The Most Badass Off-Road EV Comes From Scotland

The Munro Mk 1 is an all-electric off-road vehicle, designed and built in Glasgow, Scotland, and built to handle a tough life as a working vehicle on farms, in quarries or anywhere where strong off-road credentials or serious pulling power are required.

Launched this week at an event in Edinburgh, the Mk 1 is open for preorders now with a first run of 50 vehicles due to be delivered in 2023 and with a starting price of £49,995 (around $61,100). 

This EV Is Built for a Tough Life Off Road

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In person it's an imposing beast, with huge off-road wheels, gigantic visible suspension springs and an angular body that wouldn't look out of place in a military convoy. Yet I like it, and while I might struggle to park it on my driveway at home, it's a vehicle I'd sorely love to fill up with my photography gear and head out with on a photo expedition across the Scottish hills. 

The interior is very spartan, with little in the way of plush comfort and a dash with a small scattering of physical dials and switches to control heating. There are two small displays for the driver and for the infotainment, and there are at least a pair of JBL speakers buried in the doors for a soundtrack to your day's work. 

It's a far cry from the stylish, comfortable and futuristic interiors of EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Tesla Model X. And that's exactly the point. This is a car built for work. 

For people in mud-caked work boots to jump into and drive away, not worrying about ruining any footwell carpets or leaving mud splatters across the doors. It's designed simply, and it's designed to be easily repairable should it receive any damage. The headlights, for example, can be replaced individually rather than having to replace an entire cluster, as is the case with most vehicles. 

"The lifetime of a typical diesel pickup in a mine is around three to five years," said Munro CEO Russ Peterson. "Ours is designed to last decades."

One of the most common things to break on an off-road vehicle, Peterson said, is the windscreen. "On a Rivian, a windscreen is $1,800. On ours it's £135" -- about $165 -- "and that's with heating. It's flat glass and it's easy to make."

The Mk 1 will allow companies to decarbonize their fleets in a really cost-effective way, he said. 

The electric powertrain is certainly the most high-tech element of the vehicle, with four motors powering the wheels individually, with an 82.4kWh battery under the hood. Munro says the top-spec model will hit 0-62 in just 4.9 seconds, has a towing payload of 1,000 kg and a total range of 186 miles. And while 186 miles isn't rivaling the 300 or more miles of range offered by many of today's consumer EVs, Munro argues it is more than enough for its use as a work vehicle. It does support 100kW fast charging to get that range back quickly, however. 

The first 50 units are due to be delivered in 2023 before the company opens a bespoke manufacturing center in central Scotland -- the first vehicle manufacturing to take place in the country in more than 40 years and promising to bring over 300 jobs to the area. Munro aims to be able to produce 2,500 vehicles per year by 2027.