The Subaru Solterra EV Sure Looks a Lot Like a Toyota Venza Clone
Subaru has a well-earned reputation for being a brand that cares about the natural world and the environment. Soon, though, Subaru customers will be able to get a truly green Subie in the form of Subaru’s first-ever EV, the Subaru Solterra. With that being said, the Subaru Solterra looks suspiciously like a Toyota clone, but there’s actually a good reason for that.
What we know about the 2023 Subaru Solterra so far
As The Drive wrote, Subaru recently teased the Solterra on social media. Subaru even said that it was the “most technologically advanced Subaru ever.” This may not be an exaggeration, either, as the Solterra will be Subaru’s first EV. Many automakers love putting high-tech and futuristic features into their EVs. It’s possible that Subaru did just that for the Solterra.
Since Subaru has only started teasing about the Solterra, not much else is known about it in terms of specs and features. What is known, however, is that it will still be a Subaru. This means that it’ll have a lot of space, both in terms of seating and cargo. Additionally, according to The Drive, it’ll also have all the smart safety systems that Subaru is known for. Furthermore, of course, all-wheel drive will be standard.
When it comes to release dates, The Drive said that the 2023 Subaru Solterra would be in a dealership near you around mid-2022. While this is all good news for Subie fans, many folks who’ve seen the Solterra have had the same thought. For some reason, the Solterra looks like a Toyota, maybe even a Toyota Venza.
The 2023 Subaru Solterra looks a lot like a Toyota clone
Ultimately, this similarity is in the eye of the beholder. However, the Solterra does have features that look a lot like they came from the Venza. For example, their headlights are both pretty similar. Their roofs also look quite alike. Lastly, Solterra’s profile looks very similar to the Venza’s from what’s been released so far. This may be a coincidence, of course. However, Subie fans are right to notice any similarities between the Solterra and the Venza.
This is because the Solterra was absolutely designed with some help from Toyota. To be clear, Toyota and Subaru developed the Toyota bZ4x together, and that’s the same car that the Solterra is based on. As such, it’s no surprise that some fans sensed that the Solterra looked kind of like a Toyota. However, this wasn’t the first collaboration between Toyota and Subaru, and it won’t be the last.
Subaru works with Toyota a lot
Both the Subaru Solterra and the bZ4x result from a new platform for EVs that Subaru and Toyota developed together. It’s called e-TNGA, and the Solterra and the bZ4x will be the first EVs to be built on that platform. Subaru and Toyota are definitely planning to build more cars based on that platform. After all, EVs are only getting more popular, so Subaru and Toyota will probably be building on a lot more e-TNGA-based EVs.
That being said, this isn’t the first time that Subaru and Toyota have worked together on a car. For example, the Subaru BRZ is, for all intents and purposes, the same car as the Toyota 86. More than that, though, Toyota actually owns a portion of Subaru. Toyota does not completely own Subaru, but about 20% of the company. As such, they cooperate on many matters, and they will more than likely continue to do so in the future.
