Taiga Orca Is A Sporty 180 HP Electric Watercraft
When Canadian watercraft makers Taiga launched the Orca electric watercraft last summer, it packed a 180 HP electric motor, a 65 MPH top speed, and plenty of hoon-tastic torque to help PWC enthusiasts get into all sorts of trouble. The problem was, it also carried a hefty $24,000 price tag — and that was before destination, setup, registration, and taxes pushed the out-the-door price closer to $30K than $25K! Recently though, Taiga launched a revised Orca Sport edition, with a plastic body, room for two, and a much more reasonable $15,000 price tag.
At $30,000, the Taiga Orca is competing with a new family car. At half that price? It’s firmly in “toy” territory, and that means: it’s on.
The Orca is heavy, compared to some of the other PWC out there — and that’s largely down to its 23 kWh battery. Still, 580 lbs. isn’t exactly bad in this world (it slots in between a Yamaha EX and a Sea Doo GT90), and the Orca Sport shaves a little bit off that weight by virtue of its smaller battery. In either case, the Taiga electric watercraft offer about 2 hours of use per charge during “typical driving conditions.”
Whether or not my idea of blasting across a lake WFO all the time counts as typical is another matter, of course, but two hours is a long, long time on a PWC of any kind, so I think describing its use range as “adequate” is more than fair here. If you’re the worrying type, however, you’ll certainly appreciate the Taiga’s high resolution, digital dashboard and the abundance of available information to display. Those include charge levels, GPS speed and real-time mapping, LTE/Wi-Fi firmware updates, Bluetooth connectivity, user configurable power/acceleration/speed modes, and an adjustable brake and reverse system to ensure that your electric watercraft experience matches your expectations exactly.
Or, as exactly as you can figure out how to set them to, anyway.
Summer’s wrapping up now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great time to get your order in for a Taiga Orca Sport now, because the first of these electric watercraft — available in a choice of three colors — are set to reach owners by early summer 2021.
What do you guys think? Does Taiga’s electrified PWC do enough to get you thinking about whether or not you can fit that monthly payment into your budget (the best way to teach your kids to appreciate nature is, after all, to get out into it), or is it still a bit of an ask, even at “just” $15,000? Scroll on down to the comments section and let us know what you think.
Taiga Orca | Personal Electric Watercraft
Sources | Images: Taiga Motors, via Motorpasión.
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