(upbeat music)
Subaru has just unveiled
their first-ever electric vehicle here
at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show,
this is the 2023 Subaru Solterra,
and if it looks similar to you,
like maybe it's something you've seen before,
like actually here at the L.A. Auto Show,
that's understandable,
because Toyota has a version called the bZ4X
that they've just unveiled a few feet over there
on their own turntable.
Now, Toyota and Subaru have gotten together
to develop this vehicle, which is not new for them,
they actually did this with a sports car,
Subaru has the BRZ, Toyota has the GR 86.
Well, they've done it again with this vehicle,
they've come together and each contributed
their own specialties to create something
that is actually gonna be increasingly popular,
an electric compact crossover.
So, what exactly have they created here?
Well, they've contributed things
like chassis and electronics and interior,
but Subaru's come with its own X-Mode all-wheel drive
and Toyota's contributed things
like its own multimedia system.
Let's have a closer look at the new Subaru Solterra version
to see exactly what Subaru's first electric vehicle
looks like.
First, let's talk about the size.
The thing is about the size of a Subaru Forester,
but smaller than a Subaru Ascent,
and it feels a little bit lower as well,
so it really is perfectly positioned
to be on the higher end of the compact crossover category,
things like a Honda CR-V
or maybe a Toyota RAV4 size as well.
The styling, yeah, it looks almost identical
to the Toyota bZ4X,
but there are a couple of subtle differences.
These panels upfront, they're actually gray plastic
instead of any kind of painted color,
and it actually does have a grille upfront,
it's not a real grille
but it has a Subaru badge in the middle.
Along with the headlights and taillights,
it does present a little bit of a distinctive difference
than the Toyota version.
Under the hood of the new '23 Solterra is, well, nothing.
There's no frunk on the Solterra,
this actually isn't meant to be a storage compartment.
Under the floor of the Solterra, however,
is a 71.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery.
Now, that's powering two motors in the Solterra,
because it gets standard all-wheel drive,
but Toyota bZ4X will have a standard front-wheel drive model
with optional all-wheel drive model.
Now, this is using Subaru's X-Mode
all-wheel-drive technology,
which also includes a kind of off-road cruise control
to help you go up some challenging terrain
a little bit easier.
It's also sitting a little bit higher
than a lot of other EVs, like the Mustang Mach-E,
so it is meant to be a little bit more off-road-ready.
Estimated range for this
is about 220 miles on a full charge.
Now, that's not an official EPA number yet,
that's just Subaru's estimate,
but that does come in a little bit less
than all-wheel-drive competitors
like the Volkswagen ID.4 or the Mustang Mach-E.
Inside the Solterra,
it's actually really kind of unique in here.
The two most obvious features
are this screen in front the instrument cluster.
You don't look through the steering wheel to see it,
you actually look over the steering wheel,
and so it kind of almost doubles
as a heads-up display as well.
One of the things Toyota contributed to this party
is the multimedia system.
This is Toyota's new multimedia system,
it uses a 12.3-inch screen
and things like cloud-based navigation.
You can also set up
all kinds of personalized profiles on it as well.
The interior controls include things like capacitive touch,
climate control buttons, but you also do have a good number
of actual hard buttons and controls as well,
which we like to see.
You have a rotary dial here for your gear selector,
and overall, the interior really does look smart and modern
and fresh.
There's also a surprising amount of room
inside the Solterra,
it's a fairly large vehicle for its outside dimensions.
I can sit behind myself
where I would normally position the front seat,
and there's plenty of legroom and kneeroom.
There's still a few things that we don't know
about the new '23 Solterra,
we don't know exactly how fast it takes to charge
on a DC fast charger,
we don't know exactly how much it's going to cost,
we expect around $40,000,
but we also don't know how it drives.
We're gonna learn that next year when it goes on sale
in early 2022, and when we do have that drive,
you'll see it here on Cars.com.