Subaru’s first electric car is here, a platform Subaru owners have been clamoring for for years. Sorry, it isn’t an Outback. Nope, it’s the Solterra, developed in partnership with Toyota, which will also release essentially the same car in a different skin, called the bZ4X.
Toyota is a twenty-percent stakeholder in Subaru, which benefits Subaru because the costs of being small in the automotive business can be crippling. (I’ve visited Subaru’s HQ in Japan and you’d be astonished how small it is.) Joining with Toyota and its deep knowledge of battery tech used in millions of hybrids, not to mention its buying power, makes sense for a first all-electric car for Subaru. Fortunately for both brands, these forthcoming models will not be identical.
We didn’t learn enough today at the L.A. Auto Show, where the U.S. version of the Solterra was revealed, to predict how the car will drive on dirt. The specs, however, offer some inkling. First, like most EVs, there’s little mechanical exposure beneath the chassis. Ground clearance is 8.3 inches, just a tick less than the 8.7 for the gas-powered Outback, Forester, and Crosstreks that Subaru sells by the truckload. There was no word on other vulnerabilities, specifically fording water, which can drown an internal combustion engine but possibly destroy an EV if its systems aren’t designed for submersion.
Still, the Solterra sits two inches higher off the ground than the bZ4X, and while that Toyota will come both with all wheel drive and front wheel drive, the Subaru will only be sold with the AWD. Both versions will offer X-Mode, which detects wheel slip and adjusts power accordingly. With a pair of 80-kW motors at the front and rear axles, power distribution is monitored constantly, directing torque to whichever wheel has more traction.
Grip Control allows further fine tuning: Paddle shifters on the steering wheel allow virtual downshifting to the continuously variable transmission, increasing drag created by the regenerative braking system. Whether or not this gives you more confidence off road is TBD.
The 184.6-inch Solterra is roughly the length of a 182.1-inch Forester. The five-seater is also about as spacious inside, but with slightly higher knee height for the rear passengers, since the 71.4-kWh battery is sandwiched into the floor (as with all battery electric vehicles). Fast recharge from five percent to eighty percent should take about an hour, according to Toyota. Range? Toyota’s promising about 250 miles from its front-wheel-drive version, but the feds will have the final word on that. Expect those numbers by spring 2022, when both vehicles are available.
Cargo volume of 30.3 cubic feet is about two cubic feet smaller than the Outback, plenty big for two or three folks to haul along camping gear, though once you get to four you’d probably want a cargo box on the roof.
The two brands have made some creative “hacks” that more carmakers could consider matching. While heating or cooling air is always going to drain power and eat into the overall range of an EV, both have heat-pumps, which hels reduce the overall draw of both warming and cooling. Toyota also showed solar panels for the roof of their version, but it’s unknown whether Subaru has this option. Likewise, the bZ4X can be used as a power source for your home, but of course it’s more likely you’ll use it for off-grid power while camping.
Both brands are promising over the air updates, as Tesla and Rivian already do, with the ability to improve safety functions in the future. Both cars have some self-driving measures and cyclist detection even in low light. Ideally, as research into pedestrian detection improves, a few lines of code would get beamed to your car every time it’s linked to your home wifi. Also, Toyota is claiming the battery will retain 90 percent of initial life after a decade.
BZ, by the way, stands for “beyond zero” and is part of a forthcoming wave of EVs from Toyota. While the brand has resisted federal targets for EV sales, they now say they’ll offer 15 dedicated battery electric vehicles, including seven carrying the Beyond Zero label, by 2025. But that’s globally. How many will come to the U.S. hasn’t been revealed.
After our experience with our Subaru Ascent, I’ll be getting the Toyota version in the 2nd or 3rd year of production.
What problems have you had with the ascent?
The only reason I can see this being justified is if your Ascent issues are with the dealership and not the vehicle itself. The Solterra and Toyota version are the same vehicle. The badges and dealer network are the differences.
I’m still very dubious about driving an EV into the backcountry. With a hybrid, I can carry a gas can for emergencies or I can hitch a ride to a gas station to bring back some fuel. But for an EV where you can’t exactly carry home a a few gallons of electricity, what do you do when you’re still ten miles from civilization and you’re out of juice?
honest question: while in the backcountry have you ever had to rely on an emergency gas can or hitch a ride because you ran out of gas? When I was younger, I’d run out of gas around town sometimes, but never, ever way out away from civilization.
Hahaha love this. I’ve only ever run out of gas when near cities because I’m so paranoid about running out of gas when I’m in the “back country”
Yeah, me too. I feel like I’d just make sure I was fully charged before I went into the wilderness, and have a planned exit point and charge level. I don’t think I’ve driven more than 100 miles, tops, out off-road in the middle of nothing. On a gut level, I understand the range anxiety, but logically, I can’t imagine it really being an issue for an adventure car that isn’t like some kind of long-distance expedition rig.
I don’t know about other brands, but Rivians have the ability to charge other Rivians. It’s reasonable to think that tow services might offer remote charging in the not too distant future, especially as trucks like the F-150 Lightning hit the dirt.
As a BEV owner, I can attest that range is an issue. But these are still early days for the technology. Higher-range rigs are coming. Rivian’s charging network should expand rapidly and the new infrastructure law includes $7.5 billion for charging stations.
All that said, yes—driving a BEV in the dirt requires planning and good judgment. But so does driving an ICE.
I am looking forward to how the batteries last, are recycled, and reused. This is the true advantage to EV over fuel as once the stuff needed to make the batteries is out of the ground it is hoped the ground can go back to normal and the stuff can be reused over and over unlike oil. We’ll see. I do love the idea of not having to burn fuel to drive around town and do more than 85% of what I do with a car. I also like the acceleration and power of EVs. Long trips, probably rent, or plan on taking a good book along. I need some time for reading.
I just can’t shake this feeling that I’d still have to replace a head gasket on this thing.
I just can’t shake this feeling that I’d still have to replace a head gasket on this thing. LOL!
Does it have the regular Subaru AWD?
Yep — All Subarus have the symmetrical AWD
Not the BRZ. It’s another one that is also sold under both Toyota and Subaru branding.
True. All REAL Subarus have AWD, not the Subaru-badged Toyota sports coupe.
I’ve made this comment before. New ev’s are not The only solution. Converting older model, well-made vehicles (Honda, Toyota, Subaru , etc.) makes far more sense. Reuse, not replace. The issue will be to get state and the federal governments to subsidize the conversions to make the price affordable for owner’s of these late models cars.
I can’t wait until the day this is plug and play for our Honda Element.
Yes! Element is the perfect EV! Mine is 16 years old a running like a champ.
To me it looks like a RAV4 and the RAV4 is a hybrid with both electric and gas. I’ll take that over an all electric until gas gets to $5 per gallon.
About time Subaru made an eleztric vehicle. I’ve always loved that their interior had two carpets.