We drive (briskly) Subaru's first plug-in electric

"Driving Sports TV" (drivingsports)
11/19/2018 at 13:31 • Filed to: subaru, crosstrek

We burned the midnight oil to bring you the this first look at the new 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid plug-in electric.

DISCUSSION (13)

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 14:06

Ok... maybe the first Subaru I am interested in in quite some time.

It still isn’t an FA24DIT/STI drivetrain Crosstrek... but I am becoming more and more of a fan of PHEVs.

Some call them worst of both worlds... I kind of think about them as complimentary, with the electric drive system filling in where the engine is inefficient, and the engine mitigating the fact that you can’t just pour in a jerry can of electricity on the shoulder of a rural road (or in this case, an off-road trail), if you run out of battery power.

I would have liked to have learned more about real-world stop-and-go driving, highway-cruise mode charging, and how well the regenerative braking works at recovering momentum as electricity, rather than heat dispelled through the brakes.

Also, if this is closer to 4000lbs than 3000lbs, with that 500lbs of batteries and electric motors, to the point where it needs specific suspension, and upgraded rear brakes, does it actually get upgraded wheel bearings also....

I have too many memories of shagged-out Legacy GT suspension parts and howling wheel bearings in my head.

A second faster zero to 60 is good, but hardly an achievement over the non-hybrid slowness ... but one has to wonder, if it had the 2.0L eng ine tuned for generator and cruise usage, and maybe a sportier controller program on the electric motors... if the PHEV could even be considered sporty.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 14:13

Still slow. But atleast you get 35mpg and 17 electric miles in return. But Dam n 500Lb heavier and less storage space? This thing’s a porker for its size.

Driving Sports TV > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
11/19/2018 at 14:13

All good questions. We’ll see if we can address them when we get the PHEV again for filming back in Seattle. It’s a nice car around town with b etter kick from the electric motor from a complete stop. But I wouldn’t quite call it sporty. Atkinson cycle robs low-end from the gas motor, so it’s essentially all-electric from start. 118 never thrilled anyone. (except maybe in the 1920s) BUT for the same reasons as you, I’m warming to PHEVs. This one, with a proper all-AWD all the time drivetrain makes even more sense. -Ryan

Driving Sports TV > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
11/19/2018 at 14:27

Also, infinity MPG if you have a short commute.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 14:49

That is true. It’s perfect for many people. My wife only prefers hybrids/electric and she loves this car already, especially that blue.

TorqueToYield > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 14:54

plug-in makes a lot of sense for Subaru products. I have a 12 mile commute, visit my parents on weekends 50 miles away, but I also take a half dozen 400+ mile road trips a year skiing, camping, visiting relatives etc. So I could use basically no gas commuting M-F and still use the same car for longer trips.

New Subaru drive-trains also scare me reliability wise. Give em a few years to work out the kinks. A lthough I think the electric bit is a Toyota unit .

Driving Sports TV > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
11/19/2018 at 15:15

BTW: weight is about 3700 lbs.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 17:28

Regarding Toyota and others who say to not take CUVs off road... I wouldn’t consider a dirt road like that ‘off-road’.

Hell... I’ve taken regular FWD cars like the Focus Wagon I had on dirt roads like that. No big deal as long as you don’t do anything stupid.

Driving Sports TV > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/19/2018 at 18:18

Toyota PR (who loan us the vehicles for review) would consider the road we drove to be “off road.” Their definition usually covers any unpaved surfaces. We’ve asked about the technical reason for the restriction and got replies regarding duty rating of the electric motors used... or, that’s what they suggested. We’ve never had a solid answer from the actual engineers (even after multiple requests.)

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 18:22

“We’ve asked about the technical reason for the restriction and got replies regarding duty rating of the electric motors used... or, that’s what they suggested”

Duty rating... LOL... as if driving on a dirt road like that really adds all that much duty to the powertrain compared to loading the car up with 5 people, luggage and a rooftop carrier for a road trip.

They probably just don’t want it to get dirty.

Driving Sports TV > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/19/2018 at 18:26

I have no idea. It always bugged me. It’s my understanding that the new RAV4 will also be finally allowed “off road” so it may have been something weird about previous generation motors -- or the lawyers finally sucked it up and approved it.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Driving Sports TV
11/19/2018 at 18:49

My money is on the lawyers... or getting it dirty... or both!

Farnarkler extraodinaire > Driving Sports TV
11/20/2018 at 06:31

kill all hybrids!