There have been a slew of off-road inspired all-wheel-drive pure-electric trucks and SUVs revealed over the last couple of years, including the offerings from Rivian, Bollinger, and Tesla — with a couple more waiting in the wings, including the all-new GMC Hummer EV truck.
All have off-road bona fides, but none has been officially trimmed with off-roading kit. That is, until now.
It was announced this week that the forthcoming Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV will include an off-road specific trim, dubbed ‘Force-E.’ Ignore for a second the cliched ‘E’ suffix and the off-road-y Ocean variant is pretty neat.
The Force-E is distinguished from the standard trim Ocean by a factory-upgraded and lifted suspension, auxiliary lights in the lower bumper, front skid plate, roof rack with additional auxiliary lights, and a rear hatch replete with a tool kit and spare power-plug box.
Admittedly, these are sort of plebeian upgrades. The real standout features of the Force-E are in and under the hood.
As you may have already noticed, the full-size spare tire has been mostly recessed into the hood. There, it doesn’t obstruct the view out of the rear hatch, if it were rear-mounted. Nor does it block the forward view because it’s tucked down out of straight-line sight. This mounting location is also preferable to tucking the spare up under the body, where it can become a ground-clearance liability.
We can only assume those rims are faux beadlock.
The real standout feature, however, is hidden underneath the full-size spare. A factory-installed drinking water tank is located the front trunk area — the spout for which is accessible from the front bumper.
Of course, the Ocean can boast such distinctive front-end features because it is electric and has nothing under its hood. Kudos to the Fisker team for finding clever ways to utilize this void.
The Fisker Ocean Force-E is ostensibly marketed as an off-road vehicle, designed for use by search and rescue teams. With 300 horsepower and heaps of torque on tap and a range of up to 300 miles, I don’t see any reason why this rig couldn’t make for an amazing overlanding rig.
The Fisker Ocean will start at $37,499 and is said to be on track to begin production in late 2022. Full-scale production ramping up in the first quarter of 2022, despite COVID-19.
The charging box is there to add emergency juice in a pinch.
