Electric vehicles (EV’s) are making a lot of noise in many different industries. The idea of a high performance electric vehicle raises multiple eyes and questions about how it can all work and if they are going to be sustainable to the consumer. Well the company Taiga Motors is squashing all of those beefs and making it’s way into the off road vehicle market.
Starting with a jet ski (PWC) and now making their way onto snowmobiles. Taiga has created a custom line of high performance all electric snowmobiles. And these aren’t just aren’t electric snowmobiles made from parts that you can buy off the shelf. These are all custom design work, designed by Taiga’s engineers with a huge passion for the sport themselves. They have a passion to change the game of powersports and providing high efficient, clean and quiet machines. Lets dive deeper into the electric snowmobiles they are offering.
Nomad
First lets start with the Nomad. The Nomad is Taiga’s version of a utility sled. This changes the game of utility sleds in my opinion. Usually when you see utility sleds, they are kind of boring and un stylistic, but the Nomad is a good looking machine. It was created to hauling loads, getting around comfortably and just being an absolute workhorse. From cruising down the trail and banking around corners at ease, to handling the roughest terrain, this sled will do almost anything you need it to.
Design
Like I said before, the Nomad is a slick looking snowmobile. It has a more aggressive look to it than that of a normal utility sled. In order for you to do your towing you need a hitch, which is built in. They come in a 2-up, meaning it has 2 seats for 2 riders. It also has a cargo rack behind the seat, and above the hitch to store anything on the actual sled. With the 154 track, you will have no problem going anywhere in this thing
Performance
The performance on this isn’t like your typical utility snowmobile. The Nomad has 2 different packages, the standard and the performance. The standard package has a 90HP motor in it and the performance has 120HP. Throttle response on these things are what are surprising everyone in the industry. As soon has you even touch the throttle, you’re moving. It has less than 1ms throttle response. It gets up and goes. As far as towing, the standard package can tow up to 770lb’s (350kg) and up to 1125lb’s (510kg) for the performance package.
Charging and Range
The range of these batteries will last around 60 miles on a charge for the standard and around 80 miles on a charge for the performance package. As far as charging goes, there are 2 different levels of charging. This depends on how you are going to charge it, whether it be a wall outlet or charging stations. They also have the quick charge ports for faster charging like they do with electric cars
- Level 1 Charging: 14 hours
- Level 2 Charging: 3.5 hours
- Level 3 Charging: 30 minutes for 80% battery life
| Engine Performance Standard: Up to 90hp Performance: Up to 120hp | Suspension Front Travel: 8.8″ Rear Travel: 11.8″ | Dimensions Length: 128.9″ Height: 61″ Stance: 42.3″ |
| Range Standard: 60 miles (100km) Performance: 83 miles (134km) | Weight Standard: 654lbs (297kg) Performance: 694lbs (315kg) | Charging J1772 CCS Combo 1 (Option) |
| Towing Up to 1,125lbs towing capacity Up to 126lbs payload | Track Options 154″ x 15″ x 2.5″ | Braking Hayes Disk Brake Regenerative Braking System |
Atlas
Atlas is Taiga’s version of a crossover snowmobile. This means it has capabilities of a trail sled and a performance sled. They have been a handful of people that have been able to try this snowmobile out and it has blown everyone expectations out of the water. Take this sled down the trail and bank into corners with no issue and even off trail riding can be manageable. This is definitely a high performance snowmobile. Along with the incredible throttle response, the handling of snowmobile is wicked. Trail or no trail, the fine tuned suspension and performance-focused design will have you with a smile on your face the entire time.
Design
Like the Nomad, the Atlas has a very sleek and aggressive design. This sled is not a 2-up like the Nomad. It is targeted for your traditional trail riders that have a need for an adrenaline rush. Digital output on the dash can put you in either echo, normal, or sport mode. The running boards on the sides look mean, and the blue color that they went with is eye-popping for sure. It has very similar controls as all of the other brands of trail sleds out there, so you shouldn’t have a problem figuring out how to operate and what buttons do what.
Performance
Taiga has quoted this snowmobile to be “the pinnacle of electric performance.” It has fast acceleration with up to a 2.9 second 0-60. I can only imagine full throttling it at take-off and getting the skis off the ground no problem. You can view all of the exact specs in the chart below, but watching some of these ride is very impressive to say the least, especially for an electric snowmobile. Like the Nomad, the Atlas has two different versions, standard and performance.
Charging and Range
The range is very similar on all of the sleds on a charge. For the standard version, it will travel 60 miles and 87 miles for the performance.
- Level 1 Charging: 14 hours
- Level 2 Charging: 3.5 hours
- Level 3 Charging: 30 minutes for 80% battery life
| Engine Performance Standard: Up to 120hp Performance: Up to 180hp | Suspension Front Travel: 9.1″ Rear Travel: 11.8″ | Dimensions Length: 124.3″ Height: 50.3″ Stance: 42.3″ |
| Range Standard: 60 miles (100km) Performance: 87 miles (140km) | Weight Standard: 621lbs (282kg) Performance: 654lbs (297kg) | Charging J1772 CCS Combo 1 (Option) |
| Acceleration Standard: <1ms throttle response 0-60 in 3.7 seconds Performance: <1ms throttle response 0-60 in 2.9 seconds | Track Options 137″ x 15″ x 1.6″ | Braking Hayes Disk Brake Regenerative Braking System |
Ekko
The Ekko is Taiga’s mountain sled. Lightweight and long track, sure to take you to higher elevations. There hasn’t really been much information released on the Ekko, but from the videos that Taiga has released, it sure looks like it will be fun riding this thing.
Design
The rugged design and deep red color of the Ekko is my favorite looking Taiga. It looks very similar to the Atlas except the higher handle bars and longer track. This machine is also lighter since it is a mountain snowmobile. It has to be to be able to cut through all of the fresh powder in a high elevation area. It may have the longest track, but it also has the narrowest stance to climb mountains easier due to the less surface area the track will be taking up. The long paddles on this track just looks like it shovels through fresh powder.
Performance
This snowmobile is mainly performance based. Taiga has designed this thing to have the peak performance of any off-trail snowmobile. High power and light weight to be able to climb sides of mountains and press to bigger heights. 180hp in the performance package and 120hp for the standard. With a powerful torque of 170 Nm from zero up to 7600 RPM and a max speed of 80mph (130km/hr) this snowmobile will take you places.
Charging and Range
The range is very similar on all of the sleds on a charge. For the standard version, it will travel 60 miles and 81 miles for the performance.
- Level 1 Charging: 14 hours
- Level 2 Charging: 3.5 hours
- Level 3 Charging: 30 minutes for 80% battery life
| Engine Performance Standard: Up to 120hp Performance: Up to 180hp | Suspension Front Travel: 8.7″ Rear Travel: 10.6″ | Dimensions Length: 132.3″ Height: 58.2″ Stance: 37.4″ |
| Range Standard: 60 miles (100km) Performance: 81 miles (131km) | Weight Standard: 597lbs (271kg) Performance: 623lbs (283kg) | Charging J1772 CSS1 (Optional) |
| Acceleration Standard: <1ms throttle response 0-60 in 3.7 seconds Performance: <1ms throttle response 0-60 in 2.9 seconds | Track Options 154″ x 15″ x 2.5″ OR 165″ x 15″ x 2.5″ | Braking Hayes Disk Brake Regenerative Braking System |
Pricing & Availability
All of the pricing is the same for all 3 of the models. Each model of the sled has the two packages, standard and performance.
Standard Package Starting Price: 17,490 USD
Performance Package Starting Price: 19,490 USD
As far as availability goes, they haven’t released any of these yet. They are only taking pre-orders as of now. They are expected to ship the first part of pre-orders in the Fall of 2022.
Electric Snowmobiles
Electric snowmobiles are somewhat similar to all of the other sleds around but also very different. The obvious main difference between them is how they actually run. Well on batteries, duh. The similar things between all of these sleds are as follows…
Noise
These things are virtually silent. They make zero noise when you start them up, other than a couple of clicks that you hear engaging the motor. Even on acceleration, its mainly just a humming sound. You hear the track more than you hear the actual motor.
Taiga OS
Taiga has there own operating system you can have on your phone to see everything about your snowmobile, similar to how Tesla does it. It connects directly to your snowmobile. No one really knows much about it, other than the fact that Taiga can push updates to the OS in your machine. I think that’s pretty cool if you ask me.
Very Little Maintenance
Think about it. You don’t have to do the same maintenance on it as you would a gas powered machine. You don’t have to change the oil, change the air filter or spark plugs, check fuel injectors, worry about the CVT, or any of the winterizing aspects. It’s literally a pull in a garage and park sled.
