Renewable energy has been surging in recent years (pun intended). Although the cost of oil has been dropping, consumers have been increasingly interested in renewable options, and the technology has been steadily catching up. Subaru tried to capitalize on the increased interest in electric vehicles when they first released the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid back in 2014. Unfortunately, the 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid didn’t catch on that well. It’s small battery pack borrowed from Toyota served only to boost city driving mileage to that of highway driving, resulting in a car that didn’t save drivers that much fuel, and cost a lot more than the non-hybrid variant of the Crosstrek. Plus, like all hybrids, the battery pack was doomed to fail after 8-10 years.
Flash forward to 2020 and renewable energy has jumped forward by six years. Electric cars are as popular as ever. Tesla’s rapid growth over the last decade with its Model S, Model X, and Model 3 vehicles has proven that consumers want an electric car. So, as the rest of the car world orients itself towards electric vehicles, Subaru finds itself playing catch up. Luckily for Subaru, the fact that Toyota owns an increasingly large portion of the company means they don’t have to reinvent the wheel (or battery).
So what will Subaru’s new hybrid look like? Just like in 2014, Subaru has decided to pursue the Subaru Crosstrek as their main reentry into the hybrid market. Its a decision based in consumer science, as the crossover market has continued to grow while sedans, coupes and hatchbacks have seen slower growth over recent years. Like before, the Crosstrek will retain its symmetrical all wheel drive and boxer engine design by placing the batteries in the rear of the vehicle. We’re still not that impressed with its performance, but its a step in the right direction.
Subaru claims the new plug-in hybrid Crosstrek will get about 90 MPGe and a range of 480 miles. Break that down into real world numbers and you get a car that gets roughly 36 miles per gallon – not that much better than the non hybrid! The hybrid Crosstrek costs quite a lot more than the non hybrid as well, with prices starting at $35,000 as opposed to the non hybrid Crosstrek’s affordable starting price of $22,000, nearly a 13,000 dollar jump for 3 miles per gallon more. Similar plug-in hybrids start out at higher MPGes ranging from the low to mid 100s, and although they don’t always offer all wheel drive, they offer a much better financial value.
While Subaru has done an excellent job for itself marketing to outdoor types and urban professionals, the new Subaru Crosstrek hybrid seems to miss the mark once again. In their defense, the first year of a new technology for an automotive company is usually a large scale consumer test. Subaru built off the failures of the Subaru Tribeca and the Ascent came flying off the dealership lots, but we’re afraid Subaru didn’t learn their lesson in 2014. Regardless of how the new plug-in hybrid Crosstrek performs, Subaru will be pushed to create more electric vehicles as emissions controls become more stringent. And who knows? Perhaps Subaru will improve on its hybrid technology and introduce it throughout its entire lineup. For now, we’re waiting to see what they come up with when the first plug-in hybrid Crosstreks start rolling off the dealership lots this year.