Subaru has done it again. Engineers of the Japanese all-wheel drive brand once again teamed up with their colleagues at Toyota to create a new model. The result is the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X duo. The two electric SUVs are their brand’s first examples of electromobility, are based on the same technology platform and look incredibly similar down to the last detail. The big one (Toyota) was determined, did the little one (Subaru) have to participate?
“No,” says David Dello Stritto, Managing Director of Subaru’s Belgium European headquarters in Brussels, “We shared the development work 50:50.” Toyota contributed to the architecture with the battery and electric motor in the underbody with a net capacity of 71.4 kilowatt-hours (kWh). After all, while Dello Stritto says Subaru has only used mild hybrid systems so far, the brand has decades of experience with hybrid drives. But the body, assistance systems, chassis and vote are a joint effort.
different than expected
With incredible differences, not just in the front and rear design. Technically, Toyota relies on front-wheel drive and adaptive all-wheel drive. But Subaru continues with its first Stromer with permanent all-wheel drive with variable power distribution. It’s not mechanical as usual, it has a 109 hp (80 kW) electric motor on each axle. The chassis is sportier, an off-road assist keeps the uphill and downhill speed constant, and where in the Toyota there is only one recovery mode, the brake energy recovery in the Solterra can be controlled in three stages using the steering wheel paddles – very practical.
The interior design is completely innovative: the steering column, together with the speedometer and small monitor for range, can be adjusted to suit, as in some super sports cars. Below the high center console is a storage compartment for full handbags, and at the top is the rotary knob to select the direction of travel. The top-mounted central touchscreen displays infotainment and navigation. Subaru’s complete assistance package, including terrain assistants, multi-directional cameras for off-road driving, and cross-traffic alert as standard on board; 20-inch wheels and a ten-speaker audio system are only available in the top configuration.
Both seem to be in the cost range: At base, the Solterra comes in at 465 kilometers, on higher rig only 416 kilometers – up to 100 less than Toyota’s bZ4X. “Permanent all-wheel drive requires more electricity, but our customers agree with it in favor of the 4×4,” Dello Stritto said. Overall, the Solterra is designed for the average Subaru buyer – and it has requirements so different from a Toyota customer that Dello Stritto is convinced the two models are unlikely to grab customers.
New off-road driving experience
Electric drive off-road? You can do this at a test site near Madrid. After two laps on the gravel track, you’re hooked – if Solterra pushes out of the corner, you can get back on track with minimal pedal pressure thanks to controlled driving. All wheel drive. With an internal combustion engine, you need high revs on muddy slopes for traction control to work – and then suddenly the car starts to move. In Solterra, the e-motors are so precisely controlled that they start to creep at the first engine revs – a completely new off-road feel. On asphalt, the Subaru rolls much more firmly than the Toyota, but it also rolls a little more nervously.
In theory, Subaru states a consumption of about 16 kWh/100 km; we were just over 19 kWh in the entire test drive. If the battery is empty, it can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 32 minutes with a 150 kilowatt (kW) charging capacity in the direct current fast charger. However, the five-seater in the home AC wall box only manages seven kilowatts and needs almost 13 hours from completely empty to fully full – significantly more than some competitors.
Deliveries will start at 55,900 francs this year, 6,500 francs more than Toyota’s sister model. But if you want permanent all-wheel drive, that won’t deter you.