Feast your eyes on the new Subaru Solterra - the firm’s first ever all-electric vehicle.
Japanese firm Subaru is no stranger to electrified powertrains. You’ll find self-charging hybrid versions of both the XV crossover and the Forrester SUV.
But, up until now, there was no full-on, fully electric car in the global line-up - and that has all changed with the introduction of the Solterra, which is due to be launched in the middle of 2022.
It’s fair to say the Solterra is carrying a considerable weight of expectation on its shoulders.
Subaru talks about how the Solterra’s mission is to ‘deliver happiness to all’, to ‘face the challenges of global warming and climate change and continue to deliver smiles in the future’ and to also instil a sense of ‘enjoyment and peace of mind’.
No pressure, then…
And this is what you can expect from a car that’ll do battle with the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and the new Tesla Model Y.
First of all, the Solterra comes in two distinct guises - a front wheel drive model and an all-wheel-drive model. The AWD gets more power - 217 PS of it - while the FWD variant gets the larger range, at up to 330 miles between charges.
With the AWD Solterra, that range drops down to around 285 miles.
The car itself enjoys a new platform - a tweaked version of the existing ‘e-Subaru Global Platform’, with a little help from Toyota. And that means the Solterra shares the same underpinnings as the all-electric Toyota bZ4x SUV.
A Subaru spokesperson says:
“In developing SOLTERRA, the brand’s first BEV to be launched globally, Subaru aimed to exceed the various customer expectations for BEVs and make it a practical vehicle so that customers can choose it comfortably and confidently, as the vehicle will be the cornerstone of Subaru’s future BEVs. At the same time, as a Subaru SUV, Subaru aimed to make it a vehicle that existing Subaru customers can feel that it truly is a Subaru.”
Design wise, there’s an eye-catching hexagon grille at the front and ‘dynamic fenders bulging out from the inside’ which ‘show the strength as an SUV’.
The interior is spacious and taut - just like Subaru likes it. Meanwhile, years of 4x4 know-how should mean the AWD version is agile and responsive.
The Subaru spokesperson adds:
“Like the other SUBARU SUV models, SOLTERRA features the X-MODE AWD control system that enhances the sense of security on rough roads. By adding the new Grip Control function, which enables the vehicle to run at a constant speed while stabilizing the vehicle even on rough roads, the capability is further enhanced.”
And because it’s a Subaru, you just know it’ll be ultra safe, though details of those safety systems are yet to be revealed.
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