Subaru Crosstrek PHEV coming before year's end (2018)

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Answering my own question in case anyone was curious.

I spoke to a Subaru General Manager around 30 minutes ago. He called the regional guy who told him the car won't be available until February 2019. It will only come in a single color (blue). The EV range will be only 21 miles. He couldn't give me a price, but said it will be a high-end Crosstrek -- so figure the cost of a high-end Crosstrek and add on the cost of the EV components. I'm thinking low-mid $30s. That's all the info I got.
 
Excited that its finally here, bummed that it only gets 17 miles electric.

I'm in a (not so very unique) situation where our solar excess-generates to the tune of 4,000+ kWh a year and I want to put that electricity to use in my 'gas tank.' So I'm looking for a decent sized hauling type vehicle for beach gear, surfboard, suitcases, a spare piece of furniture here and there or a christmas tree where I can plug in and use my excess generation and ALSO not need another car for all my hauling/sport needs. AWD would be ideal as we like to ski and I really don't enjoy putting on chains.

Guess I'll be buying a Kia Niro (cause I can pass that along to one of my kids a few years down the road) and hopefully by then Subaru or someone other than Tesla will have a long-range EV AWD SUV (at a decent price) or maybe a PHEV with a larger electric-only battery range AWD vehicle available.

I was Soooo hoping that the Subaru Crosstrek would be a PHEV SUV with AWD and have more like 40-50 miles of electric range. Right now, that would be my perfect vehicle.

Went to the Subaru website to "build and price" and wasn't impressed there much either. Only 4 colors. Hideous blue (I know, it's in the eye of the beholder), white (boring! I'll get white when I'm my parent's age), black (too hot where I live) and the only other color is a silver/grey that they list as an OPTIONAL color, but when you select it a window pops up adding a $2,500 ADDITIONAL PACKAGE for a sunroof and etc. Um...what if I just want a decent color and am FINE without a sunroof?
I am not excited about a $2,500.00 NOT OPTIONAL UPGRADE to my price,m so I stopped there.

TICK TOCK all you car manufacturers!! I'm waiting for some real good options.
LOL
 
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I'm happy Subaru is in the game! The limited EV range has other positive trade-offs, like short recharge time, not overwhelming the car with a big battery, etc. It has a decent size gas tank and gets 35 mpg for great overall range. Add in the fantastic Subie AWD system and the versatility of the interior (hatchback, with fold down rear seats, etc.) and I'm definitely interested. Sadly Michigan dealers won't be stocking them because we are not a ZEV state, but I can order one if I want to. I've heard I can see one at the Detroit Auto Show in a couple of months, so I'll be there to take a look.
 
I think Subaru missed the boat here-there are plenty of great players in the compact segment already (although the AWD does add something). Had they done this with the Outback, and put more e miles on it, I would have been 1st in line.

As it is, too little, too late. After 19 years with Subaru, I just bought a Honda Clarity.
 
JustAnotherPoorDriver said:
I think Subaru missed the boat here-there are plenty of great players in the compact segment already (although the AWD does add something). Had they done this with the Outback, and put more e miles on it, I would have been 1st in line.

As it is, too little, too late. After 19 years with Subaru, I just bought a Honda Clarity.
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Yeah. I'd do that if I didn't need the AWD (snow) and the SUV (hauling). Clarity doesn't work for me at all. Enjoy! All my friends who have Clarity's love them...but they also have an SUV as a 2nd or 3rd car. Even after ponying up for the high-octane gasoline (since it sits in the tank for so long) they're saving ton$ of money because we all have excess solar, so charging at home is FREEE! As our kids slowly leave for college, work, life, etc...our excess solar generation increases. That is why I want a bigger battery in these PHEV's! :-)
 
I'm a 2011 Leaf owner looking for a new car, preferably a PHEV but I'm considering some BEVs, too. I've looked at 9 models so far and in terms of size and form factor, the Crosstrek was my favorite, but the dealer in San Jose did not have the PHEV. He did not know when he could get some in, but said he hoped to have some by June. Can anyone enlighten me on their availability elsewhere? Is that a regional thing or are they not available in the U.S. at all yet? Can they be ordered or reserved online?
 
They are definitely available in the U.S. Cars.com shows 10 at dealers on both the east and west coast. And they have been reviewed by sites like Alex On Autos and CarGurus. June seems like a long time to have to wait, but roll-out by Subaru might be slow.
 
I talked to another dealer about 40 miles away and they also had none, but said they had one which sold last week. He didn't know when they would next get any. The next closest dealer to me is 260 miles and they don't appear to have any.
 
I was initially excited for the Crosstrek, but that excitement has faded.

It's an almost $8,000 premium over the Limited. Because of the low range, tax incentives will also be low. I don't believe you'd ever make up the difference in fuel costs, and the car still has all the maintenance costs required for the ICE. And where I live in the Northeast, that 17 mile range will drop to something pretty useless during the winters.

It just seems like Subaru did the least amount of work required to meet some requirements (and slapped a premium price tag on it), rather than make something really great here.
 
Your points are well-taken, but don't apply to me so much. I live in California (Bay Area) so the cold isn't much of a factor, nor the heat, for that matter. I'm retired, and without a commute probably 95% of my trips are less than 15 miles. I'll be all EV almost all the time. I already have a level 2 EVSE in my garage. I agree it's overpriced for what it is, but so is the Volvo XC60, which is so far tops on my list. It's way more expensive. The Outlander is in the competition, too, but both the Volvo and Outlander are larger than I want. The Outlander is a lot more car than the Crosstrek for about the same price, but that's not a plus for me. I'm planning to wait until the PHEV Crosstrek comes out here and at least test drive it. Maybe the Volvo XC40 will be here by then and I can compare. I do some light off-roading, mostly just dirt roads in the mountains, so an SUV is desirable, but my Leaf has always managed them, so I'm looking at hatchbacks and sedans, too.
 
Hey all, I just wanted to say that the Crosstrek PHEVs are on lots in NJ. I test drove the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately they are only stocking the ones with the $2500 moonroof package. Because of this though, you can still order one from the factory without the package, as I did that same weekend. Order time was 8-12 weeks, so hopefully I'll have it by June. I ran the cost to own with my current vehicle (2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5) and I will save over $1000 per year. I also did not pay MSRP for the car, but about $3,000 below (before the fed tax credit).

The car drove great. It was definitely quieter than my Legacy, rode real smooth on some bumpy roads, kickover from EV to gas wasn't rough (my wife has a Rav4 hybrid) and steering felt great. I didn't get enough time to play with the bluetooth for phone calls or play with some of the menus, but I was really impressed with the car overall, hence why I bought it.

Just thought I would jump in to give the perspective from someone that test drove and did buy the car. Thanks guys!
 
dpc166,
How did you order from the factory? I haven't found any general form for that online. I asked my local dealer about it and he said he'd look into it, but hasn't gotten back to me. Do you have a link or a phone number? I'm in California.
 
Russ said:
dpc166,
How did you order from the factory? I haven't found any general form for that online. I asked my local dealer about it and he said he'd look into it, but hasn't gotten back to me. Do you have a link or a phone number? I'm in California.
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Russ,
I just went into the dealer in NJ, said I wanted to order the car in the color I wanted with no moonroof package and they came back with the order form completed. I even talked to a dealer in my home state, PA, and they said they could order the car. I didn't buy in PA because they wouldn't come down from MSRP. They were complete a-holes even after telling them I could have had the car with the moonroof for $2600 under MSRP.
 
That's very interesting. I spoke to a Subaru rep from a call center after filling in a web form and she didn't know how to order one from the factory or even if it was possible. She told me to stay in touch with my local dealer. I also talked to three other local dealers and none had any inventory and had no interest in ordering one for me. It's very high on my list but I'm not 100% sold on it, at least not until I test drive it. I'm waiting for the Volvo XC40 PHEV to come out, too, which is supposed to happen before the end of the year.
 
Bummer, Russ. Yeah I was pretty sold on the car before the test drive, then I went to test drive and was sold. I'm not sure if they're being built in the US or Japan, but if Indiana, it makes sense why I've seen a number in NJ and none in the West coast. I was told they're only building 300/month for sale in 9 states. Probably why they're so slow getting out. Ones that haven't sold yet are all getting the moonroof package. I hope my order gets up the list quick since I already ordered. It's been 3 weeks so far and I'm just waiting for the car. I almost bit on the one at the dealer for an extra $1000 with the moonroof, but I held firm.
 
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