Last month, Toyota unveiled the bZ4X electric crossover, which being developed in collaboration with Subaru can be considered the “twin” of the new Solterra SUV, which marks the Japanese brand’s debut in the production of EV vehicles.
The presentation of the Subaru Solterra is scheduled for next week, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but for now the Japanese manufacturer has unveiled its appearance and has announced some specifications. Many of these they are the same as the Toyota bZ4X and, in general, the two electric vehicles, they differ in some small nuances such as the design of a false radiator grille or the shape of the fog lights.
The wheelbase of 2,850 mm with a total body length of 4,690 mm allows you to combine moderate overhangs with a lot of space inside the passenger compartment, but the placement of the traction battery under the floor of the latter, although it had a positive effect on weight distribution, has increased the unladen weight of the SUV to 2,295 kg in the all-wheel drive version. By the way, Subaru points out that during the passive safety test, special attention was paid to the protection of high-voltage equipment.
Subaru Solterra, two versions are coming
The Subaru Solterra SUV will be offered in both version front-wheel drive with a 150 kW electric motor, and all-wheel drive version with two 80 kW electric motors on each axle. The battery with a capacity of 71.4 kWh has an operating voltage of 355 volts, and supports charging from an AC mains using a 6.6 kW device or from a DC network using a 150 kW device. Of course, in an alliance with Toyota, it was Subaru’s specialists who were responsible for setting up the all-wheel drive system, so Solterra has no less advanced capabilities in this area than its twin with the Toyota logo.
Depending on how much you press on the accelerator, the range of the SUV it can reach 460 km according to the WLTC cycle for the all-wheel drive version, or 530 km for the front-wheel drive. The panoramic glass roof can be replaced with a solar panel to power the onboard equipment and charge the traction battery a little. The new Subaru will go on sale in Japan, USA, Canada, Europe and China by the middle of next year. Pricing and configurations will be announced at a later date.