full of kids, around many other screaming kids, shudder.
I would bet that the more realistic approach is using an electric motor and battery to "torque fill" for a turbo 4 motor. That's the realistic bet. Especially when you factor in the protection of the oil and gas industry's best interest--which is "NO" to pure electric.
The BEST, but unlikely solution would involve a powertrain that is much like that of the Chevy Volt. A gasoline engine that is exclusively a power generator, one that is never utilized nor relied upon to move the car. All the combustion engine would do is turn on to top off the battery packs, which then power the electric motors. You could also top it up when shopping or overnight. In theory, for most commuters, they should be able to make most of their work commutes on pure electric power, which is 2-3x cheaper than the equivalent trip on gasoline. A volt averages around 42-45mpg on pure "engine generator" mode on the highway going 65mph. Assuming slightly worse aerodynamic penalty from a Prius (58 city/53 highway) to Prius V (43city/39highway), you are probably looking at low 30mpg to move a brick of a 4runner across a highway at 65mph. Excuse the hypothetical, non engineering, back of napkin math.
I would not be surprised to see something like this in a highlander sooner than later. Whether a drivetrain like this would work in an offroad application is unclear. Light offroading, probably okay. Certainly would be way less of an efficiency penalty on armor/bigger tires. Would probably never need to regear if the drive motors are purely electric. How would the batteries cope with the heat from rocky trips? They sure would be better than a diesel engine for instantaneous torque. But if something breaks, you're probably way screwed in the sticks. Hope you're okay with using leaves as wipes.
I would bet that the more realistic approach is using an electric motor and battery to "torque fill" for a turbo 4 motor. That's the realistic bet. Especially when you factor in the protection of the oil and gas industry's best interest--which is "NO" to pure electric.
The BEST, but unlikely solution would involve a powertrain that is much like that of the Chevy Volt. A gasoline engine that is exclusively a power generator, one that is never utilized nor relied upon to move the car. All the combustion engine would do is turn on to top off the battery packs, which then power the electric motors. You could also top it up when shopping or overnight. In theory, for most commuters, they should be able to make most of their work commutes on pure electric power, which is 2-3x cheaper than the equivalent trip on gasoline. A volt averages around 42-45mpg on pure "engine generator" mode on the highway going 65mph. Assuming slightly worse aerodynamic penalty from a Prius (58 city/53 highway) to Prius V (43city/39highway), you are probably looking at low 30mpg to move a brick of a 4runner across a highway at 65mph. Excuse the hypothetical, non engineering, back of napkin math.
I would not be surprised to see something like this in a highlander sooner than later. Whether a drivetrain like this would work in an offroad application is unclear. Light offroading, probably okay. Certainly would be way less of an efficiency penalty on armor/bigger tires. Would probably never need to regear if the drive motors are purely electric. How would the batteries cope with the heat from rocky trips? They sure would be better than a diesel engine for instantaneous torque. But if something breaks, you're probably way screwed in the sticks. Hope you're okay with using leaves as wipes.
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