2027 Slate EV Truck Prototype Drive: Aiming HighSlateWe haven't met a single person who has leapt for joy over the fact that the average new-car transaction price is hovering around the $50,000 mark. In fact, the chorus of people crying out for something genuinely affordable to the bottom half of the K-shaped economy continues to grow. Enter Slate, a plucky startup that hopes to break into the market with its ultra-modular electric truck that forgoes nearly every creature comfort to keep its base price well below $30,000. We headed to Rhode Island to take a brief spin in a prototype and see if Slate's got the sauce ahead of its fourth-quarter debut.We've already discussed the Blank Slate's buy-only-what-you-want modularity in depth, so we'll keep it brief here. On its face, it's a fabulous idea: You buy the stripped-out, bare-bones truck for $26,400, then buy the piecemeal upgrades you want, whether at the point of purchase or later on down the road. Most can be installed yourself with time and patience, but trickier things—like the two-row SUV body conversion or one of the many vinyl wraps on offer—can be farmed out to professionals for better results.Sean C. Rice - Car and DriverThe Slate truck we drove was nearly a full-on stripper, with the speaker upgrade for demonstration purposes and little else. There's no getting around the fact that nearly every touch point in the cabin is, well, hard: The plastic's graining is yet to be finalized, but no matter what pattern is stamped into it, there's no cushiony support to be found anywhere but the seats, not even the door's armrests. Our model lacked a center armrest; instead, there was a long, low tray comprising most of the standard interior storage. It's capacious enough for everything in your pockets, though, and a taller center console is an available upgrade. The headliner appears to be made from the same material Hollywood uses for its merkins. Hey, the costs have to come from somewhere.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Slate's powertrain is a simple, humble thing, but that proves fine when dealing with a vehicle that has an estimated curb weight that begins with a 4. A 181-hp electric motor feeds the rear wheels, getting its juice from a 63-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, instead of the 45-kWh one that was announced earlier. Slate's internal estimates keep changing, but as of this writing, the company expects this change alone to up the standard range from 150 miles to a handy 205 miles.SlatePreviously, the company said the truck would charge via its standard NACS port at rates up to 120 kilowatts, but after playing around with the thermal management, that number has dropped to 90 kilowatts. That's not quick, but with a small battery, DC fast-charge times should remain acceptable, and you can always bypass that by plugging in overnight at home. However, with the Slate's price point likely to appeal to renters and other folks who may not have access to home-charging infrastructure, you might see a good number of Slates populating your local Superchargers.Our time behind the wheel was brief, limited to about half an hour on Newport-area roads just as the evening commute started to pick up steam, but that was enough to get a taste of what buyers should expect. Despite being equally light on curb weight and features, Slate didn't strip every inch of civility out of its truck; the doors close without sounding hollow, and the key fob feels better than some from automakers charging twice as much. Pushing the fob into its dedicated dashboard slot starts the car, and shutting the whole thing down is as easy as pulling it back out.Sean C. Rice - Car and DriverThe Blank Slate's 181-hp electric motor provides ample around-town motivation. At no point did we feel lacking for power in on-ramp maneuvers or while darting through traffic. Hell, with an empty bed, you can get the rear wheels to slip if you really lean on it, though it does peter out once you're keeping pace with freeway traffic (top speed is electronically limited to 90 mph). Being shaped like a car from a PlayStation 2 game, the Slate does generate a fair bit of wind noise around the A-pillars and mirrors, and while we didn't find it too distracting, we're intrigued about how that may change when converted into two-row SUV form.AdvertisementAdvertisementOur drive was light on curvy roads, so we couldn't suss out its full handling chops, but the Slate proved formidable enough on the roads around suburban Newport. It didn't feel crashy over bumps, nor was the cabin filled with untoward clamor. This trucklet will get swallowed alive in a sea of three-row leviathans, but its small form factor made parking and city driving an absolute breeze. Our biggest navigational gripe comes from the truck's thick B-pillars, which create a rather sizable blind spot if you're the type to rely more on your neck than the side mirrors.Sean C. Rice - Car and DriverThere's one part of the Blank Slate experience that may cause some consternation, and that's the brake pedal. Like with Rivian, Slate's one-pedal driving is permanently on, even in reverse. It's easy to modulate and provides smooth deceleration, but the potential bugbear lies in the moving pedal, which changes its position based on current braking power. Ostensibly, a system set up like this provides consistent brake pressure for a given rate of decel, but some people—including a few C/D editors—think it feels weird. If you prefer that style, though, you'll dig it here.Overall, we believe Slate's first offering has a lot of promise. By cutting certain corners and offloading certain parts of the car-building experience to the end user, Slate can release a real car with decent figures and an impressively low base price. There's a whole industry's worth of cars out there for folks who can't live without soft-touch materials or heated seats; it won't add too much to your monthly payments to step up to a base Honda Civic or Ford Maverick. But those who long for the days of the austere small car, as well as those who seek to treat their car as a platform for creative expression, will find this small electric truck unique enough to warrant attention.Slate➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029