Toyota bZ4X (previously included Subaru Solterra)

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Toyota Launches Investigation After bZ4X Gets Only 134 Miles Of Range In Danish Test

The bZ4X has roughly twice as much claimed range as the figures achieved in the test.

https://insideevs.com/news/624778/toyota-investigation-bz4x-range/


Toyota has launched an investigation into a range test of its bZ4X crossover conducted by Danish outlet FDM. The publication's test saw the AWD bZ4X manage just 134 miles of real-world range with 20" alloys equipped. Meanwhile, the entry-level FWD bZ4X (which comes with 18" alloys) was also tested and got a mere 152 miles of range.

For reference, the AWD bZ4X has 286 miles of WLTP range meanwhile the FWD variant is good for 313 miles according to the European testing standard.

Given that FDM is based in Denmark and the test was conducted during winter, expecting the bZ4X to match its WLTP range is unrealistic. However, getting roughly half of what it’s supposed to is undoubtedly a surprise.

Toyota has officially responded to the range test, stating that it's looking into the matter. A Danish spokesperson for the marque suggested the large discrepancy in range could be due to how much reserve the crossover has in its battery. However, we highly doubt you can get an extra 100+ miles of range when your bZ4X claims it's flat.

Undoubtedly, Toyota will be eager to find out why both versions of the bZ4X performed so poorly in the test. So far the brand's first mass-market EV has received a somewhat mixed reception, with a lot of critics labeling its styling as bland and performance figures as underwhelming. But those things shouldn’t matter too much - after all, people don't buy a RAV4 for its looks or speed. However, Toyota buyers do care about practicality. Hence range is of the utmost importance for the bz4X if it wants to succeed in the incredibly competitive EV crossover market.
 
Any real-world experience with the Solterra on this thread? We are looking, concerned about actual range...... thanks!
 
August 2023 Consumer Reports give it an overall score of 75:
"THE SOLTERRA, Subaru’s
first EV, is essentially a twin of
the Toyota bZ4X. It’s a quick,
roomy, and decent-driving
vehicle. But its short range,
slow charging times, and
limited EV-specifi c features
make it less appealing than the
Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Front and rear electric
motors give the Solterra its
standard all-wheel drive.
As with most EVs, it scoots
off the line with smooth,
instant power.
The EPA-estimated 222-mile
driving range is significantly
less than the competition’s,
and its skimpy 6.6-kilowatt
onboard charger makes for
slow charging at home. Its
maximum acceptance rate at
public DC fast chargers is also
weak. Unlike most EVs, the
Solterra doesn’t conveniently
display its current driving
range and battery state-ofcharge when the driver’s door
is opened. It also lacks an
LED indicator showing charge
level and doesn’t tell you
the speed you’re charging at.
On a more positive note,
handling is agile and
secure. Stopping distances
are competitive, and we
appreciate that the Solterra’s
brake pedal doesn’t suff er
from a spongy sensation as
you’re coming to a stop, as
we’ve experienced in many
other tested EVs.
The austere interior isn’t
befi tting a $50,000 car. There
are lots of hard, unpadded
surfaces, and some of the trim
pieces feel cheap and hollow.
The faraway instrument panel
at the base of the windshield
is oddly placed and easily
blocked by the steering wheel.
The omission of a glove box
is inexplicable.
The Solterra comes
standard with the updated
EyeSight suite, which includes
numerous active safety and
driver assistance features.
 
Thanks BG- this car does not meet many modern EV requirements but what we need is really an old army jeep like I grew up with, something with snow ice and mud capabilities. And about-town range..... We will see what they offer for trade-in, but thanks for the review.
 
We had Jeeps all the way from the '47 CJ2A to a mid-sixties wagon with a 6 cylinder engine, think this Subaru will hold up like they did?
 
We sprung for the Subaru, it should suit our needs well, keeping the Leaf also for the time..... Anyone with experience on a LeafSpy equivalent for the Solterra?
 
Please let us know the range experience with the car. (Any Netter than a Plus?)

My neighbor has one and it is about equivalent to the Plus I think, probably better in cold weather because of the heat pump and the BMS. He also drives at 75 on the thruway, so again maybe a bit better. There is also muttering on the Solterra Forum about a buffer above what we see on the screen, perhaps not so crucial to avoid full charges, especially when either hot or cold outside.... TBD. It also does NOT regen when using the brake pedal, they figured that the Public is not ready for the squishiness in the brakes (never a prob for me, but I drove cars with really bad brakes for many years so...). There is an S-Pedal which is a bit more regen than using B in a Leaf, which allows us to capture most of the momentum when slowing down. It also has the regen paddles if you want to geek out, not sure why they included them since it is NOT a geeky EV....
 
The paddles are fun, there is a huge discussion on the Solterra Forum about why the "+" paddle gives LESS regen and the "-" paddle gives more- my grandson thougtht it through and thinks that this is actually more intuitive for the average driver since the car goes faster with the "+" paddle and slower with the "-" paddle. Only geeks think about the energy saved.....
 
For those interested, the new Slowterra (fewer HP than a Leaf +,a bit heavier) is giving 3.9 m/kWh over the first 500 miles or almost exactly what the Leaf has been giving this summer. Same rugged terrain, same dirt roads, same conservative drivers. I was expecting a bit worse because the car is bigger and heavier so pleasantly surprised so far.
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
I don't know if I am too "Leaf" trained, but I couldn't get into the paddles in either the Bolt or Niro when I rented them. I thought they would be more handy.

Maybe it's because I've always owned and prefer to drive sticks, but I much prefer cars with quick, convenient driver-adjustable regen, preferably paddles but at least something like the original Bolt's D/B modes on the shift lever. I also do a lot of mountain driving, and having easily changeable regen makes it far easier to maximize both coasting and regen than trying to do everything with the accelerator pedal. Plus, it keeps me more engaged in driving in such terrain, which for me at least is more fun. I've driven other cars (ID.4 comes to mind) that try to make driving the car as much like a standard automatic as possible, doing a good job of blending regen and friction braking on the pedal, but I find them incredibly boring to drive. It just depends on your tastes and priorities.

Personally, as well as being bigger than I need, for the price the range and charging speeds (both AC & DC) of the bZ4X/Solterra fall well short of what I want for road trips (and really, weekend trips too), but then I live in the spread-out west and also drive a lot to and from the mountains, often in winter. As with the Crosstrek PHEV, Subaru needs to up their game considerably before I'd consider one of their PEVs, despite having happily owned two Subie wagon/CUVs in succession as my sole car for the past 35 years. Given their owner demographic (this is from 2010, but largely still accurate although they've expanded a bit beyond it: (https://www.findlaysubaru.com/subar...ru buyers are three,Some 36 percent pay cash. Oh, and 70% have dogs, which is why they have the "Dog tested. Dog approved." ad campaign), they really should have offered better PHEV wagons/hatchbacks/CUVs (Impreza/Legacy/Crosstrek/Outback/Forester) with a minimum of 20 and preferably 25+ miles AER and un-compromised cargo areas several years ago, transitioning to offer BEVs/FCEVs/PHFCEVs once costs, battery energy density and DCFC and/or H2 fueling infrastructure allowed. Subaru's large 'tree-hugger' demographic wants to drive zero-emission (ideally zero-carbon) all the time, but there's still far too many places we like to go where that isn't a practical option yet, if you've only got one car and it's a BEV (or uses H2).
 
Back
Top