The future for off-roading looks electric

Dan Carney • E-mail

Think of an “off-road” vehicle, and billy goat four-by-fours usually come to mind — the ones that chug along using muscular John Deere-style powerplants or diesel engines.

Electric motors? They’re for golf carts, or sissified urban commuter boxes and not for brawny rock crawlers, right?

The leading off-road manufacturers beg to differ. Judging by the concept cars shown by Jeep and Land Rover at this year’s Detroit auto show, they think electric motors do have a future in their vehicles.

The Army agrees on the potential of electrically driven vehicles and has a contract with Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide to develop a diesel-electric Alternative Mobility Vehicle, or “Aggressor.”

Like civilians, the Army wants to cut fuel use, because fuel constitutes 70 percent of the materiel it moves into combat zones, according to Andy Abele, Quantum’s executive director of strategic development. Hybrid electric vehicles not only give soldiers the ability to sneak around quietly, they also serve as generators to power the myriad computer, radar, GPS, radio and other electronic systems upon which the modern military depends, he added.

Civilian interest in hybrid electric off-roaders comes from the “stylish green” segment of the market, according to Chrysler. (No, not “Soylent Green” — that was a Charlton Heston movie.) Stylish green refers to those extremely environmentally oriented consumers who appreciate high technology and innovation and also enjoy performance and style.

These consumers will embrace the stylish green concept and the ability to drive in near-silence, enjoying the peaceful wilderness, predicted Mark Williams, editor-in-chief of Truck Trend magazine.

“It is absolutely brilliant,” he said. “Jeep should exploit that for all it's worth. To connect with the quiet of nature is exactly the right way to go.”

Jeep’s Renegade concept, shown for the first time at this year’s Detroit show, examines the possibility of the company making the logical step into dune buggy-style vehicles — small, open vehicles with fat tires pushed to the far corners. The little Jeep features 268-horsepower electric motors on both the front and rear axles that allow four wheel-drive. These motors draw their power from a lithium-ion battery pack that provides a range of 40 miles.

Quantum The hybrid electric ‘Aggressor’ will allow soldiers to sneak around quietly.

The Renegade also has a 115 horsepower, 1.5-liter three-cylinder clean diesel engine for added power when needed, giving the vehicle a total range of 400 miles. The diesel-electric energy consumption is equivalent to 110 mpg, according to the company.

Lest traditionalists worry, yes, the Renegade still has the requisite hardware for putting the power to the ground in iffy conditions, with a low-range transfer case which lets off-roaders creep along at slow speeds and locking differentials which limit wheelspin.

Electric power is perfectly suited for off-roaders, according to Doug Quigly, executive engineer for Jeep’s environmentally responsible vehicles.

“It’s perfect for rock crawling, hill climbing and hill descent,” he said. In a normal internal combustion engine you have engine braking (which is when you slow down by lifting off the gas pedal), but “in an electric vehicle you do the same thing by putting power back in the battery the whole way down the hill.”

Today’s concept vehicles include internal combustion engine-powered generators because battery technology is insufficient to provide the needed range. But once off-roaders can be purely electric they will be much simpler and, in theory, more durable. Quigly notes that an electric vehicle has far fewer moving parts than one with an internal combustion engine, giving you “toughness and ease of maintenance.”

Also shown in Detroit, Land Rover’s LRX concept vehicle looks much more like today’s crop of compact sport utility vehicles but with a racy sloping roofline and a hybrid diesel-electric drivetrain meant to sip fuel. But that energy-saving mission doesn’t compromise the LRX’s Land Rover-grade off-road capabilities, the company promises.

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