Subaru Stella Reviews

The Subaru Stella is one of the new breed of plug-in electric cars that will be commonplace in the world's major cities within a decade, although it is currently an outright oddity.It is much smaller than a regular Australian city car, only runs for 80 kilometres between re-charges, and would probably cost more than $100,000 - much of the money needed for its high-tech lithium-ion battery pack - if you could actually buy one.But the Stella is not for sale and is only in Australia as the Subaru star at the Melbourne Motor Show which opens on Friday.Like the similarly tiny Mitsubishi MiEV, the Stella is being used as a development tool and to raise public awareness of the electric cars which will take up the motoring slack as the world's oil begins to run out."We will build 100 cars from August. Subaru is building its base as the world's top electric car company," says the head of the plug-in Stella program, Takashi Suzuki."Technically, we can get the top position. It's total technology that gives us the confidence."Subaru has been partnered with NEC on battery technology for more than five years and is also working hard on the charging technology that will entice people to switch to electric cars. The Stella gets a fast- charge top-up in 15 minutes, although a standard fill from a household socket takes four hours.It uses eight individual battery packs hidden under the front and rear seats, which power a 15kW-hour electric motor which produces 150 Newton-metres of torque. There is no gearbox and the sparky Stella hits 100km/h when its electric motor is turning at its maximum of 6000 revs."The performance is the same as a two-litre gasoline engine," Suzuki says.DrivingSuzuki’s estimation of performance seems right as I give the electric Stella a brief sprint around a go-kart track in inner Melbourne. The original plan was for a proper road drive, but that was before the Department of Transport and Road Safety in Canberra decided that only Subaru people would be allowed to drive the car on public roads.The Stella pulls away nicely, feels tight for a Japanese tiddler, and I can feel the regenerative braking topping the batteries as the engine switches to a generator every time I lift off the accelerator.The air-con still works well enough - one of many systems that run off a regular 12-volt slave battery - but the Japanese satnav cannot decide how Melbourne fits into its memory mapping of Tokyo.Then we set off into the city with a Subaru man at the wheel and, despite the breakthrough technology and some giant signs down the sides, no-one looks twice at the Stella.It is still quiet, although very cramped in the back seat, and flows easily with the traffic. It seems to stop well enough but there is - as you expect in an electric car - no noise to warn pedestrians and a louder horn would be a good idea. The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

Subaru has just joined Mitsubishi and Smart in the push to put effective, affordable plug-in electric cars on Australian roads.It is using its stumpy Stella city car as the teaser, with preview drives and a high-profile appearance at the Melbourne Motor Show so people will know it is serious about effective battery-powered green cars.Mitsubishi and Smart are pushing hard to have their cars on sale in 2010 but Subaru is taking things slower and there is no firm timetable yet for the Stella, or the plug-in cars to follow it."It's very much a long-term project. Subaru will have an electric car on sale in Japan this year but it won't come here in the short to medium term," says the managing director of Subaru Australia, Nick Senior."It's a domestic program for Subaru at this stage. They are telling is it is very, very low volume to start."Even so, Subaru Australia wants people to know it has the technology to compete with the plug-in leaders and that the Stella - even thought it looks like a tiny box with a battery - is a genuine runner."It's an electric car. It's the future," says Senior."We are going to be one of the first companies in the world with an electric car on sale. We have brought the car here to show what is possible. There are challenges involved, but it's here and it's driveable."Subaru planned a huge test drive program but was reigned-in by the Department of Transport and Road Safety, which ruled the single Stella could not be driven on public roads. Instead, the first drives in Australia were restricted to a go-kart track in Melbourne.Senior says Subaru is already working on a business plan but is struggling to make the numbers work, at least for the Stella."We wouldn't even consider it at this stage. The cost would be prohibitive," he says."One of the biggest issues in the short term with these cars is that they are going to be expensive."But he believes Subaru, which is working on exclusive battery technology, is pushing ahead quickly on plug-in technology."We need longer travel times and shorter charge times. This does only 80 kilometres between recharges."Senior is only admitting to long-term goals with the Stella but believes it will lead to serious Subaru electric cars."Basically, if you turn off your fridge in the kitchen you can run the Stella," he says."But I wouldn't expect to see anything serious on sale before the middle of the next decade. There is a lot to be done to make it viable, starting with the charging infrastructure as well."But the industry is proud of meeting the challenges over the past 10 years on a range of fronts and it is responsive and aware of all the electric car issues. We'll get there."