How Subaru will differentiate the Solterra from the Toyota bZ4X: Incoming electric hero to be more closely aligned with Forester, XV and Outback

Subaru and Toyota have collaborated successfully in the past with the GR86 and BRZ sports car pair, and this melding of brands is set to continue for the incoming Solterra and bZ4X electric mid-size SUVs.

The two cars share a platform, drivetrain technology, and much of their exteriors and interiors, so how does Subaru hope to differentiate its product from what will surely be a blockbuster in the Toyota bZ4X? Will the two be more than just a badge swap?

Speaking to CarsGuide at a preview event for the Solterra, the brand’s local managing director, Blair Read explained the challenge the brand faces in this department.

“How does everything people have loved about Subaru over the years translate to this car?” he said. “It needs to be positioned in such a way that it can’t be different from an XV, or an Outback, or a Forester. We need to be able to tell customers everything that you can do in those cars, you can do in this.

“Being all-wheel drive for example, that’s core to Subaru’s DNA. We haven’t finalised spec yet, but let’s just say we have to stay true to the brand.”

A front-wheel-drive version of the Solterra exists overseas but given the brand’s focus on all-wheel-drive tech in Australia, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it differentiate itself from the bZ4X by being exclusively available with AWD when it arrives here.

Part of the Subaru promise is expressed in the different bodywork, which has extended and exaggerated plastic guards over its front and rear wheelarches, even cladding the whole way around to the front.

“It can’t just be an electric car; it has to have the kind of capability our customers expect, too. The car we have testing here is more for us to understand what our loyal customer base might want from what’s available to us globally, and for them, what best represents Subaru.” Mr Read said.

The demo car shown to media was a left-hand drive pre-production version imported from Europe and was said to be an upper-mid grade in terms of its specification. It has a large multimedia screen, leather trimmed seats and steering wheel, 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, and heated seats front and rear, as well as a panoramic sunroof. Interesting elements inside include the digital cluster and carpet-like trim which runs across the dash.

Value could be a differentiating point, too, with initial overseas price figures pointing to the Subaru being the more affordable of the pair, a trend which Subaru banks on for its existing line-up of keenly priced combustion SUVs in Australia.

In Japan for example, the all-wheel-drive Solterra lands in at under the equivalent of AU$70,000 and while prices won’t be a simple straight conversion for our market it is notable for being less than its bZ4X equivalent, and a decent margin under current prices for the high-spec all-wheel drive Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

The all-wheel-drive version of the Solterra produces 160kW from two 80kW electric motors on each axle, and on the Japanese standard is rated to travel 460km between charges. Unlike the Hyundai and Kia pair which use an 800-volt battery system to enable ultra-rapid charging, the Solterra and bZ4X have a 355-volt architecture, topping charging out at 150kW.

So, is the car more Toyota or more Subaru? Each brand claims the new electric platform the cars share is part of their own development process, with Toyota branding the platform a TNGA one, but Subaru branding it a development from the Subaru Global Platform (SGP) on which its current combustion range sits. Mr Read said the truth is the car is more of a collaboration than it is weighted towards one brand.

“The platform takes learnings from both,” he explained. “A lot of the electric components come from Toyota because of their lead in that space, but the motors are then handed over to Subaru’s engineers for that fine tuning on the all-wheel drive. There’s learnings from SGP in the frame, too.

“Executives from each brand are so passionate about these cars but for such different reasons, and I think that will be expressed in the final product. Take 86 and BRZ for example, there are some similarities for sure, but customers are passionate about the reason they chose one or the other.

“The slogan which exists between the brands for these projects is 'Make better cars together'. That's the ethos they work under and the only winner out of that can be the consumer.”

Looking to the future, Subaru will continue to differentiate the Solterra by eventually taking its production in-house, rather than have it built on the same line as the bZ4X, which is what will happen for the initial wave of cars.

The Solterra is set to arrive in Australia in 2023 and we expect to learn more about its configuration for our market later this year.