By Bill Roebuck

The G4e nameplate means ‘Green for the Earth’. Also, the ‘e’ in this Subaru concept’s name could be a code that it’s electric. It could also stand for electrifying styling, as the G4e four-door sedan certainly has a distinctive look. 

Most impressively, the compact features a newly developed lithium ion battery that will allow it to go up to 200 km on a charge. The Subaru-designed batteries use high-capacity vanadium technology that enables them to store two to three times more lithium ions than conventional models.

Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands

A full recharge takes eight hours from a home electric outlet, however — and this is most impressive and practical — a fast-charge to 80 per cent capacity can be done in about 15 minutes. The batteries are located under the passenger compartment, which has room for five passengers.

Rear-view cameras integrated into the A-pillars eliminate the need for side mirrors and help to improve the coefficient of drag (Cd) value to just 0.276. Will we see this concept in Subaru’s Canadian dealerships? We hope so, and soon, as this is one electric vehicle that makes sense.