2023 Subaru Solterra Official Thread

Summary: EPA is officially 222 miles range for the Limited and Touring trims, 228 for the base model.

All 6500 Solterras targeted for the North American market for the 2022 year have been spoken for.

I thought they limited the max speed to 99mph (159 kph) but these specs say the max speed is 110mph (177 kph).

No glovebox which is odd.

6.5 sec 0 to 60 mph which is a bit surprising. I was expecting somewhere around the 8 second mark.

Max 100kW DC charging speed.


iPad ? Pro

 

Seems odd, until you discover what is there instead.

For those paying close attention, they'll notice Toyota keeps saying their new system will only be "minimally impact by winter". Think about how incredibly wasteful it is to warm cabin air. Even with a more efficient approach, using a heat-pump, you'll still consuming a big portion of battery poorly. Rather than targeting your body specifically, energy is lost by spreading elsewhere.

If you do some research, you'll find that Toyota is introducing radiant heating. Upon further digging, you'll ascertain this with an observation of new vents targeting your feet & legs. Warmth targets your body directly, reducing losses significantly... like what a heated-seat does for your bottom & back. It's an infrared heater. Consider how the sun warms your skin. Air that heat energy travels through stays cold in space, despite how warm it feels when it makes direct contact with you. This new system works much the same way.

In other words, Toyota is proving to be quite the opposite of the "laggard" narratives portray. They are proactively addressing BEV shortcomings... before anyone comes knocking for them. Think about how little attention the rest of the industry has put on winter efficiency. Even enthusiasts state you must have excess capacity for winter to deal with heating losses. Why not just prevent those losses the first place?

 

This review says 1-60 in 8.4sec and top speed 99mph. I am still waiting for the price. It is estimated to be starting at $42K for the base trim. This means Toyota's non-AWD base trim may be below $40K.

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/subaru/2023-subaru-solterra-ar193651.html

 

Seems like they simply repeated their November SOLTERRA introduction numbers. These are definitely the Japanese specs so they might be using different ECUs for the North American market. The other reviews actually had timed results, which is why I was surprised. Personally I believe they are still tweaking.


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The flipside is that you paying for that warranty through extra battery you can't access. The majority of Tesla's that have been tracked wouldn't file a claim under Toyota's warranty, and they likely have the smallest buffer in the industry. Perhaps it is better to say the unusable buffer is the price we pay for idiot proofing.

Looks like the efficiency should be in the Model Y range.

 

So if we go by the combined MPGe ratings from the Car and Driver site and your numbers of charging:
(I'll use the conservative numbers for the Limited and Touring trims, back of the envelope numbers equals)

102 MPGe approximately equals 3.03 miles/kWh (20.5 kWh/100 km)
useable range is roughly about 180 miles or about 81% of total range.

 

Automakers can set whatever upper-limit they want. It is at their discretion how much longevity they want to trade for range.

btw, that AC charge rate of "6.6 kW" is a generalized rating for us here in the United States. Commercial stations delivering 32 amps at 208 volts (3-phase) equates to that value. You try the same at home with 32 amps at 240 volts (single-phase), you end up pulling 7.2 kW despite the 6.6 kW rating. It's exactly the variance we have seen with RAV4 Prime. So, estimated times without context don't tell us much.

I suspect Toyota is playing the longevity card, not pushing the buffer. It's not like I haven't seen that firsthand. Our 2017 Prime have never accepted as much electricity as later years. The advantage now is being connected for OTA updates allows Solterra/bZ4X to be monitored & adjusted based on that particular vehicle's status, not some generic setting for the entire model rollout.

Allowing us to exceed the buffer for long trips as other automakers do, milking 100% of the pack would achieve range approximations we are now seeing... 72.8 kWh at 3.03 mi/kWh = 220 miles

 

Minor technical correction.

I have a 2019 Tesla Model 3 and have direct experience with fast DC charger density versus traction battery degradation. Although 'head room' is a nice cushion, I prefer improving fast DC charger density. Every manufacturer with a dealer network has a ready resource for 24x7, fast DC charger expansion even if it means blackmailing their dealers.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks for catching that. We have a lot of numbers and letters to pay attention to now. The ones I have been focusing on are LFP and CATL. There was an article yesterday about the Subaru specifically pointing out CATL would be the provider. That was my guess for the AWD models. (It seemed more likely the higher volume FWD would be supplied by Panasonic.) Does CATL produce NMC or NCA cells or are they entirely LFP?

btw, I do have a deposit down on a 4X AWD Limited. It's directly through the dealer. When the pre-order process begins, hopefully that order will match up with my request. Whatever the case, I don't expect it to be quick. Loooooong wait deliveries are just part of the process I have become accustom to.

 

Good luck and best wishes!

Bob Wilson

 

It is entirely possible that Toyota only shared platform design, not battery management.

That would explain why Toyota is able to provide 150 kW charging with a 90% retention expectation and we have not heard the same from Subaru.

 

CATL has a lot of chemistries including sodium ion. Likely for these vehicles would be NMC 811 or LFP. If it was LFP that battery utilization seems low, but then again we won't know the real numbers for awhile.

 

Subaru Solterra has a base MSRP of $44,995 plus a $1,225 destination charge, bringing the total to $46,220. The Limited trim is $48,495 and Touring trim is $51,995. So it’ll qualify for $500 Drive Clean rebate in NYS and the full $7,500 from the Feds. All 6,500 vehicles for the 2022 sales year have already been allocated.

It’s CATL battery can only accept 100 kW. That may be a function of a Toyota designed power unit which limits power in and out.


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Range too short, Only 150 in winter with the cold

 

Too short for who?

That is plenty good for me here, in Minnesota.

 

Here is the link to the Subaru News release. Limited trim with colors other than black or gray, would put it above $50K. The base trim lacks an essential heated wheel. I had hoped for better pricing, but nop... I am canceling my reservation to get my $250 back.

Subaru U.S. Media Center

 

Until you get stuck in a snow storm.

 

45 years living in Minnesota tells me there's nothing of substance behind that fear.

How are you determining what is "enough" for range?