Subaru Crosstrek PHEV

[cwerdna]

I forgot this vehicle even existed until I saw it at the Silicon Valley Auto Show. They seem to market it as a Crosstrek Hybrid even though it's a PHEV. They touted the red HOV stickers (now purple) and $4500 Federal tax credit (actually $4502) besides other state/local incentives.

I recall having very little cargo room, probably due to the battery.

Saw the 17 mile AER on the Monroney sticker.

[jjeff]

Yes other than being 4 wheel drive(or AWD or whatever they call it nowadays!) it doesn't really seem to have much going for it. It's got the same 8.8 kWh battery as the Prius Prime but being boxier, AWD and other things, unlike the Prime that gets 27 miles the Crosstrek only gets 17 miles EV
Also not sure about the PHEV but I knew someone who bought a regular Crosstrek and was not happy about how it handled in the snow. They said the rear end had the tendency to fishtail and they were very scared driving in the snow. They even purchased expensive snow tires which helped but not to their liking. They had the vehicle into the dealer several times but they could find no problem. Apparently?? they searched the internet and found people reporting a similar problem but no one had a solution. As they specifically purchased a Subaru for it's ability to handle snow, they were very unhappy. In the end, they ended up trading it in on another Subaru(Outback I believe??) and that handled very well, no fishtailing, even with the OEM tires. This transpired a couple of winters ago and I believe he said since then he's read about a bulletin to possibly address this, but if looking at a Crosstrek, especially a used one, I'd do lots of research, specifically in how it handles in the snow.
Personally I think the Crosstrek is a nice looking vehicle but it would need to have a much larger battery(more EV range) and I'd had to be confident they fixed the fishtailing tendencies before getting serious about purchasing it.

[Rat]

I'm looking to buy a new car now that my 2011 Leaf is suffering a bit, especially in range. I looked at 10 different models over the weekend, including BEVs (Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt) and several PHEVs. In terms of size, form factor and fit and finish, the Crosstrek was in the sweet spot for me. I thought the seats and dashboard layout were excellent based on sitting in it. However, the big drawback right now is that the dealer doesn't have any PHEVs and doesn't know when he's going to get any. He's hoping for July. I didn't test drive the ICE model, but I test drove three other cars: Bolt, Volvo XC60, and Outlander PHEV. I didn't like the Bolt much, mainly because of its small size and mediocre fit and finish. I liked both the Volvo and Outlander, but both are verging on too large. I liked the Outlander better just in driving feel, but the Volvo had more bells and whistles. At this point I'm not ready to pick a winner. I'd like to test drive the Crosstrek but will have to wait until the dealers have them. The limited EV range is disappointing, but since I'm retired and don't have a commute, 90% of my trips are under 15 miles, so that's not a big problem. I don't go to the snow, but I do go into the local hills for geocaching, so I drive on dirt roads, unpaved parking areas, rough rutty shoulders, etc. and the AWD and higher ground clearance of the SUVs are pluses for me. There's a Volvo XC40 supposedly on the way, too, so I'm inclined to wait at least a bit for news on that and the Crosstrek.

[cwerdna]

Crosstrek was in the sweet spot for me. I thought the seats and dashboard layout were excellent based on sitting in it. However, the big drawback right now is that the dealer doesn't have any PHEVs and doesn't know when he's going to get any. He's hoping for July
...
I didn't like the Bolt much, mainly because of its small size and mediocre fit and finish.
...
The limited EV range is disappointing, but since I'm retired and don't have a commute, 90% of my trips are under 15 miles, so that's not a big problem. I don't go to the snow, but I do go into the local hills for geocaching, so I drive on dirt roads, unpaved parking areas, rough rutty shoulders, etc. and the AWD and higher ground clearance of the SUVs are pluses for me. There's a Volvo XC40 supposedly on the way, too, so I'm inclined to wait at least a bit for news on that and the Crosstrek.

Wow. Crazy. I wonder if Subaru's actually interested in selling any. It doesn't even show up at https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/.

I didn't bother checking for inventory via https://www.subaru.com/vehicles/crosstrek/hybrid.html as I don't care.

As for Bolt's fit and finish, they seem built fine inside and out so you're probably talking about the cheap interior, which I have to agree with. It's hard plastics all around and to me, even the Cruze and Volt have better interiors.

Since you mention Bolt's small size (yes, it's 11 inches shorter than gen 1 Leaf), Crosstrek PHEV has little cargo room. Skip to ~1:37 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh8zOYKnkX0 to get an idea. I didn't watch the rest of the video.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a2 ... rid-drive/ has a pic and https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g25 ... e-gallery/ reminded me about the lousy charging inlet placement. (I already dislike the front driver's side fender inlet placement of the Bolt vs. the nose of the Leaf. I gave examples why as to why at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 12#p548912.)

[Rat]

That's a good video review. Thanks for posting it. Your point about the port placement is also well-taken. That could be a problem for several/most of the cars I tried. I have an EVSE mounted in my garage halfway from front to back. When my Leaf is pulled in all the way, the cord reaches the port fine, but without a great deal of length to spare. I can also park in my driveway on one side and the cord reaches there, too, but then the Leaf port is in the nose. That was the reason for the placement of the EVSE. For all these other cars, the port is usually just behind and above the front wheel, which means I'd have to pull the car to within a foot or two of the garage so the cord will reach, which means blocking the path to the side of the house where our trash toters are, etc. My wife likes (and deserves) equal time in the garage with her car, so we switch off. The garage is only big enough for one car.

[LeftieBiker]

You could get a ~$200 J-1772 extension cable...

[Rat]

After talking to some other dealers, I've been told that Subaru is making only 300 a month and that includes for dealers in Australia, UK, etc., not just the U.S. Each dealer here gets one car every few months and so far anyway, they all have been pre-ordered, at least at the local dealers. So there will never be a chance to test drive the car at a dealer unless things change. The local salesman told me that someone might "back out" and maybe I could buy one of those. I'd like to know how that works. If it's possible to pre-order and then back out if I change my mind, I could do that, although I might have to wait months before I got the car and there's the question of deposits and penalties. Still, I pre-ordered with my 2011 Leaf so I guess I've adapted to the strange new world of ordering cars unseen and undriven. I'm hoping to find someone local with one that I can test drive or at least ride along in before committing to anything. The local salesman didn't seem to know how to preorder, and what the terms are, but said he would look into that for me.

I filled in a web form at the Subaru website to build my own and request a quote. It gave me a price (MSRP), then a woman from a call center called me. She was obviously not knowledgeable about the hybrid. I had to explain to her what the dealers were telling me. She ended up saying the best thing for me was to stay in touch with my local dealer. The other cars I'm still interested in are the Volvo XC60 and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs, but both are larger and more expensive than I want. The Volvo dealer has no info on the XC40 PHEV either, which is in the running. I thought the Ioniq was better than most of the other sedans/hatchbacks I saw in look and feel, but the trunk is miniscule and I'd prefer a small SUV.

If anyone local (SF Bay Area) on this forum has a Crosstrek PHEV and is willing to let me drive or ride along, please message me.

[LeftieBiker]

FWIW, Volvo seems to be using almost all Chinese engines now, and turbo fours at that. I wouldn't ever buy a car with a Chinese engine AND a turbocharger. They will probably start failing well before 100k miles.

[jjeff]

Sad, as Volvo used to have about as reliable of an engine as possible, I'm thinking about the B18 4 cylinder. Of course it's possible the car and engine are made to Volvo's specs and if Volvo keeps a close eye on production if might be decent.....
Too bad this Crosstrek seems to be basically a compliance car
Of course coming from Subaru(who hasn't exactly been known as a leader in fuel economy) and the company who loves to slap PHEV decals all over their cars, even though the only thing "partial" about a Subaru is the engine shuts off when at a stop sign(as do MANY current cars, even ones who don't slather PHEV decals all over their cars)!
Boo to Subaru

[LeftieBiker]

That's "PZEV" for "Partial Zero Emission Vehicle." Indeed. What's next, labeling all ICEs with that, because they only produce emissions while in use?

I grew up with Volvos and B-18 engines. My father drag raced two of them, the second a PV544 with a 200HP normally aspirated B-18 (bored to 2 liters). The later B-230F and the related turbocharged version were also good engines. But then there was the B-30 (IIRC): a straight six based on the B-20 (last version of the B-18) but with no additional camshaft bearings. They all rattled like diesels before 60k miles...