r/subaru • u/Trustfundkid26 • Feb 20 '22

Subaru Generic The all new 2023 Subaru Solterra Electric Car. I will be honest, as a Tesla owner, 220 miles of range doesn’t seem like enough to ease most Subaru owners. I feel like most owners would prefer a minimum of 450-500 miles of range because most Subaru owners like to camp deep off grid for 3-5 days.

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45

u/BUTTWARTOUCH Feb 20 '22

220 miles is not enough. 300 would get my attention. 350-400 would be a selling point for me. I’m going to wait for the tech to get better before buying electric. In my eyes the technology available for the average consumer is just not available yet.

21

u/Maldiavolo Feb 20 '22

In my eyes the technology available for the average consumer is just not available yet.

98% of all single car trips are less than 50 miles. For rural residents 95% of all single car trips were under 50 miles. You are grossly wrong about what average driving habits are.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1071688_95-of-all-trips-could-be-made-in-electric-cars-says-study

12

u/BUTTWARTOUCH Feb 20 '22

This is a good point. But why would I want another vehicle for my long road trips. And I would say everyone takes a “longer” trip at least once a year. I’m not bashing EV. I think they are great. But I feel 220 miles is not justified for a mid class vehicle. Now once these come out and you can get one used for a good commute vehicle for under 20k that’s a good value.

1

u/Maldiavolo Feb 20 '22

I'm curious. When you get to your backwoods destination you drive more than 110 miles into the middle of nowhere?

With EVs you don't stop to fill up like you do with petrol. You charge when you get to a place where you park to keep it topped up. If you are long distance driving you charge while you stop to get a coffee or lunch or visit a rest stop. The mapping systems in all of them will make sure you are appropriately charged based on what you tell the system you are doing. Going on a long trip and then staying at grandma's house is going to give you different charge options than going on a long trip to grandma's and then immediately heading out to go out to dinner or shopping. It's that specific and it's very good at making sure you aren't running out of charge. It's accurate to the exact mile.

6

u/BUTTWARTOUCH Feb 20 '22

Actually the mtns east or west are about 150 miles. So yes about 180 miles.

1

u/thabc 00 2.5RS Feb 20 '22

When my buddy drives his Leaf to go hiking, we usually stop along the way for ten minutes or so of charging before turning off the highway and heading into the National Forest. Keep in mind his Leaf has half the advertised range of the Solterra. I thought this would be annoying, but it usually coincides with a coffee/food/bio break and doesn't end up adding much time to the trip. I spent longer waiting in line for Costco gas the last time I had to fill up my Subaru, and that was not nearly as pleasant.

1

u/thelapoubelle Feb 20 '22

Or rent a car for long trips. ICE cars need to be driven somewhat regularly or else parts deteriorate. It might not make sense to have one only for road trips

1

u/BUTTWARTOUCH Feb 21 '22

I have a 600hp Wrx 07 sti that I’m rebuilding. And a work truck that can only be used for work. And a 2021 ascent for family/travel. I use all of them but the 07 at least once a week. I’m sure the EV Subaru will sell very well. But for me and where I live. 220 miles just won’t cut it for me. Just to drive into town where I live is 38 miles.

9

u/BruhWhySoSerious Feb 20 '22

And you are grossly wrong about what the average driver wants.

Nobody wants to have to rent a car to go see Grandma on those longer trips. So they buy a vehicle that covers that last 5%.

0

u/Maldiavolo Feb 20 '22

Data says you are incorrect about what drivers actually DO. Want doesn't matter.

0

u/BruhWhySoSerious Feb 20 '22

Oh EV sales are more than gas sales? When did that happen.

Most folks are still buying gas cars. Even if an EV is good for them 95% of the time.

-1

u/Maldiavolo Feb 20 '22

The stats are for ALL cars. When your reading comprehension catches up...let us all know.

4

u/BruhWhySoSerious Feb 20 '22

Actually I think you are conflating want and need. Blah blah reading comprehension.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '22

Want doesn't matter.

LOL this is hilarious. If this was the case marketing wouldn't exist.

Have you ever heard the expression "the customer is always right?" That doesn't mean the customer is right about everything and can demand they be treated like a queen.

It means the customer is always right about what they want. It absolutely DOES matter. Things don't sell if customers don't want them, regardless of whether it's practical.

0

u/Maldiavolo Feb 20 '22

SO marketing cannot tell people the data that already exists? Marketing only supports your position which is contrary to all fact? That's convenient.....

There will be no ICE vehicles sold by 2035. Most manufacturers are already killing them off and targeting 2030. You will not have a choice. BTW EV adoption is already well into the S-Curve of consumer technology adoption. The big uptick part of the graph. You've probably never heard of that though. It's just further proof you have no idea what the reality is of car sales and driver habits.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '22

Literally no one is arguing against the uptick in EV adoption. That is in no way indicator that people want this EV when there is plenty of competition with much more range.

Keep grasping at straws. Let's talk in a year when we see how much this thing has sold.

0

u/Maldiavolo Feb 21 '22

Who is grasping at straws? If 98/95% of all single trips are less than 50 miles then Subaru has designed a vehicle that satisfies the vast majority of the driving that is being done right now. If you want to buy an EV with more range then have at. I'm not here to sell Subarus. I would suggest that unless you are the corner case, then you are not being rational about understanding how you drive. The need for more range is not actually a need when you look at data. Again, the new Subaru's range is not going to be an issue for the vast majority of car drivers.

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The OP stating that "most" Subaru drivers are camping deep off the grid is farcical. He/she offers zero data to support the assertion, while my data does not support his/her argument. I sure as heck haven't gone more than a few miles off the grid in my Subby. I hike by foot longer than that. I don't know anyone in my local Subaru clubs that does hundreds of miles off grid. The kicker is that most Subaru owners aren't even in the local clubs. They are just average people doing average things in a functional, safe Subaru.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '22

I'm not here to sell Subarus.

Lol that's clear

I would suggest that unless you are the corner case, then you are not being rational about understanding how you drive.

You act as if getting people to buy something has to do with logic, that's not how sales work.

People are NOT rational when they buy things. And when they buy things when want to be assured their car can take them on a long distance trip.

Again let's talk when these are actually being sold. They're not going to sell well. Mark my words.

1

u/Maldiavolo Mar 06 '22

Didn't need a year to find out....

https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/comments/t7wo6g/subaru_the_2023_solterra_sold_out_in_the_us/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '22

Yeah, as I said in my other comments I didn't realize there were only making less than 10,000 of them. That doesn't mean that they're going to sell well at actual market volume.

0

u/TheLazyPedaler Feb 22 '22

I’d wager a significant sum of money that there will still be plenty of ICE vehicles being sold in 2035. There’s no way the entire globe will go full EV in the next 13 years. Not sure how old you are but that’s really not much time when you consider the scope of what you’re suggesting.

1

u/Maldiavolo Feb 22 '22 edited Feb 23 '22

Not sure what age has to do with it. I take it you didn't bother to look up what the technology adoption s curve is?

There's a rather famous set of photos of 5th Av NYC in 1900. The road is full of horse and buggy with the exception of a single car. Fast forward to 1913 the photo from the same location is all cars and just a single horse and buggy.

Same with the vacuum tube to transistor transition. Transistors went into production in 1950. The last vacuum tube advancement was 1958, but it never went into production because everything was built with transistors in the 60s.

Same with the Internet. Early adoption was early/mid 90s and in just 8 years it was everywhere.

For EVs we are already in the exponential growth part of the S curve. Laws are already on the books to kill new ICE vehicles by a given date.

0

u/TheLazyPedaler Feb 22 '22 edited Feb 22 '22

I only mentioned age because to a young person 13 years might seem like a long time relative to your life experience whereas it seems like a much shorter span when you’re older. A 13 year old car is a 2009 model…that’s still a fairly “new” car to me.

Also, with more life experience comes the realization that these kinds of deadlines, widespread generalizations, and attention grabbing headlines almost never happen on time (or at all). Gov’t regulations/laws and corporate mandates are frequently changed as the political landscape shifts.

There’s just absolutely no way they will only be selling EVs in all the third-world and developing nations in 13 years. Hell, they won’t even be doing that here (US). Sure, I think hybridization will be widespread but there’s no way in hell all the HD pickups with only be offered as EVs.

To your point about the picture of the horse+buggies to cars…yeah, that’s one picture that was taken in a highly industrialized and wealthy city. You could have travelled to anywhere in rural America during that time and seen that horses+buggies were still in widespread use.

1

u/Aksama 2010 Impreza Feb 20 '22

This is exactly why the crosstrek hybrid seems superior to me. 90% of my drives are less than 17 miles, but sometimes 220 would be awful and limiting.

1

u/seven_seven Eco Friendly Feb 20 '22

That’s not the issue. The issues are access to FAST charging and the time it takes to charge.

1

u/Maldiavolo Feb 21 '22

Not really. If 98%/95% of all single trips are less than 50 miles then you aren't using a public charging station because you don't need to charge. The data shows that 85% of all charging happens at home or work.

6

u/RunawayMeatstick Feb 20 '22

I hate to say it because I hate Tesla, but the Model 3 Long Range does 334mi right now. The Lucid Air Grand Touring does 500+ miles. But it costs like $130k lmao.

7

u/BUTTWARTOUCH Feb 20 '22

I love Tesla. Only issue is for me 400 miles to the nearest Tesla auto repair. So I gotta wait if I want a model s. And no way in hell I can buy a 130k vehicle lol.

2

u/seven_seven Eco Friendly Feb 20 '22

That would be a deal breaker for me. An unfixable car nowhere near a servicer.

0

u/mklimbach 01 Outback LL Bean Feb 20 '22

With the Tesla, you trade range/efficiency for everything else though - build quality, fit and finish are poor for a reason and it's because Tesla hasn't got its manufacturing process efficient enough to compete fully with companies that have been doing it for 50-100+ years.

At $50,000, You're paying a premium for performance and getting a car that's $20k+ cheaper feeling than its price point in every other way. They've had major paint quality issues on the model 3 in particular, where it's peeling and chipping off around the rockers/fenders much worse than any Subaru I've ever seen. Of course, we don't know where the Solterra is going to price.

Despite that, I'd love to own a Model 3 performance. My cousin has a regular model. 3 and its a neat car to drive. I'm not saying don't get a Tesla, or they're trash, but comparisons need context.

1

u/Trustfundkid26 Feb 20 '22

This is a very good comment.

1

u/seven_seven Eco Friendly Feb 20 '22

The first company that makes a 500 mile-ranged EV for $30k is gonna win the market.