[Whoabear]

I have a unique work set up. I am a summer camp director and I live on camp during the summer months and on certain weekends throughout the year to help run programs. I am looking at the Solterra for my first electric car and am trying to do some research to determine the best set up to add level 2 charging capability to my garage at my home in town, and to the exterior of my cabin at camp (no garage). I figure with a plug in one I could take the same EVSE back and forth as needed (versus buying one for both locations). I've only had limited conversations with my employer about this, so there are a lot of hypotheticals about how I might make this work for times when I am living at camp, but I want to be prepared to ensure I can track my charging done at my cabin at camp separately from charging done at my home.

Main Questions:

1. Would most EVSE (IE Chargepoint) or Car Apps (IE Solterra Connect) allow you to export charging data that would include location data so I could sort between my two locations (while using the same EVSE in both locations)?
2. Any recommendations for an EVSE for the situation I mention - good to move back and forth between two main locations, one of which is outside and is more "public"? I have been looking at Chargepoint if the Solterra Connect app isn't very robust, or the Grizzl E if the Solterra App is all the "smart" features that are needed.
3. Any other tips or things to think about? - Thanks!

 

[O. horridus]

The Solterra comes with a Level 1 charger, which will give you maybe 6 miles of range per hour of charging, so 4-5 times slower than a Level 2 charger. But if you're parked at camp all day for days on end, then maybe you don't really need anything faster? If you plan on plugging into a regular outlet, chances are the camp already has an outdoor outlet you can use, so it won't cost them anything to install a new outlet and they won't need to worry about upgrading their service to support a new 240V 50amp circuit for your Level 2 EVSE.

This is all a bit of guess work because Subaru hasn't officially released the Solterra specifications - so the fact that it includes just a Level 1 charger is based on press releases. Likewise, the battery size and range are still guesses based on press releases. But even so I think this is approximately correct.

 

[StevenH]

The Solterra comes with a Level 1 charger, which will give you maybe 6 miles of range per hour of charging, so 4-5 times slower than a Level 2 charger. But if you're parked at camp all day for days on end, then maybe you don't really need anything faster? If you plan on plugging into a regular outlet, chances are the camp already has an outdoor outlet you can use, so it won't cost them anything to install a new outlet and they won't need to worry about upgrading their service to support a new 240V 50amp circuit for your Level 2 EVSE.

This is all a bit of guess work because Subaru hasn't officially released the Solterra specifications - so the fact that it includes just a Level 1 charger is based on press releases. Likewise, the battery size and range are still guesses based on press releases. But even so I think this is approximately correct.

EPA rated range is 228 mi for Premium trim, and 222 mi for the Limited and Touring trims.

 

[O. horridus]

I hadn't seen the official EPA rating (it's not on Subaru's site ...), but that's the number I was using. Is it official? I see the Car and Driver article from 18 March says that's the EPA range, but I don't really see anyone else saying that.

Regardless, Subaru has said it would take 9 hours to charge on a Level 2 charger, which doesn't quite match with the 72.4kWh battery size and the 6.6 kW/hr max A/C charging rate of the built in charger, so I'm not certain what the usable capacity of the battery is. There's also some question about the max DC charging rate. I think a lot of these specifications will come out when they release the pricing next week.

 

[StevenH]

Regardless, Subaru has said it would take 9 hours to charge on a Level 2 charger, which doesn't quite match with the 72.4kWh battery size and the 6.6 kW/hr max A/C charging rate of the built in charger, so I'm not certain what the usable capacity of the battery is. There's also some question about the max DC charging rate. I think a lot of these specifications will come out when they release the pricing next week.

Something tells me Subaru will surprise to the positive side in specs and especially real world capabilities. The price announcement Tuesday for the bZ4X should provide a ballpark for the Solterra price, but don't expect it to be identical. Subaru has real cladding (vs paint), fog lights, and conventional steering (vs fly-by-wire), plus Harman Kardon stereo (vs JBL). I'm interested in finding out if we'll actually be getting a power passenger seat in the touring trim.

 

[bob E]

Subaru has said it would take 9 hours to charge on a Level 2 charger, which doesn't quite match with the 72.4kWh battery size and the 6.6 kW/hr max A/C charging rate of the built in charger,

I was surprised to read in Everything We Know About The Toyota bZ4X Specs that the bz4x will be getting a bigger built-in charger:. "in the Q4 2022, there will be an available (at least in Europe) three-phase 11 kW unit."

 

[Jenovalente]

Something tells me Subaru will surprise to the positive side in specs and especially real world capabilities. The price announcement Tuesday for the bZ4X should provide a ballpark for the Solterra price, but don't expect it to be identical. Subaru has real cladding (vs paint), fog lights, and conventional steering (vs fly-by-wire), plus Harman Kardon stereo (vs JBL). I'm interested in finding out if we'll actually be getting a power passenger seat in the touring trim.

Hi,
As far as the stereo, both JBL and Harman Kardon are owned by the same parent.
I suspect that they will just stick different labels on the speakers.

 

[Whoabear]

I have a unique work set up. I am a summer camp director and I live on camp during the summer months and on certain weekends throughout the year to help run programs. I am looking at the Solterra for my first electric car and am trying to do some research to determine the best set up to add level 2 charging capability to my garage at my home in town, and to the exterior of my cabin at camp (no garage). I figure with a plug in one I could take the same EVSE back and forth as needed (versus buying one for both locations). I've only had limited conversations with my employer about this, so there are a lot of hypotheticals about how I might make this work for times when I am living at camp, but I want to be prepared to ensure I can track my charging done at my cabin at camp separately from charging done at my home.

Main Questions:

1. Would most EVSE (IE Chargepoint) or Car Apps (IE Solterra Connect) allow you to export charging data that would include location data so I could sort between my two locations (while using the same EVSE in both locations)?
2. Any recommendations for an EVSE for the situation I mention - good to move back and forth between two main locations, one of which is outside and is more "public"? I have been looking at Chargepoint if the Solterra Connect app isn't very robust, or the Grizzl E if the Solterra App is all the "smart" features that are needed.
3. Any other tips or things to think about? - Thanks!

Thanks O Horidus. I left out that I commute to camp daily when not living there for work too - it's a 62 mile round trip. I think that was convincing me I may need level 2 in both places, but I think you are right and will be able to get by with level 1 at camp. Or at least I can try that set up to start.

 

[JayEM]

I hadn't seen the official EPA rating (it's not on Subaru's site ...), but that's the number I was using. Is it official? I see the Car and Driver article from 18 March says that's the EPA range, but I don't really see anyone else saying that.

Regardless, Subaru has said it would take 9 hours to charge on a Level 2 charger, which doesn't quite match with the 72.4kWh battery size and the 6.6 kW/hr max A/C charging rate of the built in charger, so I'm not certain what the usable capacity of the battery is. There's also some question about the max DC charging rate. I think a lot of these specifications will come out when they release the pricing next week.

The 228/222 mile figures aren't official. When the figures are finalized, they'll be listed here:

Find and Compare Cars

Find EPA fuel economy estimates based on vehicle model or class.

www.fueleconomy.gov

Subaru is not yet a listed brand when choosing 2023 as the model year.

 

[Ducatista]

Subaru has said it would take 9 hours to charge on a Level 2 charger, which doesn't quite match with the 72.4kWh battery size and the 6.6 kW/hr max A/C charging rate of the built in charger, so I'm not certain what the usable capacity of the battery is. There's also some question about the max DC charging rate. I think a lot of these specifications will come out when they release the pricing next week.

Its correct if Subaru was implying 0-80% state of charge. Or did they imply 0-100%? Not sure where you got the information.

 

[O. horridus]

Its correct if Subaru was implying 0-80% state of charge. Or did they imply 0-100%? Not sure where you got the information.

Well as I said above there's not much official information, and what's out there is mainly in press releases. That's why I cautioned that these are only rough numbers. However it's clear that all the "first-drive" articles were written using some press kit handed out to reviewers. I say "clear" because they all quote the same numbers, and many times uses the exact same phrases to describe the features. If they were all operating independently, then there would be some variation in what was presented and how it was presented in these reviews.

For example, one article (from Car and Driver on 18 March 2022) is: 2023 Subaru Solterra: EV Meets ORV
This is the article I referenced in #4 above, and is only one I could find that says Solterra is "EPA-rated" at 220/228 miles. It also says the Solterra has

an onboard 6.6-kW charger replenishing the battery in nine hours on a Level 2 charger and a 100-kW DC fast-charging setup delivering an 80 percent charge in a claimed 56 minutes.

Other articles say the DC charger takes "about an hour", but other than that this quote can be found on half a dozen sites. They all quote the 80% number for DC fast charging, but don't say whether the 80% is used for the Level 2 estimate.