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Honda CR-V vs. Subaru Forester Cupholder Test | King of cups

When I got our long-term Subaru Forester back from the shop to fix a mysterious source of moisture, I also happened to have a Honda CR-V Hybrid taking up temporary residence in my driveway. After testing out my large son's car seat in each to these two right-sized vehicles, I moved on to the examine their capacity for the second-most-precious cargo they could carry: beverages.  I counted eight cupholders in each of these cars, which amounts to two per outboard passenger. Two front cupholders on the center console, one in each front door, one in each rear door, and two in the center armrest that folds down in each rear row. That's not Subaru Ascent levels of beverage storage (19 cupholders!), but it should be plenty to keep a family hydrated on a short-to-medium drive. Though these two appear to be equal in quantity, let's take a closer look and see if they're equal in quality, too. I brought along a Klean Kanteen bottle that's about the same size as most other brand of metal water bottles folks carry around, a big Corkcicle 24-ounce insulated tumbler, a standard 12-ounce soda can, and a skinny, 7.5-ounce soda can that's the same width as a lot of canned energy drinks. As a bonus, I — the man known to Twitter as "that one dude with the Nalgene bottle" — brought my trusty 32-ounce Nalgene to see if it fits anywhere. Let's start with the spots we use the most. I like the placement of the CR-V's front cupholders for their easy reach, but beverages block the wireless charging pad (only available on the Touring trim and as Riswick discovered, it has issues). In the Forester they're further back, out of the way of the center stack, but a somewhat awkward angle for retrieval. Now let's fill 'em up, starting with the Honda. As expected, there's plenty of room for the cans, but perhaps too much room. They both wobble around quite a bit in there. The bottle and cup fit much more securely, but the water bottle rattles around a bit in there. The Corkcicle cup is going nowhere. In the Forester, the little rubber doodads inside the cupholder do a much better job of holding even the smaller can in place. A perfect fit! As for the reusables, the Corkcicle cup is snug, while the bottle has a little bit of wiggle room, though not quite as much as in the CR-V. OK, let's try the front door pockets. In the CR-V, the cans are a bit loose, but the purple Klean Kanteen fits as though the pocket were designed for it. The mighty Corkcicle is too big to fit securely.

Subaru planning modular platform, seven-seat SUV, plug-in hybrid

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles isn't the only big name in the auto industry releasing details on its future plans. Subaru, and its parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, is aiming to bump its North American sales up from 478,000 to 600,000 by 2020. Now, that seems pretty reasonable, especially in the face of FCA's hugely ambitious goals for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. It's how Subaru will go about increasing the sales, though, that has us intrigued.
A focus on more fuel-efficient, direct-injection engines will complement a new platform, while the company is contemplating expanding capacity at its Indiana factory, which will now have more room since Toyota Camry production will be ending there.
As for that new platform, it's called the Subaru Global Platform. Original, we know. It's a modular deal and will eventually underpin a vast range of future Subies following its debut in 2016. The new platform may also end up underpinning a seven-seat SUV, which would serve as the successor to the Tribeca and debut between 2016 and 2020, according to Automotive News.

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid PHEV electric range, according to CARB

Subaru's first plug-in vehicle is coming, and it's coming soon. The end of 2018 is upon us already, and the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is almost ready for primetime. This time around, it has a plug, a feature that is notably absent from the car's nomenclature, a la the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It will also borrow its PHEV technology from Toyota and now, we have California Air Resources Board ( CARB) documents that suggest the Crosstrek Hybrid's all-electric range. According to the document (which can be seen in PDF form here), CARB rates the Crosstrek Hybrid's Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule electric range at 25.650 miles. For what it's worth, the Toyota Prius Prime with which this Subaru shares powertrain tech, has an EPA-estimated all-electric range of 25 miles and a highway electric range of 21.9 miles. The document also lists an "equivalent" all-electric urban range of 26.273 miles and "equivalent" all-electric highway range of 27.381 miles. ("Equivalent" range calculations come into play when PHEVs use a mix of electric and gas power at the same time.) The Crosstrek, which will use Subaru's own 2.0-liter gasoline engine, doesn't appear to suffer a reduction in electric range compared to the Prius Prime despite its size, elevated ride height or all-wheel-drive system, which raises a lot of questions. The reasons are still unclear, as we don't have a lot of details about the underpinnings of the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and we can't help but be skeptical about those figures. Will it have a bigger battery than the Prime's 8.8-kWh pack? Will the electric motor drive all four wheels, or will it only power one axle under all-electric power? What other mitigating factors could add efficiency and, in effect, range to this Subaru? Are these calculations, in fact, indicative of the yet-to-be-announced official figures? Of course, we'll have to see how the EPA's final estimated driving range shakes out before we draw our official comparisons. We'll know a lot more when the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid gets its official debut before the end of this year, plug and all. Related Video: News Source: California Air Resources BoardImage Credit: Subaru Green Subaru Fuel Efficiency Crossover Electric Hybrid PHEV