Summary
- The Toyota Stout compact electric pickup truck is necessary due to a shortage of compact pickup trucks with good fuel economy and performance.
- The market for compact electric pickup trucks has great potential, as seen with the success of releases like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.
- Toyota needs the Stout EV to expand its electric vehicle lineup, and it has the potential to double as a work truck with its reliable and durable features.
First released in 1964, the Toyota Stout has come a long way since then. Not too long ago, Toyota announced that the Stout nameplate would be revived after it was discontinued in 1989, and it will have an electric/hybrid version. Compact trucks were quite popular around the time when the Stout was released, but in due course of time, the interest in compact-sized trucks came down and that interest was directed towards bigger trucks. But in 2021, Ford revived an old nameplate, the 2022 Ford Maverick which was quite the release, and Hyundai followed suit 2022 Santa Cruz.
If you compare the two, the Ford Maverick was much more well-received than the Santa Cruz. Toyota is jumping on the bandwagon too by getting ready to revive the Stout nameplate with a ton of improvements in terms of performance and design. Stout is one of the compact trucks that popularized trucks in general. Of course, there are quite a lot of other options available as well, and it isn’t completely necessary to wait until 2025 to get your hands on the Stout, but here are 10 reasons why the Stout Compact Pickup Truck is necessary.
1 Dearth Of Compact Electric Pickup Trucks
To be fair, there is quite a shortage of compact pickup trucks in the world right now. This wasn’t the case quite a few years ago, but that changed due to the fact that compact pickup trucks were required to have a fuel economy similar to that of small cars, but that wasn’t the case. Typically, with comparatively smaller vehicles you expect better fuel economy, and because compact pickup truck, for the most bit, fell short in that aspect.
As a result of that they were pretty much discontinued, but with the dawn of electric vehicles, this narrative can be turned 180 degrees with great fuel economy numbers which happens to be a given when electric cars come into the picture. Electric cars have been gaining traction for the last five years, and there is no compact truck apart from Alpha Wolf or the Canoo, and it is the perfect time for Toyota to revive the Stout compact pickup truck nameplate.
2 A Ton Of Potential In The Compact Electric Pickup Truck Segment
A follow-up to the previous point, it’s a no-brainer. Given the fact that there’s a dearth of compact electric pickup trucks, there is a ton of potential in this line-up. For instance, take a look at the release of the Ford Maverick as well as the release of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, both of these gasoline-powered pickup trucks did very well.
Of course, one of the reasons why these compact pickup trucks gained popularity is because of improved features and fuel economy, and with an electric compact pickup truck, we know the fuel economy numbers are going to be off-the-charts, and Toyota is looking bank on that with their upcoming revival of the Stout nameplate.
3 A Reasonably Priced Electric Pickup Truck In The Market
To be fair, the price for Toyota RAV4 compact truck starts at $32,575 (destination included) which is quite reasonable, but the price for the Alpha Wolf compact pickup truck starts at around $36,000 (destination included). But the Hyundai Santa Cruz, on the other hand, comes with a starting price of $27,985 and the Ford Maverick’s base trim comes with a starting price of $24,995 (destination included).
One of the reasons why the Santa Cruz couldn’t garner enough sales was possibly because of its price which was a bit higher than what Maverick costs. You can expect the 2025 Toyota Stout to compete with the Ford Maverick in terms of pricing, so the starting price for it could start from an estimated $25,000 or maybe even lower and even if it does start at around $30,000, it would take over the market by storm.
4 Toyota Stout Electrified Can Help Test Uncharted Territories
The electrified Stout can act as the ideal candidate to test out new waters for Toyota. In Toyota’s defense, yes they do have a couple of electric cars out there, but as far as compact electric trucks go, they have none.
Taking that factor into consideration, the electrified Stout will serve as the perfect test candidate for Toyota to understand the current electric vehicle market, and the information from the same can be used to improve the upcoming all-electric Toyota Tacoma, Tundra EV, as well as other EVs lined up by Toyota for release.
5 A Compact Truck With Good Towing and Payload Capacities
Towing and payload capacity is becoming quite the factor in compact trucks, especially given the fact that Ford Maverick, at its best can tow up to 4,000 pounds and has a payload capacity of 1,500 pounds. Besides that, the 2023 Electric Canoo pickup truck can tow up to 7,700 pounds which is extremely impressive for a pickup truck. Keeping those figures in mind, if the Toyota Stout does feature the uber-powerful engine, its payload, and towing capacity could not only rival that of the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz but can also outdo it quite easily.
To give a fair idea, the 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz comes with a payload capacity of 5,000 pounds and 1,748 pounds of payload capacity, if equipped with the right engine and front/ rear axles, the Toyota Stout should be able to tow anywhere between 5000 and 6000 pounds, making it a compact electric truck with one of the best towing and payload capacities.
6 Toyota Needs This As It Has Only One EV So Far
To be fair, Toyota does have quite a lot of hybrid cars but as far as an all-electric car goes, they have only a couple of them which are the Toyota bZ4X and the other one is the all-electric RAV4. But only the Toyota bZ4X is available at Toyota dealerships throughout the United States of America.
With the bZ4X, depending on the model you pick, the bZ4X could come with either a 63.4-kWh or a 65.5-kWh battery, which is good for anywhere between 250 miles or 228 miles per charge respectively. But with the introduction of the electrified Stout, Toyota will have more electric cars to its name, and we can also expect the electrified Stout to come with improved specs and range.
7 The Stout Electric Compact Truck Could Also Double Up As A Work Truck
Among the many automakers in the world, Toyota is one of the few car manufacturers who build the most durable and reliable cars and have been doing so for quite a long time. To further add to it, Toyota does not have any intention of moving away from that, and the very same is quite evident from their recent release, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma.
This means that regardless of anything every Toyota makes is extremely reliable and durable. When you consider this factor, it makes sense when we say, the electrified Stout can be your work companion as well. So if you’re looking for a work truck, but do not wish to spend on a full-sized one, then the Stout Electric can come to your rescue.
8 A Stout EV TRD Pro Off-road Trim Would Disrupt The Market
Remember, nothing is confirmed as yet. But there is a very high chance that the all-new electric Toyota Stout will feature a TRD off-roading package which would amazing to be fair. To understand what the TRD package has to offer, to begin with, the TRD package offers upgraded suspensions, much more powerful drive trains, and features to make off-roading not only easy but enjoyable as well. Here are a few of the off-roading features it could come with:
- Electronic rear-locking differential
- Alloy wheels
- TRD Pro skid plates
- Elevated front and rear suspension
It could also feature Toyota’s Crawl Control, a feature that makes driving easy on rugged terrains. So, similar to Toyota’s Maverick Tremor, the Stout may have its own TRD off-road variant in the line-up.
9 Toyota's Solid-state Batteries In A Pickup Truck
Toyota’s solid-state batteries are here to revolutionize the way batteries work in an electric truck. Solid-state batteries are high-density batteries that are capable of retaining more power and in comparison are much quicker to charge. To further add to it, Toyota’s solid-state batteries are much safer than the standard lithium-ion batteries due to the fact that the risk of batteries catching on fire is eliminated, and furthermore, they are capable of remaining stable even when they’re punctured, and also protects the EV from fires due to overheating.
In addition to that, solid-state batteries can offer up to 745 miles per charge, and if used in the Stout EV, it can go up to 300 miles on a charge even while towing to its full capacity.
10 The Stout EV Opens Up The Possibility Of A Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Iteration
The release of the upcoming Stout EV could open the possibility that you could get a FCEV version of the Stout. Toyota has been working on using hydrogen fuel-cells to power their EVs and recently made a statement that they might start the production of hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrains soon. Besides that, the Stout could also be the perfect candidate to be a test bed for the same.
FCEV generates electricity by using fuel cells powered by hydrogen, instead of using the battery as its only source of power. If this works out, it would, without a doubt, be a game-changer.