The New Solterra EV And Outback SUV To Be Evaluated By The NHTSA

The 2023 Subaru Solterra EV and 2023 Subaru Outback midsize SUV will undergo new testing from the NHTSA. See what it means for customer safety.

Is the Subaru Solterra a safe vehicle? The 2023 Subaru Solterra will get safety testing in the U.S. for the first time. The all-new Solterra compact SUV has been tested in Europe, getting the highest grade and received the highest score in Japan. Now the Solterra will be tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA recently announced its list of the model year 2023 vehicles for crash testing as part of the U.S. agency’s 5-Star Safety Ratings system under its New Car Assessment Program. The new Subaru Solterra EV will get tested, and the 2023 Outback will be tested for its new Advanced technology system.

Solterra has two top safety scores

In Japan, the Solterra earned the highest 5 Star JNCAP safety rating for a battery-electric vehicle late last year. In Europe, the all-new Solterra was awarded a maximum of five stars from the 2022 European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) safety performance test in November.

NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program, the government’s premier consumer information program for evaluating vehicle safety, crash tests new vehicles and rates them on how well they protect occupants in frontal, side, and rollover crashes. Results from these tests are compiled into a rating of one to five stars, with five stars being the highest.

What it means for customers in the U.S. is it will help Subaru SUV customers make purchasing decisions about the vehicles that best fit their needs. All other Subaru models in Subaru of America’s lineup have received the NHTSA’s five-star rating. We expect the Solterra EV to get the highest score also.

Outback gets tested for new ADAS system

The NHTSA also announced the list of vehicles it would test this year to verify the performance of specific Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The technologies for evaluation are lane departure warning, forward collision warning, crash imminent braking, and dynamic brake support.

The 2023 Subaru Outback comes with the next-generation Subaru EyeSight safety technology, which the NHTSA will evaluate for the first time.

In Europe, the Outback earned the highest 5-Star NCAP safety rating, and the midsize SUV also achieved the highest-ever score in its class for child occupant protection. The Outback didn’t just score above the minimum threshold required; the SUV also achieved a noticeably high overall average score.

The announcement by NCAP says the Outback “attained the highest score ever achieved by a Subaru vehicle in both safety assist and vulnerable road users, corresponding to the highest score across all vehicle classes according to the latest applicable test.”

Torque News and Subaru Report will publish the new NHTSA testing scores for the 2023 Subaru Solterra EV and 2023 Subaru Outback midsize SUV when available.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

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