If you’re a regular reader of TheDetroitBureau.com, then you won’t be surprised that Subaru formally unveiled the Subaru Solterra Wednesday at the LA Auto Show.
The Solterra is the company’s first battery-electric vehicle, part of a joint manufacturing agreement between the Japanese automaker and Toyota — which will sell its version as the bZ4X, the bZ standing for “Beyond Zero.”
But its name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue like Solterra, a name created using the Latin words for “Sun” and “Earth.”
The five-passenger, two-row Solterra is rated at 215 horsepower, and 248 pound-feet of torque. It will be sold as an all-wheel-drive model with more than 220 miles of range. Subaru didn’t provide many details about the car’s technical aspects, aside from saying that the Solterra can be recharged to 80% in about an hour.
Power will be funneled to all four wheels using an all-electric version of Subaru’s X-Mode all-wheel-drive system that includes a feature called “Grip Control,” that incorporates hill ascent and descent control.
Standard driver-assist technology includes automatic pre-collision braking, automatic pre-collision throttle management, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitor, lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert, high-beam assist, and safety exit alert. And best of all, the Solterra will be the first Subaru fitted with a 360-degree surround-view camera.
The Solterra uses the automaker’s new e-Subaru Global Platform that will underpin future Subaru EVs, that was co-developed with Toyota. Like many EV platforms, the Solterra uses a skateboard design that places the batteries and motors beneath the floor, but it still provides 8.3 inches of ground clearance.
This lowers the center of gravity and provides additional room for passengers and lifestyle debris. Yet the Solterra also has 30.3 cubic feet of cargo space accessible through a 41.3-inch rear gate opening. There’s also as much as 95.7 cubic feet of passenger space in the Solterra’s 184.6-inch overall length.
The Solterra’s face features LED headlights frame Subaru’s trademark hexagonal grille integrated into the front fascia.
As you might expect, it’s designed with short front and rear overhangs and wheel arches accented with significant amounts of black plastic cladding, an increasingly common design trait. Spoilers at the top and bottom of the rear window and large taillamp lend the car a distinctive appearance.
The company announced the vehicle in May, and it offered an extensive look at it last week in Tokyo.
Expect the Solterra to go on sale in the U.S., Canada, China, Europe and Japan in 2022.
“Skateboard architecture?” Wow.
That term has been in use for years, V. do a search.