Subaru hybrids to land in NZ soon
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
Subaru New Zealand has detailed its first e-boxer hybrids, due in the next few weeks.
Subaru's XV and Forester SUVs will be the first to get the electrified powertrain, though a limited number of the hybrids will be available in 2020.
“Customers who are keen on owning one of our e-Boxer Hybrids will need to move quickly as between limited factory production and global demand, New Zealand has only managed to secure small quantities of around 10-20 per month, with an initial allocation of 20 to be delivered in September and October,” Subaru of New Zealand’s Managing Director, Wallis Dumper said.
The SUVs have identical petrol-electric powertrains. The e-Boxer system comprises a 2.0-litre horizontally opposed boxer engine linked to a high voltage lithium-ion battery which helps improve fuel efficiency.
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Subaru says the XV Hybrid offers an improvement in fuel efficiency of more than 14 per cent over equivalent petrol variants in the urban cycle and over seven per cent improvement in the combined cycle.
Meanwhile, Forester Hybrid offers an improvement of over nine per cent (compared to 2.5-litre petrol variants) in the combined cycle and over 19 per cent in the urban cycle (when tested in accordance with ADR81/02).
Dumper added: “Forester and XV have both been huge successes in our range, and we know there is pent-up demand for hybrid variants among our Subaru owners, who are some of the most loyal customers in the industry. We are not letting COVID-19 get in the way of letting them access these new models - we just need to do things differently.”
Being a Subaru, all-wheel-drive is included as standard. 'The great thing is that Kiwi Subaru owners will know that Subaru tends to be a bit unique in their approach to technology, so in the e-Boxers’ case, Subaru Corporation didn’t build a hybrid until they could make it with the full Subaru DNA.”
Final output wasn't confirmed, but we know the petrol engine produces 110kW/194Nm and the electric motor offers an additional 12.3kW/66Nm. It won't be a straightforward combination, but we'd expect more than 200Nm of torque at least/
Pricing for the Forester Sport e-Boxer Hybrid kicks off at $47,490, through to the range-topping Forester Premium e-Boxer Hybrid at $54,990.
The hybrid version of Subaru’s top-selling XV model starts at $42,490 and gets an exclusive new colour option, Lagoon Blue Pearl. Just for 2020, mind, so get in quick if you like the look of it.
If these aren't your ideal Subaru, the next Impreza will get the electrified powertrain too, while the following WRX will stay combustion-only.