Build Your Own
In the world of automotive, there is a very distinct line between bespoke and building your own. Bespoke cars are tailor-made to some degree to fit the customer’s personality, but most of the core ingredients are already there.
There’s a new EV brand coming that is taking bespoke to another level, almost to the degree of building your own car. Slate is destined for its official launch soon, with pre-orders already available.
Slate
From Basic To Kitted Out
Slate’s claim to fame is the allowance of keeping things bare or simple for utilitarian purposes, or on the other end of the product lineup are the personal mobility customers, who are able to take the base Slate models and kit them out with all the creature comforts they want. This, of course, means using the brand’s car configurator embedded on its website.
As always, we begin by rating the configurator itself before we dive into the specific options. In Slate’s case, I have to commend them for coming out with a relatively simple-to-understand configurator.
Given the almost infinite number of options you can add to your specific car, there was a risk of overloading the buyer with information, but the configurator is well organized. My only real issue with it is that some of the options are left on the configurator despite them not being compatible for the body type you actually selected, for me its simple programming, why not just remove the non-compatible options from the list to avoid the clutter.
Slate
Expensive Slate
Moving to the configurator itself, your buying journey begins by choosing the specific body type. You can choose between The Blank Slate (Pickup), Squareback SUV, or Fastback SUV; prices for each are different, starting at $24,950 (Blank Slate), $29,950 (Squareback), $31,950 (Fastback). Since we sought the most expensive model, we selected the Fastback and continued playing with it. The full wrap option already costs $499 and can be complemented by a $1,099 Grit and Grind wrap that looks like a front grille and rear tailgate camo wrap.
The exterior of the Slate is highly customizable; after wrapping it, you can add a collection of decals, with prices ranging from $89 to $589 depending on your selection. You can also customize the shape and design of your Slate’s lighting system; we went for the upgraded front and rear lighting systems, costing $349 and $499, respectively.
If you want to go off-road, you can also equip your car with additional exterior lighting, the most expensive of which is a roof light at $799. The last notable upgrade is the addition of roof racks; a multitude of options are available.
Slate
There’s More
If you thought the exterior was a doozy, the interior options list is the same. Since the Slate is basically a bare vehicle, you have to add most of the interior panels, such as door inserts and armrests. You even have to add speakers to your audio system and a tablet mount that doubles as an infotainment screen.
As you can imagine, all these options must be costly, and you’d be right. A fully kitted-out Slate Fastback SUV costs $46,493, which is $14,543 more than the starting base price. To put it into perspective, the options alone cost more than 50% of the base price of the entry-level Blank Slate. Of course, we really maxed everything out where we could, but we think Slate is on to something, and the configurator is fun and engaging, a worthy look for those who’re interested in a (relatively) affordable but customizable EV.
Slate
