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Subaru Forester e-Boxer roundup

14K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  asphaltaddict33  
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all,

Looking to compile information on the Forester e-Boxer which is available in Europe. There's a few videos around YouTube but not much on the specifics, just people that took a little test drive in Latvia, it seems. The subaru.uk seems to have limited specifications also, just mostly about why hybrids are good.

It appears that it has no spare tire and is expected to get around 35 mpg combined, which is nice considering the vehicle is a mild hybrid and a decent size SUV. The e-Boxer also has a 2.0L engine that's mated to the electric motors, kind of like the Crosstrek Hybrid.

Official Subaru UK Link: https://www.subaru.co.uk/e-boxer/coming-soon
Youtube Review Pinkstones:
Youtube Planet Auto 1:
Youtube Planet Auto 2:

There are others floating around Youtube but are just either photos into a slideshow or people just driving it around with no talking. So, I thought these are the best so far.

If you have any other info maybe we could share it in here?

Edit: Recent article from TorqueNews. https://www.torquenews.com/1084/why-you-won-t-see-new-subaru-forester-hybrid-model-anytime-soon

Thanks!
 
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#3 · (Edited)
This was a great link. Thank you.
Looks to confirm the 35 combined mpg which is great for a full time AWD car. Hope it arrives in the US for model year 2021!

I don't know what a lot of those extra fees are, but it appears that it comes in somewhere around $36,000 USD when converting the base Euros. I don't know nor did I factor those last two fees on the .nl site.
 
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#5 ·
@Pilot1226 If that is UK Gallons, you might be in for a shock when converting to MPG using US gallons...(About 29mpg US)

Personally 35MPG is pretty poor for a hybrid

The British press has not been kind to the Forester hybrid:

 
#6 ·
I drove one at a Subaru owners event a few months ago. Nice to drive but I shan't be buying one. The saving in fuel would be a pittance on my annual mileage, and wouldn't come anywhere near the £5000 extra cost. The non premium model no longer includes a sunroof, a major feature for me, and no way will I buy a car without a spare wheel. For me, the hybrid is too little, too late, and too expensive. I'm waiting for a fully electric model.
 
#7 ·
They would have a tough time selling many of them in the US when a Rav-4 Hybrid comes with AWD, gets +5 MPG (40 combined) and MSRP is at least $5k less for the base trim... not to mention other hybrid and EV options.

I highly doubt they bring it here, especially as the Crosstrek Hybrid is getting poor reviews for what the price premium gets you. My salesperson at my Colorado dealer flat told me they are not ordering any Crosstrek Hybrids, as they dont want to invest in the charging infrastructure for a product they know will sell poorly. I mean $36k for a Crosstrek? Get real Subaru
 
#8 ·
The RAV4 Hybrid has other things with it. It's not full-time AWD. The rear axle is driven by an electric motor to make it electronically driven AWD. It also hasn't been around for a full year yet so we don't know how it'll perform in winter conditions.

I agree the Crosstrek Hybrid is priced high, but I think this is a combination of it being the top trim (whereas you pointed out Toyota has them available in most but not all typical RAV4 trims), and don't forget, the Crosstrek Hybrid is a PHEV - the RAV4 is not. You also have around a 17 mile purely EV range with the Crosstrek, and it'll perform up to ~50 mph under purely EV power. The Crosstrek PHEV also has a tax credit incentive as well, since Subaru has not exceeded 200,000 unit sales yet. When this happens, like Tesla, Chevy, and Toyota, the credit gets phased out.

So you're looking closer to around 30,000 for a Crosstrek Hybrid, which is pretty good. Add that to the fact that you're getting nearly double the city mileage if you're a city dweller, this will add up considerably over time.

You're also correct that the Crosstrek Hybrid is only offered in a few states. This is because the tech people that service your car need to be trained, and that's a difficult endeavor for a single model. I imagine this'll expand as they roll out PHEV/EV across the fleet in the future.

@TMX I converted the mileage per liter using Google. This looks to be slightly higher than 35 mpg.

Also, if pricing stays equitable, if you don't factor in the Value Added Tax from the Subaru UK site, you're looking at a price of around $37,000 MSRP for the higher Forester e-Boxer trim.

I would do that. Between the tax credits, toll/highway credits, and fuel savings, even if I break even I'm still burning less gas.
 
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#10 ·
Absolutely agree. That's why I think the Forester e-Boxer would be such a great hit here in the US - it would give people that want or need full-time AWD an option to be more eco-minded.

I like the Crosstrek but it's a little small for what I'm looking for since I almost always have my kids in the car every day, and I need more cargo room. If it was strictly a commuter car, I do like the Crosstrek Hybrid because then if I needed space I could just pop the seats down.

They are moving in the right direction though - I like that the Crosstrek Hybrid is a plug-in here. From what I can tell, the "e-Boxer" XV as it's marketed in the UK is not a plug-in hybrid. That's interesting, meaning they essentially have the same car in different trims on the other side of the ocean. I'm all for the plug-in, and maybe the US will have a PHEV variant of the Subaru Forester e-Boxer.

One can hope!
 
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#11 ·
That 35MPG looks to be using bigger British Gallons = 29 US MPG which doesn't seem much improvement over a 2.0 non turbo boxer.

Considering Subaru and Toyota have worked on a few projects together, I'm surprised Subaru's hybrid seems so lacking compared to the Toyotas in terms of mpg and how long it took to be brought to production. With the poor mpg, I can't see emissions being that low, meaning it is unlikely to be Congestion Zone tax exempt either.....

I wonder if Subaru and Toyota are working together on a hydrogen project. Toyota already has the Mirai but no Rav 4 version yet.

If the refuelling infrastructure allowed and they came out with a WRX type peformance version in the Forester format and threw in a spare wheel and got rid of the automated rear hatch and fixed the non supportive seats - That could be very tempting

Unless they came out with a Hydrogen Baja with WRX performance........
 
#12 ·
Baja is the mythical unicorn!

I converted the liters to US Gallons using a Google calculator. I don't see the 35 mpg being hard to attain, considering that Toyota can push 45 mpg city with the e-AWD system they use, and it makes sense that you'd lose a little efficiency since you need to propel the mechanical transaxle in the Subaru.

If it stays the same and gets launched in the US next year, I would still buy one when my lease is up or whenever I could get out of my lease without too much heartburn.

But, if they re-create the e-Boxer like they did the Crosstrek PHEV, I'd be more interested in that. The Crosstrek Hybrid in the US has a 17 mile fully EV range up to around 55 mph (almost 90 kmh) according to reviews on YouTube, can be plugged in to be greener, and has a EV motor that propels both the back and front axles. That's pretty neat.

The Forester has a bigger "chassis" to work with for battery storage, and more cargo room, so it seems like it could be useful. Most of the things I put in the back of my Forester don't really take up the full vertical space anyway, so I wouldn't miss the few inches they raise from the cargo floor.
 
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#14 ·
If you're looking for feedback, you can get some more figures for the 2.0 non turbo here: https://www.subaru.co.uk/forester-prices-specifications (MPG is in British Gallons, bigger than the little US gallons)

It would be nice to include UK MPG, US MPG and Litres/100Km to make things easier when making the comparison

I believe the non hybrid non turbo 2.0 engine is not an Atkinson Cycle engine, which might account for a difference in 0-60 times too - Not 100% sure though
 
#16 · (Edited)
Finally I did have a opportunity to test drive new eboxer. As we don't have the 5th generation available here, it is somewhat difficult to compare characteristics. Ride was smooth, cabin relatively quiet and roomy. Probable very much alike to car which have been available in North America for a while.

What is different is this powertrain. Car is not fast but I would say that there is enough torque and power available in most everyday driving situations. Easy to drive in stop and go traffic, merging to highways etc. My blog is also updated with this test drive, if you are interested to see some more feelings of the car.
 
#17 ·
As an owner of the eboxer since July, it has enough power for driving and merging comfortably here in Japan, but the average merge speed I would say is only 50-65MPH much slower than that of USA highways. If any doubt, just put in the Sport Mode and the electric motor gives some extra kick. While mileage in Tokyo city driving is poor (25MPG), the highway mileage has been great sometimes over 40MPG. The Forester feels firmly planted when compared to the RAV4 I test drove a few times. After adding the STI tower bar and Front Draw Stiffener the body roll is several reduced and feels a bit more solid like the BMW X5 or Porsche Macan rather than a JDM Small SUV class. It really makes the front end and overall feel of the car way different.
It is very quiet inside, but and eboxer kicking on and off is very smooth compared to other hybrids I have driven. The trade off in city mileage I accept for smoothness of the engine, technology, safety, and comfort of having a superior AWD system.
 
#18 ·
be aware when comparing it with the RAV4. The latter has a bigger battery and a more powerful electric engine.
Nevertheless, the Forester brings a real 4WD and, given the battery capacity and engine power, good MPG.
By the way, if the battery is not empty, the car shuts down the engine at speed < 80 km/h and you can proceed with a slight pressure on the accelerator pedal.

Order in Italy are open since middle July and first deliveries are scheduled for end of November.
In Switzerland orders will be available beginning 2020; in Germany starting from March 2020.
 
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#19 ·
"500 miles update"

Not so much experience yet but I must say that I enjoy driving the new e-Boxer. Based on acceleration figures (0-60) 11.8 seconds I kind of expected more sluggish day-to-day performance. That was my biggest worry before receiving car. At least so far car seem to perform very well. Easy to merge to highways and if need to pass somebody, that is easy enough for the car. I am sure that electric motor boosts with instant torque just enough, to give good in-practice performance. Sufficient for my needs. Interestingly car felt different than the one I tested 4 months ago. That unit was some sort of pre-production unit. So maybe Subaru has tuned production car someway. And demo car was meant to different market area than the ones we got here for sale.

Steering wheel feels good and steering is very nimble. It is actually nice to drive on curvy roads. Again I didn't expect that due to the car height. Steering responsive headlights are great! First time I had those and immediately loved it. From the negative points so far I could mention fuel tank capacity is rather small, consumption (with this experience) is around 30 mpg. I am sure that will evolve over time as I get more kilometers (miles). Need to drive bit more and get more experiences.
 
#21 ·
Not gonna happen for quite some time IMO. Subaru is partnering with Toyota to be able to offer the current e-boxer models. Toyota knows better than to share its newest and best hybrid platform with a company that would steal sales from them. Although the tech wouldn't transfer directly to a full time AWD Subaru, it is in the best interest of Toyota to keep it exclusive to their brand for a while. With Subaru not directly investing in R&D on their own hybrid tech recently.... expect very little in the way of attractive hybrids from Subaru for the next 2-3 years.

I think that Rav4 Prime will do very well for Toyota if it is priced reasonably. If a test of the AWD performance was impressive I would be tempted by it!
 
#27 ·
Temperatures about 20-40F. Half of my trips are 26 miles and half are short like yours. I am at 7000ft elevation I dont know if that matters.

Now... if I am enjoying the turbo and zipping around at a good clip itll drop to 25MPG at least. So 28MPG is a great full tank average for me, that one I was just cruising and being safe in some fresh snow. Also, I am in a rural spot, so I almost never spend time sitting in traffic or at traffic lights, average speeds are 50-70mph
 
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